CHARTER SCHOOLS: CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE VIEWS CHARTER SCHOOLS AS MODELS

Central Missouri State University has led the way in sponsoring charter schools in Kansas City. The university sponsors 10 of the 15 chartered schools that have opened this year.

The schools vary in their focus. CMSU's charter schools include a college preparatory school, an alternative school for dropouts and students with discipline problems, and elementary schools, including one that focuses on teaching French.

CMSU's Jim Bowman said the university wants to help provide a better education for Kansas City schoolchildren."Charter schools offer a good alternative for reforming urban education," said Bowman, dean ofCMSU's College of Education and Human Services. It offers Central an opportunity to improve teacher education, which also should improve education in the classroom, he said."We use these as model school sites," said Bowman. Central has placed its student teachers in the charter schools and worked to establish various academic programs.

Bowman said Central continually assesses the programs in each school it sponsors. "We also do faculty development for charter schools."Each charter school operates independently with its own board of directors. But the schools have to meet certain conditions before CMSU will serve as sponsor.

State law allows charter schools to employ non-certified teachers, provided they don't amount to more than 20 percent of any school's instructional staff. But CMSU requires its charter schools to commit to getting their teachers certified.

The schools must provide space for professional-development activities and allow Central's education students to participate in teaching activities.

Bowman said the goal is to have Central's education students in the schools in their junior year. By the time they become student teachers in their senior year, they will serve almost like junior staff, he said. "We want all students to have an urban teaching experience."While the university doesn't fund the charter schools, there are costs to CMSU. University faculty have traveled to the charter schools to conduct safety checks, and for curriculum and planning work."We have a lot of commitment to do this," said Bowman. He said the university may seek state funding next year to cover some of the costs.