Just 20 minutes northeast of Falcon on Highway 24 is the small town of Calhan, home to Frontier Charter Academy, a K-8 charter school operating for the past four years under the auspices of the Calhan School District. Frontier has a staff of 10 licensed teachers including one special education teacher, one office manager and the director, Bruce Delaney. Delaney, who taught at Frontier from its inception, is now in his first year as the school’s director.Frontier, which is licensed for 200 students, has about 80 currently, so the classes are small, averaging 12 students per class, with the younger classes having the majority of the students. The middle school grades average about seven students per class. Delaney said the smaller class size gives students a greater incentive to learn and allows students to develop a relationship with the teacher. “It is easily found if a student is lacking a particular skill,” he said. “It’s harder to fall through the cracks.”School is held Tuesday through Friday, with full-day free kindergarten classes. Students wear casual uniform tops – t-shirts, polos or sweatshirts embedded with the school logo. They all come in more than a dozen colors and can be worn with jeans, skirts or modest shorts if the weather is warm.Frontier Charter Academy enjoys the benefits of being connected with the Calhan School District. Frontier students who live in the district can ride the buses and participate in organized sports, and hot lunches are provided to the Frontier school from the Calhan schools.Academically, Frontier uses the Core Knowledge curriculum and holds high standards for students in attendance. The school’s CSAP scores have shown a steady rise in general since the school’s beginning, but small-group test scores can vary. Delaney said, “In a class of three, one kid having an off day can lower the average tremendously.” For this reason and also for reasons of confidentiality, CSAP scores are not published for classes of fewer than 15 students. Frontier was recently the recipient of a $125,000 charter school start-up grant, which went toward new computers, equipment for the science lab and books for the library.Delaney admits Frontier is not a school for everyone. Charter schools in general require more commitment from parents. Delaney said, “The backbone of our school is the parent involvement. I can’t praise our parents enough.” Parent volunteers work in the library, the lunchroom, the classrooms and some organize the uniforms and manage special functions. Frontier has a Parent Teachers’ Organization that is active in fundraising, hospitality and support of the paid staff.Teresita McIntosh, a parent who volunteers about eight hours a week in the library, believes Frontier is a great school for parents who want to get involved. She and her husband put two of their children in Frontier for the individual attention they get. McIntosh said, “The teachers make sure every student “gets it” before they move on.” She said the teachers are great, and very committed. Delaney said, “The staff has gone above and beyond to meet the academic needs of the kids – to help them catch up in any areas where they’re lacking.”Frontier has a few students who live in D49. They carpool from Falcon or drive to Peyton and catch a Calhan school bus. Delaney is working with Frontier’s school board to get a bus that could pick up kids in Falcon and Peyton and bring them to Calhan. Brittany Asbjornsen and Tawny O’Neill, two middle school students from the D49 area, transferred to Frontier because of overcrowding. They both enjoy the shorter school week and the individual attention they get from the teachers. “You can do your homework on Monday and not have to do it on the weekend,” Tawny said. “I love this school.”Frontier Charter Academy accepts students from any district and maintains open enrollment all year long. They also are currently accepting letters of intent for school year 2005-2006.Visitors are welcome. For more information, contact school officials at 347-3156 or visit the Web site at www.frontiercharteracademy.com.Editors note: The NFH will be doing a series over the next couple months on alternative schooling. We’d like to know if you are home schooling. Please send us an e-mail if you are and let us know how it’s going – mlmon@att.net).
