MERRIMAC — The desire for school choice has led about one-third of students from the now-defunct Baraboo Hills Elementary Charter School to enroll in the Sauk Prairie School District this year, the former charter school director said.
Baraboo School District tallies show about 15 students have enrolled in the Sauk Prairie School District, a higher number than interim Baraboo Superintendent Crystal Ritzenthaler recently said she expected.
The Baraboo School Board allowed the charter school's contract to expire June 30, citing a lack of a permanent home for the school and financial support. The move left about 40 Baraboo Hills students in need of a new school. Former Baraboo Hills Director Kelly Dwyer-Wenzlow said many of the remaining students were absorbed into Baraboo schools this year.
Ritzenthaler said a lack of resources, administrative help, and counseling or office support were among the reasons the school was closed.
She and Dwyer-Wenzlow both said they have learned from the charter school experience, and Baraboo Hills Charter School Board members will convene once more to discuss what school choice in Baraboo could look like in the future.
The Baraboo School District provided counselors at the end of Baraboo Hills' year to help children. East Elementary was one school that received Baraboo Hills students and assisted in counseling services, Principal Glen Bildsten said.
"We just try to do whatever we can to help with transitions for all kinds of new students," he said. "That might mean having them visit school before school starts, or giving them a chance to come in and visit with principal. It can be different depending on the needs."
East Elementary School counselor Laurie Kowalke helped ease the transition. She said she called on her experience helping children at the district's Fairfield Center Elementary School, which was closed in 2005 because of budget concerns.
"Last year when I went to the charter school, we talked about change and transition," Kowalke said. "I tried to talk about the possibilities of change and how it can be difficult and exciting, or an opportunity to meet new friends."
Ritzenthaler, who was a member of the Baraboo Hills School Board, said one of the unique aspects of the school was constant attention and volunteer hours put in by parents. She said parental involvement can be continued in the district.
The Community Education initiative, led by Donna Baker, is a new initiative to get community members to volunteer their time and expertise.
Students are adjusting well to life at the Merrimac Community Charter School, lead teacher Sid Malek said.
Dwyer-Wenzlow said the families at Baraboo Hills were already a "very tight-knit group," and a new sense of community will likely be built.
"Any time you have families involved in a school of choice, whether that's a private school or a charter school, you are going to have a sense of community, because the families are choosing to attend based on values rather than primarily on location," she said.
The school held the year's first Parent and Family Night meeting Thursday. Malek said parents and children from the Baraboo Hills Elementary School were eating alongside the crowd in the gym, mingling with new families.
"Everyone is mixed around and blending is going quite well. They have new kids to play with," Malek said.
The Sauk Prairie District receives about $6,000 from the state for every child who enters the district through open enrollment. But the district's business manager, Judy Weinstock, said the district doesn't profit much because of the amount they spend on the newcomers. According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, a charter school is a public school exempt from many traditional state and local rules, thus allowing greater flexibility, but also requiring "accountability for reporting the achievement of academic standards described in charters."
Tim McCumber, chairman of the Governance Council at the school, said during the school's start, there were concerns that the school would be very different than a public school. Officials wanted to maintain their base in Merrimac, and they have, he said.
"I'm proud to say our school is the school of choice in Merrimac," McCumber said.
Malek said the school has a forest, a community garden, and is finding ways to take advantage of natural resources such as Devil's Lake, the Wisconsin River, Parfrey's Glen and community experts in a variety of fields.
Ritzenthaler said an environmental focus was a part of the Baraboo Charter School's goals, as well as foreign language immersion — an added factor that Malek said was not able to be matched in Merrimac.
Malek said the 82 students at Merrimac's elementary school are encouraged to give presentations on what they learned to students and parents.
