While the Mark Twain Academies charter school is getting closer to its target enrollment of 213 students, the school's leaders are concerned about having enough classrooms to house their students.

Rick Jimison, the Righetti High School teacher who started Mark Twain Academies, said he is looking to sit down with leaders of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District to negotiate for 10 portable classrooms for the school's first year.

The school is looking to open its doors to students in grades nine through 12 for the 2007-08 school year in portables on the south end of the Santa Maria High School campus.

“We're still working on that right now,” Jimison said of the negotiations. “It's still up in the air.”

The district originally offered four portables, but has recently increased that to eight based on Jimison's projected enrollment of 213 students.

Jimison applied for space in the district to house the academy under the guidelines of Proposition 39, which allows the charter school to receive space in “fair and equitable facilities” if 85 students or more in the district enroll in the school.

Jeff Hearn, district superintendent, said seven portables will be used for classrooms, with 30 students in each portable, and the eighth is to be used for administration or support purposes.

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Hearn said Friday the district has offered to sit down with Jimison and begin negotiations. He said he assumes they will meet some time this week.

Jimison said the school needs additional portables to house the school's testing center and work stations where each student has his own computer.

“We're hoping the district will make its decision in our favor,” he said.

He said other issues that need to be ironed out are how much the charter school needs to use Santa Maria High School's cafeteria, gym and library.

Meanwhile, advocates of the charter school are embarking on one of their most aggressive campaigns yet.

Jimison said the school has launched promotional TV commercials and has begun reaching out to the Latino community through Latino-based organizations. Supporters of the school have also been handing out brochures at community churches.

“It's a public school and we want all people from different groups in the community to find out about our school,” he said. “They think it's private and it costs money. But once they find out it's free and open to the public, they want to know more.”

The charter school will hold two more informational meetings on May 10 and 12, Jimison said.

Charter schools are public schools run by a group of teachers, parents and other community members or a community-based organization, but they still receive public funding along with oversight from a public school district. The goal is to offer alternative educational programs, usually at smaller campuses.

The new school has 80 available spots left. If the school is able top the number of 213 students, Jimison said, it will hold a lottery to determine which students will have a spot in the school.

Mark Twain Academies will specialize in small class sizes, project-based learning and customized learning plans that students can create, organizers said. Project-based learning allows students to do research in areas they're interested in.

At Mark Twain Academies, students will also have the option of participating in sports programs due to a recent California Interscholastic Federation ruling, Jimison said.

School leaders must choose between having their own sports teams or having their students participate on Santa Maria High School teams. Their decision will depend on what MTA students and their parents want, he said.

For more information about Mark Twain Academies or to reserve a spot at one of the informational meetings, visit the Web site at www.marktwain

academies.org or call 349-3670.

Orcutt also considering charter school

The high school to be called the Mark Twain Academies isn't the only local movement to create a charter school.

Officials at the Orcutt Union School District are looking at the possibility of starting a K-12 charter school. Unlike MTA, the charter school will be dependent upon the district where the board of trustees will also be the board of directors for the school, said Ken Parker, associate superintendent of instructional services.

“We are in the process in determining if it's a feasible thing to do,” Parker said of the proposed charter.

Parker said the district needs to consider whether the charter meets the needs of the community, whether it's affordable and whether the cash flow is substantial.

He said the board will most likely determine by June whether the charter school meets the needs of the community.

Another movement, to establish Central Coast Charter Academy, was rejected by Santa Maria-Bonita School District trustees in February 2006.

The board had concerns with the charter's application in the areas of finance.

Maggie White, public information officer at the district, said the district has not heard from CCCA leaders after the board's decision.

Kimberlina Rocha can be reached at 739-2216 or krocha@santamariatimes.com.

April 30, 2007