To see how far the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy has come, you have to go back to the beginning.

On the first day of school five years ago, the 200 students in attendance found no lockers, lunch tables, computers or library. They met in an old nursery center that barely received clearance from inspectors to open on time. They encountered a dress code, discipline, high expectations and a lot of homework, but little in the way of extracurricular activities. Students and teachers came and went.

After a year of adjustments and attrition, some still weren’t sure the school was going to make it. In June 2000, as he prepared to switch schools, eighth-grader Travis Potter told The Spokesman-Review: “I’m not completely convinced this school will be here next year.”

Fortunately, the youngster was wrong about the school’s future.

Not only did the Charter Academy survive, but it prospered, becoming a model for the growing charter school movement in Idaho. This week, the Coeur d’Alene school, with around 330 students in grades 6 through 12, achieved a milestone when the Coeur d’Alene School District renewed its charter indefinitely. The new pact lifted limits on enrollment and allowed for any grade level.

Bill Proser, the school’s first principal, successor Nels Pitotti and other visionaries who broke the mold by founding a public school based on academics and parent involvement should take a bow. Their bold experiment has withstood skepticism on the part of the Coeur d’Alene School Board, a lengthy shakedown period, and a rear-guard action by state Superintendent of Schools Marilyn Howard and some legislators.

The school hasn’t just survived, however. It has met the standard of academic excellence envisioned by its founders. Last year, the graduating class achieved an average score of 1,240 out of 1,600 on the SAT. Proudly, Principal Pitotti told this newspaper that academy graduates were offered a total of $2.25 million in scholarships. Twenty-nine of the 31 graduates are bound for good colleges, including Gonzaga, Whitworth, University of Montana, Santa Clara University and New York University.

Importantly, the Charter Academy has accomplished this level of achievement while accepting all types of students, not just those with proven academic records. In the process, it has allayed fears that a public school with its own autonomous board of directors and rules would harm other schools in the district by siphoning off tax dollars, students and teachers. The Coeur d’Alene School District has prospered and grown along with the Charter Academy. The academy, meanwhile, deserves credit for attracting students from home and private schools back into the public school system. About a fourth of its original enrollment came from those two areas.

The Charter Academy isn’t for everyone. Students who seek a full range of extracurricular activities and offerings should look elsewhere. But the academy has found its niche in the rich spectrum of educational opportunities offered in Idaho.