Panel to hear charter school proposal today

Portland Press Herald, April 13, 2007

(excerpt) A proposal that would allow up to 20 charter school programs at existing schools in the next decade will go before the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee today.

Sponsored by Rep. Boyd Marley, D-Portland, the measure is one of five bills to be heard at 11 a.m. in Room 202 at the Cross State Office Building in Augusta that would create options for public school students. Other bills include proposals to expand alternative education programs.

While not as far-reaching as earlier unsuccessful charter school proposals in the Legislature, Marley's measure would create theme-based charter programs within existing schools in which students could choose to enroll. Marley, a public school special education teacher, said his idea grew out of his concern for students who aren't thriving in conventional programs.

His measure would establish charter programs based on a particular discipline, such as science, mathematics or the arts. He said the idea is to try to engage students by teaching them what most interests them.

Marley said his proposal would encourage programs based on experiential, or hands-on, learning, a method used at the Casco Bay High School in Portland.