CLARKFIELD -- One of the state's newest charter schools opened its doors Tuesday. The Clarkfield Area Charter School began the school year by introducing its teachers like the starting line-up of a professional sports team as students and parents applauded.
The new school welcomed 63 students in grades K-6. The opening day enrollment matched the expectations of the school's founders, according to its director, Steve Koetter.
Despite the bustle and challenges that come with opening a new school, Koetter said the start of the school year was remarkably trouble free. "It was a very smooth start,'' he said.
The school is housed in a remodeled commercial building. "It's a little cozy,'' said Koetter, explaining that the building will need to be expanded to accommodate grades K-8, as is hoped for the future.
The school's opening presented Clarkfield, population 944, with a unique situation for a community of its size. The Yellow Medicine East School district is continuing to offer grades K-5 in multi-age classes at the H.A. Hagg Elementary School in Clarkfield.
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The school year at the public school got off to a great start as well, according to Principal Stacy Hinz. She said the school welcomed 38 students, which is the enrollment the district anticipated.
The YME district also operates the Bert Raney elementary school in Granite Falls. School board members made a commitment in August to keep the H.A. Hagg Elementary school in Clarkfield open, even though they anticipated a significant drop in enrollment with the opening of the charter school.
YME Superintendent Dwayne Strand said the district was pleased to see the enrollment level at 38, and added that the district was fortunate. Parents in the district were very good about letting the school know well in advance where they intended to enroll their children, he said.
The H.A. Hagg Elementary School would probably have enrolled 100 to 108 students had the charter school not opened, according to Strand.
Koetter said that 80 percent of the charter school's students are children from the Clarkfield area who would otherwise have attended H.A. Hagg. The school also welcomed students who were previously being homeschooled, and some who enrolled with addresses from the Granite Falls and Dawson-Boyd areas.
Despite the enrollment loss, the YME district was able to avoid placing any teachers on unrequested leaves. Faculty retirements and re-assignments within the district made it possible to avoid any job losses, according to the superintendent.
The new director of the Clarkfield Area Charter School was serving as an instructor with the YME district. Koetter, who has 19 years of classroom experience as a teacher, said he has been enjoying the challenges that come with launching the new school.
The charter school was authorized by the state based on a pledge to these key elements: Class size would be limited to 15; it would offer a strong curriculum; encourage community involvement; and emphasize a safe, respectful environment for children.
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Hinz said the opening of the charter school has made it difficult for some parents, and that she has been frustrated. She said some parents have been falsely led to believe that H.A. Hagg would be closed. Consequently, they needed to reserve a spot for their children in the charter school if they wanted to avoid sending them to Granite Falls.
Koetter said there are people in the community who are concerned that H.A. Hagg could be closed. They've seen it happen in so many other area districts where larger and smaller towns have combined schools, he explained.
There were 131 charter schools enrolling 23,478 students in Minnesota during the 2006-07 school year, according to the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools Web site.
