Why are so many parents removing students from Alpine School Districtfi

With six existing charter schools, two of which are expanding, four more opening this fall, and two more proposed, Alpine School District has lost far more students to charter schools than any other school district in Utah, according to state officials.

With about 10 percent of students living in district boundaries -- 4,539 students -- now enrolled in charter schools, some parents believe the trend is proof the district is failing and parents are fed up.

The only thing stopping parents from removing more children is the lack of enough charter schools, said Lynette Hamner of American Fork.

"I seriously think public school will be a thing of the past," she said. "You will see that happen. Parents will make that happen because all of us want the best for our children."

Hamner pulled her youngest son, 12-year-old David, from Shelley Elementary after what she described as years of problems, and enrolled him in Odyssey Charter School, where he has excelled. There are no charter school options for her 14-year-old son, Jason, or 16-year old daughter, Samantha.

"The dumbing-down of our children is what I feel Alpine School District is doing," Hamner said. "If I would have had the money, I would have pulled every one of my kids out of Alpine School District. ... In a charter school, you don't pay the price of a private school but you get the same quality education. That is why you are seeing so many pop up and so many people jump in on it."

Don Baker of Highland, who has three children in charter schools, said Alpine School District must change.

"Many people are fed up that Alpine School District is not responding to their needs," he said. "They are now willing to take matters into their own hands to ensure those choices are offered to their children."

So far, the explosion of charter schools has only served to offset growth and Alpine School District has not had to lay off any teachers, said Rob Smith, business administrator for Alpine School District.

The district has not calculated at what point the growth of charter schools might force the district to lay off teachers or close down schools, he said. And the district is in no danger of disappearing any time soon; 45,824 students were enrolled in the district when the first charter school was built in 1999, and 54,773 students are enrolled this year.

With four new charter schools opening in the district this fall, the district would like to plan for that impact and has asked all four new charter schools to provide a list of their students, but only one has complied so far, he said.

"It's difficult to predict which schools will lose enrollment," he said. "We won't know until school starts in the fall."

When asked if a loss of nearly 5,000 students can be considered a vote of no confidence, Smith said he "would not characterize it that way."

"We've compiled several data points and information and we are studying the issues," he said. "I imagine at some point in the future some information will come out with concerns about charter schools."

Baker said he believes Alpine School District must be broken up if it is to survive. Orem and Lehi should form their own district including Pleasant Grove and Lindon, while Draper, Highland, Alpine, and Cedar Hills should form a second district, he said.

"Local control and local representation will be restored," he said. "I hope to see Alpine School District enthusiastically charter their own charter schools. Existing schools can be converted or new schools can be built ... If Alpine School District remains anti-charter school in its attitude, regardless of its stated policy of neutrality, and continues down the path of large class sizes and failed math curriculums, I believe you will see more state-sponsored charter schools."

When asked why so many parents are leaving the district for charter schools, Rob Smith, business administrator for Alpine School District, said, "Those reasons are best given by parents."

Charter schools are "a statewide phenomenon," said John Broberg, state director of charter schools. "There is a tremendous movement to charter schools. Charter schools have experienced a great deal of success and consequently the other people want their students to go there. Most fill up in the first year and have to have lotteries."

Overcrowded schools, unwieldy school districts and poorly designed curriculum are turning parents across the state to charter schools -- but in Alpine School District, parents have another complaint, he said, investigative math.

"A couple of years ago, we became frustrated watching our children lose confidence in their math abilities," Baker said. "We couldn't understand their math homework and wondered why there was no textbook to help them."

Baker and his wife took their concerns to the school and the district.

"We were told that if we didn't understand the curriculum, then we must take more time to inform ourselves about it," he said. "It was as though the blame for our childrens' failures were being laid at our feet. We went to our principal ... He told us that if we thought a homework assignment was silly, then we didn't have to make our child do it ... I use algebra every day in my profession. I couldn't let my children suffer with this substandard education."

