District may add charter school.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

The proposed K-8 replacement for Jefferson Middle School and Magnet Arts Alternative Elementary could be Eugene's first district-initiated charter school when it opens in the fall of 2007.

District officials will decide by December whether to apply for a $25,000 federal charter school planning grant, which it would almost surely receive, assuming that the application meets the necessary criteria. The district would then be eligible for $325,000 more to help with planning and implementation.

Superintendent George Russell said the charter possibility is just one of several options available to the district as it designs what will in essence be an entirely new school. But it's one he believes is promising, and not just because of an infusion of federal start-up dollars.

"I think it could be advantageous in that it redefines the school as K-8, but also as a kind of different entity," he said. "It's not just a middle school. ... In many ways, it becomes more of a magnet kind of school with, hopefully, the attractiveness."

Russell announced last March that he would close both Jefferson and Magnet Arts after the 2006-07 school year and appoint a new principal, Jeff Johnson, to lead the transition. He pointed to a precipitous drop in enrollment in recent years that, without wholesale change, spelled doom for both schools.

In their place, Russell proposes a kindergarten-through-grade-8 blend - also a first for the Eugene district, although not for neighboring Bethel, which has built two K-8s in the past decade.

Soon after the announcement, Russell released a "concept paper" that describes in more detail the kind of school he envisions. Likely elements include a strong emphasis on integrating the arts and technology with a rigorous academic program; an all-day kindergarten and other extended learning opportunities; state-of-the-art technology, perhaps even laptop computers for all students; partnerships with high-tech firms and arts organizations to enrich the educational experience; and a nurturing culture that stresses close, supportive relationships between students and teachers.

Other possibilities to consider, Russell said, include a uniform dress code and a modified school calendar, perhaps even year-round school.

He said he has yet to receive much public or staff feedback on the proposal.

To assist with planning, Russell has enlisted Carl Hermanns, who was his administrative intern last winter and led reviews of the district's alternative elementary schools. Hermanns, who is finishing his doctoral degree through Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program, is a former symphony conductor who spent five years as the principal of an arts-focused, in-district charter school in San Diego.

Assuming the school board agrees to apply for charter-school funding, Hermanns will work with Johnson to put together a rudimentary proposal for the state Department of Education. But that plan will be subject to change.

"After that is when it really gets interesting," said Hermanns, who lives in Tempe, Ariz.

"We'll pull together a very inclusive group that includes parents and community members and staff, and that's when we'll really see what it will look like."

That stakeholder committee probably will be formed in January, he said.

The enrollment decline has been starkest at Jefferson, which in the 1990s was widely regarded as a strong, dynamic school that embraced multiculturalism and served a diverse student body. But during the past five years, an increasing number of neighborhood children - particularly those from middle- and upper-income families - have transferred elsewhere. In addition, the district has seen an overall decline in its middle school population, especially in the south Eugene and Churchill regions.

In 2002-03, Jefferson served 450 students but by last year enrollment had tumbled to 260. Enrollment at Magnet Arts, meanwhile, fell to 100 from 120 during that same period.

Russell has said Jefferson's enrollment may fall below 200 this year, although the official projection is 262.

Should the new school go the charter route, Russell would like to see neighborhood children given enrollment preference. But Joni Gilles, director of educational improvement and innovation for the Department of Education, said that would require a waiver to the charter school law.

"The (open) lottery is kind of sacred to charter schools," she said.

Charter schools, made legal by the 1999 Legislature, operate independently under district sponsorship, and often embrace alternative educational methods. They can be initiated either by independent groups, as was the case with Eugene's three existing charter schools, or by school districts.

Of Oregon's 65 charter schools, 26 were district-initiated, Gilles said. All those employ district staff who are part of the same bargaining units as teachers in regular schools, she said.

Russell said that would be the case with Eugene's, as well.

Paul Duchin, president of the Eugene Education Association, said the union helped craft a policy for in-district charter schools four years ago and is comfortable with the concept.

ON THE WEB

To read more about Superintendent George Russell's ideas for the new school, read his concept paper, under the heading "Jefferson set for change," at www.4j.lane.edu.