Proposed elementary charter school gets OK

A proposed Montessori-based elementary charter school in the Brainerd/Baxter area has received provisional state approval to open next fall.

Courtney Neifert, a Baxter mother who is the lead developer for the proposed Discovery Woods Montessori School, said she received an e-mailed letter Monday from the state Department of Education that authorized school organizers to move ahead with their plans to open the school for the 2010-11 school year.

Neifert said their next steps are to sign a contract with their sponsor, the Audubon Center of the North Woods of Sandstone, go through a two-day training seminar and find a facility to lease in the Brainerd/Baxter area. She said they are looking at facilities right now, including one on Tuesday afternoon she planned to check out.

Neifert said their school board will start advertising for students to attend the kindergarten through fifth-grade charter school later this fall and plan to hire a director by January. She said the school board would like to have a director on board before they start the hiring process for teachers and staff.

"It's good news, it's exciting, but also we have a lot of work ahead," said Neifert. "There's quite a bit to do now."

Neifert said the school would start next fall with 76 students in kindergarten through fifth grades, growing to add sixth grade the following year. In future years it may grow to around 200 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Kindergarten class sizes would be capped at 24 students while other classes would be capped at 26 students.

Neifert said the state only approved three charter schools last year and six the year before that so she and other Discovery Woods supporters had been anxiously awaiting word from the state for the past three months that they'd been approved.

A call made by the Dispatch to the Department of Education to find out how many charter schools were approved this year, along with Discovery Woods, was not returned Tuesday.

Neifert said the charter school is still looking for school board members as the development team evolves into the school board.

The Montessori method, founded by Maria Montessori in 1907, is an alternative child-centered educational method that stresses the importance of children teaching themselves in a prepared environment where they freely choose from a number of developmentally appropriate activities.

Neifert said she's gotten a lot of positive feedback from community members about the concept of a tuition-free Montessori-based elementary charter school.

"More people are interested in a Montessori charter school than I anticipated," said Neifert. "I think people are looking forward to having another option in Brainerd."

For more information about the school, visit the Web site, www.discoverywoods.com.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.