Charter school fits well in new home

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 19, 2000 | by Nancy Mitchell

A school focused on character development was in need of a home. A monastery, home to a former girls' school, had been empty of students too long.

The two will merge this summer and, come August, CIVA Charter High School will re-open at Benet Hill Monastery Center on North Chelton Road.

The boxes already have been moved from CIVA's former home at Mitchell High School, where it opened in 1997 as a school-within-a- school, into roomy classrooms once occupied by students of the now- defunct Benet Hill Academy.

On Friday, two CIVA students - Jherrie Madlock, 17, and Doreesa Serrano, 16 - sat cross-legged on the floor of the school's new office, preparing 2,500 invitations to an open house this week.

"I see us not only as a school, I see us as a family," said Doreesa, explaining her dedication on a summer vacation day.

CIVA - which stands for Character, Integrity, Vision and the Arts - is a school perhaps uniquely situated for its new home.

It is the first charter school in Colorado, and one of only a few in the nation, founded by teachers. There is no principal: A lead teacher fills that role. The scale is smaller - six teachers for 105 students in grades 9 through 12.

Developing character, vs. high test scores, is the focus.

Or, as lead teacher Linda Page describes it, "attitude over aptitude, effort over ability."

"Our concept is, if we work on character, academic achievement will follow," Page said. "We haven't proven it yet, but I still believe it."

Page proudly shows off CIVA's new classrooms and science lab, the monastery's dining hall and library that students will use. Behind the building sit the houses where the nuns live and their chapel. Farther back is Palmer Park, which students will use for science, gym and other lessons.

Downstairs, pictures of former graduates of Benet Hill Academy line a wall. Rows of smiling, girlish faces stop with the class of 1985, the school's last year. Here and there, religious symbols are evident - a large crucifix, a religious poster.

Because CIVA is a public school, its residence in a monastery will require some minor changes in the school areas. Religious symbols in classrooms must be moved or covered. But those in common areas, such as the large foyer, may stay.

"I see it only as a positive," Page said. "Our program's not going to change at all. We're not going to become a religious school."

Jherrie, who will be a senior at CIVA this fall, said she wasn't concerned about the new setting. Nor is Doreesa, who will be a junior, though she admitted it might be "a little weird" at first.

Page said the school decided to leave Mitchell because its space there, five classrooms and an office, was limited. But the move is costing about $250,000 and CIVA is scrambling to raise the money.

That's one reason the school will have an Open House this week. Page and Richard Van Scotter, president of CIVA's governing board, want to spread the word about the school and its new home.

Page would like to see enrollment grow to 150 by fall, with an eventual student cap of 225. She said many misunderstood the school's purpose when it first opened: Many students who applied had been kicked out of other schools and believed CIVA was a "last chance."

But that's not true, Page said. Though the public school cannot turn students away, potential students and their parents must apply for admission and submit to interviews.

That's largely to ensure they understand that character development and family involvement are a large part of the program. Parents are expected to attend monthly conferences and are asked to help out at the school.

Page said many students who apply now are bright and high- spirited, kids who perhaps didn't respond well to a large high school setting - "square pegs trying to fit into a round hole."

Some, like Jherrie, had poor experiences in other schools. She recalls an eighth-grade teacher who told her mom that she wasn't smart enough to make it through high school.

"And look at me now. I'm a high school senior," Jherrie said.

At CIVA, she said, she receives more individual attention. She talks excitedly about being asked by her English teacher to prepare class lessons next fall on the writings of poet Maya Angelou.

"You have a voice. It's not just the teacher's way or no way," Jherrie said.

Other students, like Doreesa, felt lost at a bigger school. If she had a bad morning, she said, she could slack off through the entire day. No one questioned her. "I can't do that here," Doreesa said.

A teacher at CIVA is likely to pull her into a "concern" meeting, asking what was wrong, she said.

Page said the school's new setting will fit in nicely with its focus on developing the whole student, not just academics. For example, she wants students to learn to care about their surroundings - so they will be responsible for light custodial work, such as sweeping and emptying trash cans.

She would like CIVA's three-year lease at Benet Hill to turn into something more. She hopes Benet Hill will become CIVA's permanent home.