Press Release

December 14, 1999

For Immediate Release

TWO MORE CHARTER SCHOOLS APPROVED

Two more charter schools are set to join the DPS landscape after the Board of Education approved their applications December 9.

Receiving unanimous votes of approval were Community Challenge School, a year-round school for at-risk students in west Denver, and Denver Arts and Technology Academy, a school with a focus on classical education and technology. Both approvals are subject to the applicants meeting certain deadlines and requirements.

Community Challenge School initially will serve up to 100 students in grades seven through nine. The school intends to operate on a four-quarter system with two-week intersessions and one month of planning and vacation time. The school will blend educational services with direct human service through a partnership with the Adolescent Counseling Exchange (ACE), which would be the fiscal and oversight agent of the school.

Students will be provided with a non-traditional academic, vocational and career-oriented educational program.

"I'm excited at the way this school brings some different attitudes to the way we provide education," said Board member Bennie Milliner.

Denver Arts and Technology School (DATA) intends initially to establish a K-5 school for 450 students, located at 200 East Ninth Ave.

The mission of DATA is to combine the rigors of a classical education with the latest in technology and the best teaching and learning practices.

The program will use the Paragon humanities curriculum, which is based on the history of ideas in world culture. The premise of the school is that emotional intelligence, character development and personal management skills should form an inherent and integral part of schooling, and that students must be empowered to take responsibility for their own learning and development.

"I think we'll be able to reach a population of students who otherwise might not benefit from this type of academic rigor and technology," said Board member James Mejía.

The deadline for consideration of one other proposal, Challenges, Choices and Images, was waived; the Board will take action by February 17. Questions of whether the applicant is considered a private school -- and thus barred from being granted a charter -- will be considered before the Board votes on the application.

Board members supported the school's concept, which focuses on instruction that emphasizes social and moral development based on African values. There is substantial parental and community support for the proposal. Carolyn Jones, a teacher and current administrator, founded the school in 1991 as an enrichment program. In 1997, the full-time program was started in Aurora.

There are currently four charter schools in Denver: P.S. 1, Wyatt-Edison, Pioneer and Odyssey.