by Ann Herron

GUEST COLUMNIST

Let's all call the Utah State Board of Education officials and beg them to approve the proposed Excelsior Academy. It could be Tooele County's first charter school.

The proposed academy would educate students in kindergarten through eighth grade, without tuition costs for parents. The school would like to open in the fall of 2009 with up to 650 students.

So far, a group of concerned and very dedicated parents have worked hard to move the mountains of paperwork required to start a charter school. It takes a huge amount of work to plan a new school, literally from the ground up. In order to be considered for approval, these parents have had to consider everything from class curriculum to budgets to the number of drinking fountains.

Led by Ann Gubler, these parents finished the application and now are waiting for the State School Board meeting on May 9, to get final approval to go ahead with their plans.

What a fabulous opportunity this is for our children and community.

Charter schools give parents a chance to choose what educational path works best for their child. Most charter schools strongly encourage parental involvement, which also helps kids see that their parents take education seriously.

Publicly funded, charter schools are open to all students. Because they are small, charter schools can try new ideas.

This means if your child has been struggling in school, you could have more options. Currently, the only educational options have been fee-based Catholic school system, or home schooling.

Those can be good choices too. But paying for education can be hard with Utah's larger-than-average families. And sometimes home schooling isn't a good fit for the whole family.

Having a charter school in our community can also raise the bar for the public school district. Our public schools are good, but having other options can do nothing but improve services.

Why is it that as Americans we think competition is great, except in education? If you feel there is a better or different way to approach education, then maybe a charter school is for you.

But we are only going to get this great opportunity if Excelsior's application is approved. The board of education meets next Wednesday. Why not show off your education and make your opinion known? To e-mail the Utah State Board of Education members, visit www.schools.utah.gov/board/1members.htm.

Ann Herron is a journalist and former associate professor at Utah State University who lives in Tooele. She can be reached at annherron@comcast.net.