SCHENECTADY Proposed charter school to unveil its vision BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.
The organizers of a proposed charter school in Schenectady are holding two events to inform parents about their vision for the academic program. Eximius Academy Charter School will host a family day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the Yates Village Community Center, featuring free food, games, giveaways and music. On April 16, there will be a town hall meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hamilton Hill Arts Center. Pam Swanigan, spokesperson for the school, said the group plans to formally apply in June to the Charter Schools Institute with the hope of opening the school in September 2013. The goal is to get approval by the end of the year, so in January they can start hiring staff and developing the school, according to Swanigan. Eximius officials originally submitted their application in April 2011 and were looking to locate in the former Draper School building in Rotterdam — home of the defunct International Charter School of Schenectady. Eximius withdrew its application last May to allow more time to work on it. They lost the site to the Disabled American Veterans, which is planning to turn the building into apartments. Eximius has looked at other potential sites, including the 10,000-square-foot vacant Capital Region Maritime Center, but it wasn’t big enough for their needs. Swanigan said the school will be located in the Schenectady City School District. School offi cials are currently negotiating with a developer on a site. “We’ve been asked to not release the exact address until the negotiations are done,” she said. The proposal still calls for 175 students in grades K-5 in the fi rst year, according to Swanigan. Beginning in the second year, the goal is to add 75 additional kindergarten students every year to grow the school. The curriculum will be science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) because of the arrival of the GlobalFoundries chip manufacturing plant in Malta and potential for other spin-off business. “In order for our children to be really competitive in the job market, the students will have to be taught differently,” she said. There will be a hands-on curriculum with “capstone” projects at the end of each unit to allow students to use what they’ve learned on real world problems. “We’re not only interested in meeting the New York state standards. We want to go beyond that and do more to make sure our kids are competitive on an international stage,” she said. School officials looked at six different school models and are blending the best of all, according to Swanigan. Also, there will be strong professional development for teachers, Swanigan said. Organizers will be looking to recruit some teachers from St. Catherine’s University in Minnesota, which provides elementary school teachers certifi ed to teach the STEM curriculum. They have also been looking at the Martha and Josh Morriss Mathematics and Engineering Elementary School in Texas. “It’s a very innovative engineering curriculum. We’ll be modeling a lot of what we do off of what they’ve developed,” she said. The school will feature long days of 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, as well as an afterschool program from 4 to 5 p.m. In the summer, there will be help for struggling students and eventually enrichment. .......................>>>>.................>>>>.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01001&AppName=1
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Also, there will be strong professional development for teachers, Swanigan said. Organizers will be looking to recruit some teachers from St. Catherine’s University in Minnesota, which provides elementary school teachers certifi ed to teach the STEM curriculum.
There are plenty of qualified teachers in OUR area looking for work. Why do they have to hire from out of state?
Maybe they feel the teachers from this area have been corrupted by the unions.
LOL!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
I'm all for Schenectady having more educational choices, but I don't like the idea of recruiting from outside the area. There are plenty of good teachers in this area already who would live to teach outside the imposed limitations of the school districts c
Maybe they feel the teachers from this area have been corrupted by the unions.
Just an example my daughter works at a charter school in another city. She is NOT in a union, makes lower pay than public schools, She is an excellent teacher, went to SUNY and St. Rose. She attended many job fairs at Sch'dy high when Sch'dy was hiring teachers and her and many other very qualified local teachers did not get hired, they hired many from out of the district and out of the state.
Local college kids who work hard to get their teaching degrees and certified are going to other cities and states because for some reason Sch'dy does not hire many Sch'dy residents. I remember even when I was in school many years ago alot of my teachers traveled here from Ballston Spa, Saratoga, etc....
Be nice if the school district gave first choice to teachers from the city.
I hate to inject this tid bit....but there are also a lot of local teachers who DO NOT want to teach in the schenectady city school system. These teachers went to college locally and some did their 'student teaching' in the city school district. They hated it and looked elsewhere when they graduated. Sad but true.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Bravo! Bravo! The more educational choices the better. The wider the search for teachers the better too. This area is not the only one with surplus teachers. Why not the best for inner City kids who have been suffering the most at the failed government schools? If pathetic Taxin Tonko/Eric Elys are against it-you know it is a great proposal.
Some groups flock to Charter Schools hoping to find a better alternative to public schools... A word of caution...
MIAMI (CBS4) – July 5, 2011
In Miami-Dade, a greater percentage of charter schools failed than public schools. Every school that got an “F” in Broward County was a charter school. Statewide the failure rate of charter schools versus public schools is striking.
A CBS4 News analysis of Department of Education numbers shows fewer than one percent of public elementary and middle schools received an “F” in grades released last week. In contrast, nearly six percent of charter schools received an “F.” Charter schools got failing grades at a rate more than seven times that of public schools.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
bumble - you're not in support of these freaks are you? These are the same a$$clowns who created ICSS. It's another money grab by a bunch of people who wouldn't know how to run a school if a goddamn manual dropped out of the sky and hit them in the head. They do this to grab money out of the Schenectady district, line their pockets and then bail when the thing gets out of control. First question to ask these guys: What the hell did you do with the MILLIONS of dollars you grabbed for ICSS that just vanished one day...Poof...gone...You can go into a bank with a gun, rob $10,000 and you'll be on every evening news channel within a 200-mile radius. But you can create a charter school, rob millions, get away with it and then come back to the trough for more. In-F'in-credible.
Charter Schools are the perfect example of "taxation without representation" -- they pick the pockets of the property tax owners but we have no vote when it comes to choosing their school boards or approving/disapproving their budgets. Charter schools have a very spotty track record.
I hope that this attempt to establish another charter school falls flat on its face. Let's focus our limited financial resources on improving our PUBLIC SCHOOLS for which we have the opportunity to both elect the school boards and approve/disapprove the proposed budgets.
Let's go one step further -- consolidate the 700+ public school districts in the state to 62 county school districts .. and pass a constitutional amendment that abolishes the property tax as the source for public school funds and replace it 100% with a voucher system paid from the state income tax ---- with every public school in the state getting the same $ PER PUPIL.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
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Bravo! Bravo! The more educational choices the better. The wider the search for teachers the better too. This area is not the only one with surplus teachers. Why not the best for inner City kids who have been suffering the most at the failed government schools? If pathetic Taxin Tonko/Eric Elys are against it-you know it is a great proposal. 