With his children now in a charter school, "our children know what they are expected to learn," he said. "...Their confidence has come back. While they were lost and confused and still given A's in Alpine School District, their competence is now constantly being assessed and the teaching rate adjusted as their abilities grow. They are being taught the actual language of math, not being helped to 'discover' it. They don't have A's in math anymore, but at least we know how they are progressing."

Marilynn Smith of Alpine said she was hired by parents to tutor children who were failing at investigative math. Those same students have since switched to charters schools and are excelling.

"What these kids are learning is incredible," she said.

Her own granddaughter, who lives with her, is now struggling with investigative math and Smith plans to enroll her in a charter school this fall.

"She is in fourth grade but doing second-grade math because she did not learn the math as much as we worked on it," she said. "Investigations math is not good math."

While some parents have expressed concern about investigations math, "we've had many parents that have spoken at board meetings or focus groups that are very happy," Rob Smith said.

But parents who are not happy have found a new voice in charter schools, Marilynn Smith said.

"They have a board of directors and those people are responsible to the patrons," she said. "The principal is not gone all day in meetings. The uniforms make a difference, and people are happy to be there. They are driving to the school because they want a better education."

Charter schools were invented to provide competition in the public school system, said Broberg.

"Charter schools originally came out of the University of Michigan," he said. "The idea was if there was another system, if there was competition, then the schools in and of themselves would change and become better just to compete for students.

"Students who go to charter schools are looked upon as customers, not assignments, because these schools don't exist without students choosing to go there. Every one of those schools was formed by a group of people who wanted something different for their children."

Alpine School District is "continually seeking ways to improve, and we will do that in the future," said Rob Smith.

In charter schools, homework is kept to a minimum, Baker said.

"This allows families to spend time together as families," he said. "Charter schools see families as a number one priority. They are family-directed and family-oriented."

In addition, instead of "huge classes of 40-plus students per teacher ... our children are grouped into learning level groups of 10-12 children per teacher," he said.

Moral values are emphasized, and parents know the school intimately because volunteering is encouraged. Though volunteering, parents also form a camaraderie that creates community.

But perhaps most importantly, parents have been given control and choice, he said.

"Being a founding parent for Mountainville Academy, it has been very gratifying to see committees of parents formed and work carried out with the input of people who live in our local communities," he said. "We are parents with similar ideals and have children with similar needs. This type of input and control is not possible in a school district that encompasses nine different communities and has some school board representatives representing five different communities."

Caleb Warnock can be reached at 443-3263 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.

Existing, coming and proposed charter schools in Utah County (schools within the boundaries of Alpine School District in bold):

Schools built since 1999:

American Leadership Academy, Spanish Fork, 1,168 students enrolled, K-12

Freedom Academy, Provo, 413 enrolled, K-7

John Hancock School, Pleasant Grove, 180 enrolled, K-8

Lincoln Academy, American Fork, 480 enrolled, K-8, expanding this fall to K-9, new enrollment 540

Odyssey Charter School, American Fork, 383 enrolled, K-6

Ranches Academy, Eagle Mountain, 350 enrolled, K-6

Reagan Academy, Springville, 557 enrolled, K-8

Timpanogos Academy, Lindon, 491 enrolled, K-8

Utah County Academy of Sciences, Orem, 180 enrolled, 10-11, expanding this fall to 10-12, new enrollment 300.

Walden School of Liberal Arts, Provo, 96 enrolled, 6-8

Schools that will open this fall:

C.S. Lewis Academy, Payson, 350 enrolled, K-6

Lakeview Academy, Saratoga Springs, 675 enrolled, K-8

Liberty Academy, Elk Ridge, 450 enrolled, K-8

Mountainville Academy, Alpine, 675 enrolled, K-8

Noah Webster Academy, Orem, 525 enrolled, K-6

Renaissance Academy, Lehi, 600 enrolled, K-8

Proposed schools which have submitted applications to the state:

Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy, location to be within Alpine School District

Robert Henri Academy of Arts, location to be within Alpine School District

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.