Opinions Differ On School’S Success

As the school year comes to an end, staff members and students at the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy have mixed feelings about the success of the school’s first year.

“It has been moderately successful,” said Academy Principal Bill Proser, explaining that the majority of students currently at the Academy plan on attending next year.

“We don’t know for sure yet, but we’ve gotten about 80 percent of the surveys back, and from those, just about everyone is coming back next year.”

One student who is not returning is eighth-grader Brandon Jewell. He applied to Gonzaga Prep in Spokane. “I’ve come from New York, and they had better academics than here,” Jewell said. “And here, some of the teachers do not like me.”

Tenth-grader Bethany Darrow disagreed. She said she plans to attend the academy until she graduates.

“This has been the best school academically I’ve been to,” she said. “Everyone who goes here will definitely be ready for college. We’ve done really well for our first year.”

History teacher Dave Kaplan said he thinks the academy has had a positive effect on students. “I saw that our mission was to have every student enjoy getting a good education, and learning to have a work ethic. I have seen a great improvement in the students, and that is a success in itself.”

Proser, however, is not convinced the students have acquired a work ethic. “I don’t think we’ve been able to sell the concept of hard work yet,” he said.

Kaplan said he also saw some drawbacks to the school. “I am not as free to teach the way I want,” he said. “I have to respond to parents a lot more. I’m not used to being told, `This is the way it’s going to be.”’ Seventh-grader Katie McCamment said she’s leaving the academy for a different reason. “The academics here have been excellent,” she said. “But I would like to have experience in a regular middle school.”

Eighth-grader Bailey Pellak, who has maintained a 4.0 grade-point average, agreed. “The education is important, but it is also important to have a social experience. This is too small of a school.”

Pellak said she hasn’t decided between Lake City and the academy. “It is a challenge here, and that’s a good thing,” she said. “I’d only leave because of the social aspect.”

Ninth-grader Matt Shepherd said he probably would attend Lake City next year. “I don’t like the grading scale,” he said. “It is too hard.”

Shepherd said he was pleased with the teachers, but he is disappointed with how many students have left. “There have been too many drop-outs,” he said, “And that is the main reason why I don’t want to stay here.”

Seventh-grader Christine Mabile said she plans on staying at the academy until she graduates. “I have learned a lot,” she said. “This school has taught me to have a work ethic, and every individual student gets more attention from the teachers.” Mabile said the school did not turn out the way she thought it would. “I expected it to be harder.”

Eighth-grader James Gleixner also expected the school to be more difficult. He said he plans to be home-schooled next year. Gleixner had been home-schooled before, and he said that sometimes the classes at the academy are almost too easy.

Gleixner also added that the school was too time-consuming. “I used to read three hours a day,” he said. “Now I am hard-pressed to find even a half-hour every day for reading. After sitting in a classroom all day, I don’t feel like reading when I get home.”

Science teacher and Dean of Students Nels Pitotti said he feels the school year has been “phenomenal.”

“We have had a tremendous academic and social growth in the students,” he said. “We took students from numerous and varied backgrounds, both academically and socially, and we have fused them together to form a tight-knit community.” Pitotti has been teaching for 34 years, and he said that he feels academics are valued at the academy. “We have uninterrupted class time, and the students here have accountability.”

Government teacher Brian Childs said he views the first year of the academy as being very successful. “We went from having no building in August to a lot of happy kids and parents. For a first year, this school has been a real success,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of things as we go. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we are accomplishing our goals.”

Proser said the school didn’t turn out the way he had thought it would. He said he was surprised by the amount of resistance to the idea of rigorous academics. “And I never imagined there’d be problems within the staff.”

During the course of the year, the academy lost three popular teachers due to personal reasons.

Eighth-grader Travis Potter said he is leaving the academy in favor of Lake City. “I’m not completely convinced this school will be here next year,” he said.

Anela Jackson, also an eighth-grader, agreed with Potter. “I don’t think it’s going to last…We keep losing teachers.”

Proser said he thought there was too much focus on “the little things.” He said he was “surprised that athletics and uniforms had become such major issues. One of the main problems this year was the inability to focus on the big picture.”

Teachers and students agree that there is plenty of room for improvement. “I think everything will run more smoothly next year,” said Childs. “I’m hoping we have more activities, and more fun things for the kids.”

Proser said he hopes to get full-time art and music teachers.

Kaplan agreed that he thought there was need for improvement. “I’d like to see us get computers, and more classrooms. We need more after-school activities,” he said. “Also, I think we need to develop a staff where everyone can work together and get along.”

Proser said he is pleased with the qualifications of the candidates who have applied at the Academy to replace the teachers who left. He also added that the school plans on having at least 250 students attend next year.