Homework is different for students at Santa Clarita V alley International Charter School. Instead of filling out workbooks and memorizing historical dates, these kids start their own businesses and set up their own R enaissance fairs. The projectbased learning philosoph y sets the school apart from its tr aditional public counterparts a draw for some parents who are looking for an inno vative, handson education for their children. Educators are split on the issue. Some say it's the future of education. Others argue the charter school appeals to only a niche population and fulfills the same basic needs as noncharter schools. Across the state, charter schools ha ve become a topic of contro versy as they tak e students and money from tr aditional public schools. A different approach Lessons at SCV International are inter active, encouraging students to think, r ather than memorize. Educators there call it project based learning. "It's that natur al curiosit y that you springboard off of," Principal Dawn Evenson said. Instead of outdated textbooks, SCV International students do their research on laptops they bring to class. Kids in language arts classes still read no vels, but the teachers ha ve them use the Internet for research. They learn how to figure out which W eb sites are legitimate sources and which can't be trusted. And, if the school receiv es the grants it's applying for , next year's ninthgraders will receive their own Kindles. Science lessons don't in volve answering questions out of must y old textbooks; kids create habitats for turtles and mice. F or business and math? They start up and manage their own businesses. 11/7/2016 2/4 But local superintendents are quick to point out the successes of tr aditional schools. "I would sa y that in this v alley, the elementary districts, as well as the high school district, ha ve been doing a v ery good job of preparing kids," Sulphur Springs School District Superintendent R obert Nolet said. "The concept of disco very learning is not a new one. It's also something that has been somewhat under question when it comes under the rigors of testing and test results." Newhall School District Superintendent Marc Winger said charter schools ha ve focused specialities, which allows them to serv e niches. Winger doesn't worry about charter schools taking Newhall School District's enrollment because the district continues to offer a strong progr am for students. ‘Here to stay' Heather Riddle of Newhall said she w anted something different for her kids. "I really liked the way they weren't just sitting at their desks doing paperwork all the time," Riddle said. In its second y ear, SCV International's enrollment is at 415 students, Kindergarten through eighth grade. The student body is a mix of former homeschooled kids and students from local districts. The public school, chartered through the William S . Hart Union High School District, plans to add ninthgr ade next year. Last year, 809 charter schools serv ed about 345,000 students across California, according to the the state's Charter Schools Association . During the 200910 school year, California's charter schools sa w 56,000 new students the largest single year enrollment increase in history , according to the association. "They've become unquestionably a permanent fixture in the public school landscape," said Priscilla W ohlstetter, University of Southern California professor and director of the Center on Educational Go vernance. "It's no longer the question of whether charter schools are here to sta y." More flexibility The state giv es charter schools more control o ver the money they get. Charter schools also can be more selectiv e in staffing and what they teach, Wohlstetter said. At SCV International, that freedom allows the schools to focus on education, r ather than state test scores. "We don't pla y the testing game," said Amber Golden R askin, executive director of business dev elopment and oper ations for SCV International. 11/7/2016 3/4 "We follow the state standards," she said. "W e just teach them in a different method." The school doesn't ha ve a student of the month progr am either. Focusing on project based learning, R askin and Evenson sa y, will la y a stronger foundation for students. They expect strong test scores will be an indirect result of that. So far, the school, which is in its second y ear, has had strong test results an Academic Performance Index (API) score of 844, well abo ve the state a verage. However, it's too early to know how much of an influence students' previous educational experiences at tr aditional schools ma y have had. "We need to know they are creativ e and innovative and have people skills that will carry them into the future," Ev enson said. There have been criticisms that charter schools don't serv e the same amount of Englishlanguage learners and specialneeds kids as tr aditional schools. Evenson said that comes back to the lottery system they use to admit students. They also do outreach for K orean and Spanishspeaking families. "It's all b y lottery," Evenson said. "Whoev er we draw is who we tak e." More power to parents Charter schools giv e parents more power in shaping their child's education because the schools are meant to be smaller and focused on a mission. "As a parent, you can go from charter school to charter school and y ou get a different sense of each communit y and what they're offering," W ohlstetter said. At SCV International, parents are ask ed to do eight hours of v olunteering a month, whether it's doing y ard duty or serving lunch. "It puts responsibilit y on the parents to be part of their education," Riddle said. "It's kind of a community that's working all together ." It's that need that the Saugus Union School District hopes to address b y opening West Creek Elementary School in the fall with up to 500 K 6 students. The school will be known as the W est Creek Music Academ y, and will show that music, performing arts and dance can serv e as a univ ersal language that links America to other nations, Superintendent Judy Fish said. "It's not about getting our kids back from charter or priv ate schools," Fish said. "It's about being responsiv e to the needs of our children in the communit y." At the same time, the next step is showcasing what tr aditional schools are already doing to educate kids. "As a public school system," Fish said, "I don't know that public e
