| Janet Joyce Thursday, March 14, 2013 |
The great thing about education is that there is not a one size fits all type of program. There is plenty of innovation, creativity, and room to provide outstanding opportunities for education to children. This is found in many of the charter schools that are dotting the landscape. Here on Long Island, there is certainly no shortage of these schools, and one in particular is moving forward with new plans.
A new all-male charter high school that would bring an innovative new approach to learning in Riverhead -- and be the first of its kind on Long Island -- is one step closer to becoming reality.
According to Thaddeus Hill, executive director of the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch, a letter of intent for a new charter school that was submitted in January to the State University of New York, a sanctioning body, was approved in February.
"We are moving forward," Hill said.
The SMART Academy Charter School -- the acronym stands for Science, Math Art, Real World Experience, and Technology -- could become a reality as soon as the fall of 2014, if a final application is approved this fall.
With many school districts on Long Island reporting a decline in their enrollment it is ironic to see new charter schools getting started without a worry about student decline or even how many they get into their doors. According to the letter of intent, the mission of the new school is to present a smaller and more "personal" learning experience than what their home district can provide.
The school, Hill said, would operate on a threefold principle, focusing on classroom learning, technology -- with students preparing assignments online -- and "real world experience," with students venturing out onto the canvas of the Riverhead community to cultivate hands-on expertise.
"As opposed to talking about town government, they might go to Town Hall," Hill said. Or, he added, students could visit actual courtrooms or the Long Island Aquarium or Cornell to broaden the horizons of their learning experience. The off-site ventures, he said, would take place more often than traditional field trips.
Timothy Hill Children's Ranch, located on Middle Road, has been open since 1980, housing teenage boys who come from troubled families.
janetj@longislandyellowpages.com Appears In: Education
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