Pub. 4 2014-2015 Issue 1

5 EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Message Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going A decade ago, charter schools were in a very precarious position. Local school boards and the State Board of Education were the only charter authorizers, and they had repeatedly demonstrated their hesitancy to approve, if not outright oppose charter schools. Mi- raculously, the districts and State Board had approved several charter schools, but it was by no means clear whether more charter schools would emerge. Even though the State Board of Education felt the Riverside Tech- nology High School (what today is Da Vinci Academy) had submit- ted one of the best charter applications they had ever seen, the State Board denied it because it was too similar to a nearby “New Century High School.” The Ogden Preparatory Academy was hoping to prove to Utah skeptics that a well-designed, well-run charter school could succeed working with inner city students, many of whom came from families with very low incomes and for whom English was a second language. The Alpine School District’s “Investigations” math program was starting – but only starting – to frustrate parents, so even that pressure for more charter schools was just beginning. Almost by chance, an unlikely champion emerged. The late Davis County Rep. Marda Dillree had long been a supporter of traditional public education. She hadn’t opposed charter schools, but she had never supported them either. Nonetheless, one of her granddaughters who had struggled (at best) in her neighborhood school got into a charter school. In this charter school, she blossomed, and Rep. Dill- ree saw firsthand what a blessing charter schools could be. Having seen the extraordinary lengths school boards and the State Board of Education were using to block more charter schools, she decided that something had to change. Her answer was HB 152 (2004 General Session). HB 152 created the State Charter School CONTINUED ON PAGE 7