Most teachers, parents and students around town are relishing the beginning of summer and the fact that school won't start up again for two months. But excitement already is building among the families and staff committed to opening the new Muddy Creek Charter School on Sept. 3.

It's taken two years for the Inavale Community Partners group to get the charter school approved, the financing arranged and a three-year lease signed with the Corvallis School District to occupy the former Inavale Elementary School building. The group has enrolled 61 students and hired three teachers. The search is on for a lead administrator.

A May 10 open house drew about 150 people, and a second one is set for Saturday afternoon.

Kathleen Westly, a member of the Muddy Creek Charter School development team, said she knew the long wait was worth it when so many people showed up in May.

"It was so gratifying to see kids laughing in the halls and on the playground and to see life again at the school," Westly said. She was one of many parents living in the southwest rural corner of the Corvallis district who were disappointed when the Corvallis School District closed Inavale in June 2006 because of low enrollment.

Westly said the community lost more than a school; it lost an important community center, too.

Two of the newly hired teachers and a number of Muddy Creek Charter School team members will be on hand Saturday to offer tours and answer questions from families who might be interested in enrolling their children.

"We really want to emphasize that this is a tuition-free, public school," Westly said. "Sometimes there's a lot of confusion about that when it comes to charter schools."

The Muddy Creek school falls under the umbrella of the local school district and will receive some funds from the district according to the number of students enrolled. But because it's a charter school, additional money such as grants and donations from other organizations are used to support school operations. Much of the school's initial start-up costs are being funded by a three-year, $450,000 federal grant designed specifically for developing charter schools.

Muddy Creek has an enrollment cap of 85 students. The school will likely offer a first/second-grade class, a third-grade class and a combined fourth- and fifth-grade class, depending on the numbers at each grade level.

The kindergarten class has a waiting list already, but there are a few spots left in each of the other five grades, said Payton James-Amberg, another Muddy Creek Charter School team member.

A Grand Oaks resident, James-Amberg said she never attended a rural school herself, but she was always moved by the experiences of her grandparents and her husband's family who went to country schools. "A small school, small class sizes, plus the extra, individualized attention teachers will be giving to students - these things are appealing to me," she said.

"When the movement began to bring a rural school back (to Corvallis) after Inavale closed, it really resonated with me," James-Amberg said.

She and Westly both have children enrolled in the new school next fall. They believe the school's project-based curriculum will help children feel like they are a part of their community. Lesson plans will combine math, science, reading and writing with service projects in which students will visit neighboring farms, forests and the wildlife refuge to do research, collect data and conduct studies.

"Students will see that their projects matter to the community and gain confidence from that," James-Amberg said.

The Inavale site has been essentially vacant for two years, so several work parties will be held throughout the summer to prepare for its opening. Volunteers will be needed to clean, paint and install everything from shelving to kitchen appliances. Also, new computers will have to be set up and new desks, chairs and tables moved into classrooms.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Muddy Creek Charter School open house

WHEN: 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: 30252 Bellfountain Road (former Inavale School)

INFORMATION: 602-9508 or www.muddycreekcharterschool.org