Archive: Around Town

Ithaca, NY – As New York’s mandatory application deadline for all state Charter Schools was brought to a close, the upstart New Roots Charter School of Ithaca, NY has found itself way ahead the curve.  As of the school’s lottery deadline on Wednesday April l, New Roots received 82 enrollment forms, 53 from students within the Ithaca City School District (ICSD).  The school will also be welcoming numerous pupils from Lansing, Dryden, Groton, Candor, Trumansburg, Newfield and as far away as Binghamton, Horseheads, Corning, and Aurora.

New Roots Charter School, an innovative public high school committed to sustainability and social justice education, has an initial goal of achieving a full enrollment of 125 students by September.  All students enrolled as of April 1st have been formally accepted, while the remaining slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

New Roots enrollment can vary by up to 20% without changing its charter, so the school still has room for the additional 55 ICSD students needed for the district to receive transition aid from New York State in 2010.  Transition aid supports districts with at least 2% of their total student population enrolled in charter schools as they make adjustments to their budgets and their programs.  If this level is reached in New Roots’ first year of operation, the ICSD will receive over $1 million in additional state aid in 2010.

At current levels, the ICSD will contribute over $600,000 to New Roots for those 53 students, paying just over $12,100 per enrolled student.  This dollar figure is about 70% of the district’s per pupil allocation; the remaining 30% will be retained by the ICSD for facilities, transportation, special education and nursing services, and other expenses.  If 55 more students from the ICSD enroll at New Roots by the start of fall classes, the district will be eligible for transition aid that will bring the total impact on the 2009-2010 budget to less than $250,000.

The spike of interest and commitment from area parents and students for the New Roots vision can not solely be attributed to the universal appeal of charter schools, however.  By contrast, a charter high school opening in Albany last year had only 15 applicants as of the lottery deadline, although it was fully enrolled with 75 students by first day of classes.  Many proponents of the New Roots program cite its interdisciplinary academic curriculum that features hands-on, community-based learning to help students solve real-world problems as a primary influence in attracting students and their parents to its program.  Others note the strong body of research demonsrating that small high schools provide better support for all students in achieving higher levels of engagement and academic success.

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