9-R unveils Big Picture school option
by Chuck SlothowerHerald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated; Sunday, February 01, 2009
After months of intensive planning, Durango High School educators have unveiled their plans for a new alternative.
Before more than 100 parents and students Wednesday, teachers and administrators described a school that would rely on internships and projects instead of typical classes.
Durango Big Picture High School is slated to open in August with 60 to 68 ninth- and 10th-grade students. Educators plan to expand the Big Picture school to 11th grade in its second year and 12th grade in its third year.
The school faces a number of obstacles: uncertainty surrounding its physical location, Durango's checkered history with alternative schools and competition from Animas High School, a charter school that also is scheduled to open in August.
Durango School District 9-R plans to open the Big Picture school in the district's Arts and Sciences Building next to the 9-R Administration Building at 201 E. 12th St. That building formerly housed Excel Charter School and its successor, Durango Academy.
However, the building needs safety renovations before it can again host students. District 9-R has applied for a state grant to pay for the renovations and is waiting to learn whether the grant application was successful.
If 9-R cannot prepare the Arts and Sciences Building in time, the Big Picture school will open at Durango High and move to the Arts and Sciences Building when possible.
Durango Big Picture High School is the descendant of Excel Charter School, which became Durango Academy after low enrollment and poor finances forced it to close.
A stack of enrollment applications awaited parents at the meeting Wednesday. Parents and students have until March 6 to apply for Durango Big Picture High School. Interviews will be held with applicants during the second half of March, and enrollment will be announced April 1.
Durango Big Picture High School will not open if enrollment falls below 30 students.
Diane Lashinsky, principal of Durango High, said a "weighted lottery" would be held if demand for the new school exceeds slots available. Lashinsky said Durango Big Picture High School would aim for demographics about equivalent to those of Durango High, including an approximately 50-50 gender ratio.
Complicating matters, Animas High School plans to open in August. The charter school is funded directly by the Colorado Charter School Institute, not 9-R. Both schools' curriculums envision projects and internships, although there are differences.
Superintendent Keith Owen said at a school board meeting Thursday night that many parents are confused about the two alternative schools, and he emphasized that Animas High is not a 9-R program.
During a visit to The Durango Herald on Wednesday, Owen said 9-R has no responsibility to recruit students for Animas High, which he likened to a separate school district.
Gisele Pansze, chairwoman of the Animas High board, said in an interview Friday that parents need to be told about their options.
"They're all our kids," she said. "It's our community's children, and parents need the information to make an informed choice for their kids."
A scheduled visit by Animas High organizers to the Escalante Middle School Parent Organization was recently canceled.
District 9-R could find itself at a loss for funding if Animas High lures students away from Durango High or Durango Big Picture High. Colorado funds its schools based on student enrollment, and state per-pupil operating revenue will follow students wherever they go.
A tripling of Durango's high schools in August - from one to three - raises the question of how many ninth-graders there are to go around. Animas High seeks to enroll 100 ninth-graders, while Big Picture High wants 30 to 34. In October 2008, Durango High had 349 ninth-graders.
Charter schools often have uneasy relations with school districts. In Durango, charter school leaders often complained of neglect or hostility from 9-R during Mary Barter's tenure as superintendent from mid-1999 to mid-2008.
During the meeting Wednesday, Lashinsky said if she were a parent, she would attend all the meetings held by both schools before selecting the best option for her child.
Lashinsky acknowledged that alternative schools often face what she called a "dumping-ground syndrome" - the tendency of alternative schools to attract students who are not successful at a regular high school or who come academically unprepared.
Lashinsky said it would be her responsibility to keep that from happening at Durango Big Picture High School.
"That's my job, and I hope you hold me accountable for that," she told the students and parents who came close to filling Durango High's theater.
Parents at the meeting Wed-nesday asked a host of sharp questions about the internships, athletics, transportation and other matters.
One interested mother, Riki Cordell, said the school "sounds great."
"My daughter happens to be an honor student," she said, referring to Tyler, an eighth-grader at Escalante Middle School. "I'm excited to see if it'll work for her."
chuck@durangoherald.com
