U.S. official visits Kings Valley

By KYLE ODEGARD
Gazette-Times reporter

KINGS VALLEY — A representative of the U.S. Department of Education visited Kings Valley Charter School on Tuesday and called it a model for other charter schools.

"This is an excellent example of a school that has done it right" by giving parents education options and strengthening a community, said Donna Foxley, a regional representative for the U.S. Secretary of Education.

On Thursday, President George W. Bush proclaimed this week National Charter Schools Week 2005. Foxley visited four charter schools in Oregon.

At Kings Valley Charter School, she learned about a proposed building expansion, plans to add sixth through eighth grades next year, the small class sizes and large number of local volunteers.

The charter school movement continues to grow, and there are now about 3,400 of them serving nearly 1 million children in America.

Bush has proposed $260 million to aid charter schools, according to the proclamation.

Oregon has 5,600 students in 56 charter schools, most outside of major metropolitan areas, said Margaret Bates, education specialist for the Oregon Department of Education.

Bates also visited Kings Valley on Tuesday and met with board members and staff at the charter school, and Pete Tuana, Philomath School District superintendent.

Kings Valley and Eddyville's charter schools were created after districts shut down the schools there.

Charter schools sometimes have an adversarial relationship with their sponsoring district, but that isn't the case with Kings Valley and the Philomath School District.

"It isn't a political issue. It's about raising kids … and making sure they get the right education," Tuana said.

And Foxley praised the education at Kings Valley. "The academic success you've achieved is really impressive," she said.

Mark Hazelton, executive director of the charter school, attributed that to teaching to skill level, not grade level, as well as careful monitoring of individual students' progress.

Foxley said she wanted to create a national conduit for charter schools, so people who wanted one wouldn't have to start from scratch, and could see the best practices for doing that. She thinks many rural areas would like to create a charter school, but don't know how to tackle the issue.

Hazelton was presented with a signed proclamation from the president.