Rural Ore. schools convert to charter schools

Some rural Oregon schools are turning to an unlikely solution for added funding: becoming charter schools. When superintendent Mike Hughes arrived at the Elkton School District in western Oregon in 2008, enrollment was down and the state funding crisis had the district on the brink of collapse, Kimberly Melton of The Oregonian reports. Hughes told community members the 130-student K-12 school would likely need to close within two or three years, but "nearly three years later, Elkton has new computers, new curriculum and materials and nearly 80 new students," Melton writes. (Photo by Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian, students in the cafeteria of Elkton High School)

Elkton reversed its fortunes by utilizing an exception in Oregon's charter school law. The law prevents districts from turning all their schools into charters but waives that restriction if the district has only one K-12 school. Elkton is "one of a growing number of rural and remote school districts in Oregon that are using the charter school law to survive," Melton reports. Charter school designations bring access to an additional $500,000 in federal grants and fewer state requirements. Three single-school districts have notified the state Department of Education that they plan to apply for 2011 federal charter school grants.

Hughes' charter school proposal was met with initial skepticism by some Elkton community members, who "feared he'd make kids wear uniforms, get rid of licensed teachers or change the school into a religious academy," Melton writes. After sending community members to visit another charter school nearby, Hughes won their approval. Elkton is now a natural resources-focused academy, playing on its walking distance to the Umpqua River. Enrollment reached 200 last year, up from 130 in the 2008-09 school year. Hughes says innovation is the key to surviving as a charter school. "Being a charter, I don't really have district boundaries anymore," he said. "Kids can leave as fast as they come. Going this way, we have to stay on top of our game. It's an amazing process, a total team concept. If you don't do something unique, you won't survive." (Read more)