Students, Teachers Ready For New Year

The Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy started its second year on Monday, and with the new school year comes a new principal, new teachers, new students, and new facilities.

Principal John Sarchio said he was enthusiastic to be at the Academy.

“My goal is to pull the students and staff together as a community, and work together,” he said at the open house on Aug. 23. “I want to make sure the students have an academic plan, and they know what they need to do.”

Sarchio previously worked in private schools, and was involved in an effort to create the Da Vinci Charter Academy in Sandpoint. That effort eventually fell through.

At the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy, the focus is clear: college preparatory academics. And some of the new students said the academic rigor was what drew them to the school.

Susan Kay enrolled her seventh-grade daughter at the Academy for the school’s second year.

“I wanted her to be academically challenged, and she wasn’t getting that at her old school,” she said. Kay added that the uniforms gave the school a “positive environment.”

Her daughter, Jessica, who attended Canfield last year, said, “The teachers want to teach here. They don’t just give you the assignment and walk off.”

Ben Mueller, who is a new seventh-grader at the Academy, said the size of the school was a factor in his decision to enroll. “Since it is a small school, students will get more focus from teachers,” he said.

Ashraf Zahran agreed with Mueller. Zahran, who is an eighth-grader, takes only math at the Academy, and is home-schooled for other subjects.

“I wanted to get ahead,” he said, “and the small class size will help.”

The current enrollment at the Academy is approximately 240 students, including the 90 new students who have enrolled. To accommodate adding an 11th grade, and later a 12th grade, the Academy added four portable classrooms.

The classrooms were purchased for $4 from the Coeur d’Alene School District, which chose to help the charter school, rather than auction the portables off to the highest bidder. New structures of comparable size would have cost more than $250,000.

However, the Academy will need $40,000 for heat, power and water connections, walkways and minor changes to meet building codes. Since charter schools do not receive funds for facilities and are not able to bond or levy, the school asked Academy families for donations.

According to business manager Glenn Mabile, the Academy has collected $9,000 in donations from families and private businesses. Families also have volunteered to work on the new facilities, he said. However, the portable classrooms will not be open until November, Sarchio said. In the meantime, teachers will take turns using existing classrooms.

Doug Weir is the school’s new algebra and geometry teacher. Weir previously was a financial analyst and maintenance mechanic from New York. “The Academy was looking for someone with a diverse background,” he said. Weir majored in engineering and has a minor in mathematics.

“My philosophy on teaching math,” he said, “is that math is a tool, and I hope to teach how to use that tool.”

The school also hired Jere Mossier to teach seventh- and eighth-grade science.

Sarchio said one of the things he had hoped to acquire at the Academy was an art class and a music class. The school recently hired Terry Jones to instruct beginner and intermediate band, and Sheila Wayman to teach choir. Heather Ketchum will be the new art teacher.

Ketchum said she is “excited to be here.” She previously substituted for Coeur d’Alene schools.

“The children here are well-behaved and into learning,” she said. Ketchum said her art class includes studying art from different cultures and learning art history, in addition to crafts and painting.

“I want to help students develop their full potential,” she said.

Dan Nicklay, the school’s new seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher, agreed with Ketchum.

“I want to work with these students because they have all decided to take on a challenge,” said Nicklay, who has taught English for 10 years and previously lived in Montana. “I came to this school because here, academics are the most important thing.”

Nicklay’s English classes will focus on reading classical novels, and writing essays, critical papers and explications, he said.

Tiernan Ketchum, who is Heather Ketchum’s son, started seventh grade at the charter school.

“I came here because I want to be prepared for college,” he said. “And I like the challenge.”

Although the staff will include six new faces, nine teachers will return for their second year, including academic dean and English teacher Bill Proser, who acted as principal during the Academy’s inaugural year, and science teacher Nels Pitotti, dean of students.

Sarchio said he is glad to have the opportunity to work with the Academy.

“We have a great faculty,” he said, “and we will build on the success from last year.”