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September 19, 2008

Leon County's newest charter school attracts crowd at grand opening

By TAMARYN WATERS
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Source: Tallahassee Democrat

The grand-opening ceremony for North Florida's only green-built school attracted more than 200 parents, community leaders and others Thursday as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the mulch-filled playground of Imagine Schools.

The $9-million facility, located in the Evening Rose development off Mahan Drive, was built in an ambitious four months. It's home to Tallahassee's introduction to a national charter-school company with more than 18 schools in Florida. And the company's founders are eager to build four to six more Imagine Schools in Tallahassee within the next five years, even though that rapid growth will likely pull students away from Leon County Schools.

Carolyne Hatfield was among the parents attending. Her 7-year-old daughter, Haven, is a second-grader at the school.

Hatfield said she was drawn to the school's unique approach to teaching the students in clusters, which means the same teachers will be assigned to students for three years.

She feels her daughter, who went to W.T. Moore Elementary School for yer first-grade year, will flourish here.

"She really liked W.T. Moore, but she's really happy," Hatfield said. Imagine currently has about 320 students for its first year, and is open to kids in grades K-6. The goal is to have maximum enrollment of 728 students. Students, who represent diverse social and economic backgrounds, come from throughout the Leon County district.

While the school is making innovative steps toward teaching, it also made history by becoming the first LEED-certified school in North Florida.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification means it meets nationally recognized criteria for being a green building.

Tallahassee Mayor John Marks praised the developer K2 Urbancorp and others assisting the city in its goal of becoming the "greenest city in the state."

"This is not a dream anymore. It's a dream with a reality," Marks said.

Dennis and Eileen Bakke, who founded the Imagine Schools charter-school company in 2002, were among the speakers.

In addition to the 18 schools in Florida, there are more than 70 Imagine campuses throughout the country.

The primary goal of the company is for its schools to teach parents how to educate their children and to give students a more intimate learning environment.

Although Dennis Bakke said some school districts, even some in Florida, may oppose the company's fast-track growth plans, he said it's "friendly competition."

"The whole beauty of a charter school is that it creates competition," he said, adding that government-led schools will be forced to improve if parents decide to take their children to charter schools or elsewhere. "But it improves both groups ... Our goal is to make every school in the community better."

Imagine Schools is one of five charter schools in the county. Leon County Schools provides assessment, resources and guidance for the schools. But the district does not get money from the state based on enrollment in these schools, as it does for students enrolled in public schools.

Bev Owens, divisional director of special programs for Leon County Schools, said Imagine's ability to expand will be based on "parental and community interest."

"We don't see charter schools as a threat," Owens said. "We think our community values our schools."