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Editorial - August 2003 |
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Charter School showing progress |
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Published August 20, 2003 |
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The Lincoln Charter School has come a long way since it first opened in 1998 with approximately 200 students. It has now grown to nearly 500 students and this year added an 11th grade. Next year the school will add a senior class, for the first time, providing the full spread of grades kindergarten-12. Senior Principal Bill Elmore expects to see the first graduating class of approximately 20 students in 2005. The east Lincoln campus now has an eighth grade and will soon be feeding students to the new high school. So far, academic performance has been good. This venture out of the main stream public school system appears to be working here, after some growing pains. Even before it was approved as a school, it was opposed by local education leaders who feared it would have a crippling effect on the public schools by diverting financial resources away from the primary school system. The Charter School had a big turnover in leadership during the beginning years, and was constantly in search of new funds. Today, the fundraising effort remains constant, but the school is finding the resources to expand and recently added a high school wing and gymnasium. It certainly helped the school to receive a $100,000 contribution from a the Timken Co., which has demonstrated its corporate citizenship many times in Lincoln County. Elmore, who once worked in Lincoln’s public schools, said today local educators are generally supportive of the Charter School mission. School officials are not discouraged by their small size, nor the uphill struggle to find grants and contributions for growth. In fact, they say the small size is desirable for a quality learning environment. The school will likely start restricting growth, rather than permitting enrollment to get too large. Elmore said the fundraising challenge will always require a lot of work, but the biggest task ahead is to ensure the curriculum is on target to provide the best education possible for every student. The Charter School seems to be well on its way to meeting that noble mission.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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