Prairie Creek Evaluators Give Charter School an “A”

As public schools around the country face financial challenges and battles over collective bargaining rights, the message about one Northfield school at the Monday's school board meeting was overwhelmingly positive.

Reporting on an evaluation of the Castle Rock charter school , Dr. Rob Hardy said that the process was not only fun but showed that school personnel demonstrated a collective sense of identity and mission.

“Everyone is constantly working toward the same educational goals,” Hardy said. “Everyone is engaged in learning and making this a strong learning community.”

State law requires that charter schools hire an independent evaluation team as part of the contract renewal process. The Northfield School District’s sponsorship contract with PCCS expires June 30, 2011. Pending review by officials at the Minnesota Department of Education, a “yes” vote by the board later this spring would extend the contract to June 30, 2016.

“As long as all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed it should just be a formality,” Hardy said later.

In addition to Hardy, team members included Ryan Krominga, Carol Knicker and Dr. Walter Enloe.

Getting to this point depended on MDE officials approving Northfield Public Schools as authorizers for local charter schools, Prairie Creek and Northfield School of Arts and Technology, also known as ARTech.

In December, the Minnesota Department of Education after an earlier rejection by the state. At the same time, changes in state law put more oversight responsibility on the authorizer.

In response to board member Julie Pritchard’s question about what that increased responsibility would mean, Northfield Superintendent Chris Richardson said it would involve more on-site visits, more scrutiny of the school’s budget and governance, as well as closer work with its board.

The evaluation team said the school had room to improve in a few areas. A recent enlargement of staff, enrollment and facilities has posed some challenges.

The team also recommended the school provide for economic uncertainties, so the school plans to build a fund balance.

“There certainly is reason to celebrate,” Caroline Jones, Prairie Creek’s director, said later. She said the school began preparing for the study last spring with a meeting with Richardson. Steering committee meetings began last November.

 “We take this very seriously. This is a very big deal,” said Jones, a 24-year staff member of the school and veteran of several such contract renewals.

Jones will step down from her position on June 30. She said it’s an emotional time for her, like sending a child off to college for the first time.