Keystone School Board discusses dropped plan to expand building

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
With a light agenda at the Keystone Charter Academy school board meeting Oct. 9, the board members discussed the recent announcement that next year’s proposed expansion of its building and program has been cancelled.
Board members were answering questions on a prior-approval National Heritage Academies checklist for the 2015-16 school year. NIA runs Keystone Academy.
They asked NIA representative Chris Caulk why the proposed expansion of the Keystone program and the Keystone building by one classroom per grade had been abandoned.
Caulk said the numbers don’t call for it, referring to the waiting list for seats in the school. Currently, a total of 176 are on the waiting list and 774 are enrolled.
Often, families sign up at several charter schools to be sure their students get in somewhere and then choose the one closest to their home when the student is selected.
Caulk said officials thought about expanding Keystone, but then decided other schools were more in need of expansion.
“NHA is making the decisions,” Caulk said as the board peppered him with questions.
“It’s kind of disappointing that it isn’t at least K-5,” said Trustee Bill Johnson, noting that the waiting list for K-5 is from 12-41 per class, while the 6-8 grade waiting list is small.
Board President Vesta Losen said it would be good to have one extra classroom for grades K-5.
“Kids don’t care, but parents cry when their kids aren’t chosen,” Losen said, in describing experiences at the annual drawings for class seats.
It was noted that one of the reasons the waiting list is down is because there are so many NHA schools in the area.
Principal Keturah Godfrey said parents have told her that other public schools with high schools have told parents that if the students aren’t in that school by the eighth grade they will be ineligible for high school sports.
Godfrey said when Keystone students leave the school they do well. In sports some have started first string JV and then went from first string to varsity, when that’s allowed.
Losen said one student who studied music at Keystone went to Belleville High School and became first chair.
Godfrey said some students left because of the turnover in the middle school staff. She said, however, the change was great and brought in new vitality to the teaching crew.
Godfrey said she pulled her child out of Keystone and put her in school in Taylor, where she lives. If you want to get in the high school there, you had to jump ship early, she said.
Losen said sports are a major thing and Keystone students are getting a lot of sports. She said starting at fifth grade, Keystone boys and girls get cross country, soccer and basketball, plus cheers and volleyball for girls. This is all after school, although there are gym classes in school, she said.
In other business at the Oct. 9 meeting, the board:
• Approved the Cardiac Emergency Response Plan, as required by new state legislation. Godfrey said the paramedic on staff is the emergency response officer for the school. It was noted schools now have to have 10 fire drills a year;
• Approved the Best Practices Incentive Program for 2014-15;
• Learned that on the official Count Day on Oct. 2 there were 759 students, with 15 absent, for a 98.06% showing. Also, NHA now is serving 54,365 students – 97.2% of expected capacity – an increase of 3,411 over last year; and
• Was advised there is a new academic specialist and a new office administrator.