| Oregonian Article |
|
Luciana Lopez, Oregonian Mitch school, district near a deal for temporary space this fall, rooms the charter school has been renting will be filled with students awaiting a new building Students at Mitch charter school would begin the school year in portables at Tigard High School this fall and return to the old Tualatin Elementary School later under a contract being worked out with the Tigard-Tualatin School District. In addition, plans to open a Sherwood branch of the 3-year-old charter school are on track, administrators say. The agreement would give the kindergarten through eighth grade Tigard-Tualatin branch a home while the school district uses the old elementary school in the fall, said Roy Burling, the district's chief financial officer. The district will use the Tualatin campus to teach students assigned to the new Alberta Rider Elementary School, which isn't expected to open until after the school year begins. Alberta Rider students will move to the new building when it's completed, Burling said. Mitch students would then be able to return to the old elementary school. The charter school used classrooms at the old Tualatin campus this year, after a new Tualatin Elementary School opened nearby. Debi Lorence, Mitch director, said the prospect of an agreement was a relief. "I'm really, really thankful," she said, crediting district officials and the school board with figuring out a compromise. "I seriously could not have ever asked for a better team of people to help me through this." The Tigard High location could bring a bonus: Because the Tigard Swim Center is near the portables, Mitch hopes to arrange for swimming lessons for its students, Lorence said. Mitch would pay about the same monthly rent, $4,345, next year at Tualatin, Burling said. The charter school probably would pay less for the portables, which have less space, he said. The high school used the portables this year, but extensive renovations at the school are scheduled to be completed by fall, so the classrooms will be available for Mitch students. The Sherwood Mitch branch is on schedule to open the day after Labor Day with kindergarten through second grade, said Paul See, interim director. The kindergarten and first grades are full, he said, but the second grade has several slots open. The charter school scrapped plans to open a kindergarten-only branch in Sherwood in 2004, opting to wait a year and begin with a larger enrollment. Mitch, which stands for Multisensory Instruction Teaching Children Hands-on, is governed by a nonprofit board. Charter schools contract with districts or the state to operate, using public money, as an alternative to existing schools. Luciana Lopez: 503-294-5976; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . www.oregonian.com |