Nancy Toomey is on the founding board of Quest Academy.
It’s official. The Quest Academy Charter School application contained a few typographical errors. The list of goals and objectives could have been worded more strongly. But, according to the state department of education staff members who met with the Quest Academy founders on Monday, October 4, the application submitted for Quest Academy was one of the strongest applications submitted for new charter schools this year. If those typographical errors are corrected, they said, they saw no reason why the application would not be approved in January, 2011 .
Of the three reviewers needed to give their recommendation to the application, two independent reviewers hired by the state recommended granting the charter. The state department reviewer is the only one who did not give approval. When asked why, Donna Best said, “We knew the superintendent did not want this school and we received a lot of phone calls asking that this school not be allowed to move forward.” Ms. Best did not say how many phone calls and from whom they came or whether they exceeded the number of letters of support (over 125) from the community within Montclair submitted as part of the application. Ms. Best kept no record of the phone calls and could not tell the founders who these anonymous callers were.
Ms. Best also stated that founder Tracey Williams misunderstood her statements about changing the enrollment number in the application during the August review meeting. The enrollment number was the main reason cited for denying the charter this September. The enrollment was initially listed as 160 freshman and sophomore students and growing as these two classes moved up and new students admitted at the lower grade levels. Enrollment numbers drive the amount of taxpayer money allocated to the charter school from the Montclair public school budget.
The state encouraged the founders to begin recruitment of students soon, not wait until January, 2011 when their decision to grant or not grant the charter will be announced. The meeting ended on this optimistic note. The Quest Academy application for charter will be resubmitted to the state this month with the typographical errors corrected. Small revisions will be made to the list of goals and objectives.
Ms. Best, at Monday’s meeting, suggested that Tracey Williams delete the technological tools for classroom and learning enhancement listed in the application, elements that implement the strong focus on technology integration in the curriculum, specifically the plans for distance learning opportunities and a pilot classroom video capture program. Ms. Williams is debating the benefit of removing this strong element of differentiation from the application and will consult with the founding team before making a final decision on this issue. The Quest education plan emphasizes a focus on the arts and skilled use of technology in instruction.
The resubmission to the state is due Friday, October 15. The state will have until January to respond, giving the founders a challenging timeline for the planned September 2011 opening of the school. Talks have begun with a local building owner about leasing a space for the school.
A meeting to inform the public on the specifics of the plans for Quest Academy will be held on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 7 pm til 9 pm at the Public Safety/Fire Building, 1 Pine Street, Montclair. The founders welcome all interested citizens of Montclair to learn about the details of the Quest Academy’s education program, governance and fiscal accountability. They are seeking additional letters of support from the families of future Quest Academy students as well. Supporters are encouraged to visit the Quest Academy website at www.questacademynow.usfor a copy of a framed letter of support or to write their own. Letters can be emailed to Nancy Toomey at nb2me1@aol.com or Tracey Williams at tracey123williams@msn.com. Letters received before the October 15th submission deadline will be included to strengthen the application and are strongly encouraged, particularly by parents interested in enrolling their children in September, 2011.