Education

Recently in Colorado there has been a concerted effort to roll back the mechanisms that have allowed parents to choose their children's schools and which have created success for so many children. Given the demonstrated value of educational choice it is disingenuous of the current anti-choice crowd to continue their raging "debate." The evidence is in; choice in education is creating success for children.

Regarding educational choice, parents (not educators, bureaucrats, or politicians) are the ones making the choice because parents hold the primary responsibility for educating their children. This is important to understand when thinking about this issue. A selection of education providers from which parents can choose to partner empowers them to best fulfill their responsibility to educate their children. The opportunity to comparison shop allows parents to find the best fit for their child in accordance with their vision of what education should be. The act of choosing a school engages parents and requires them to think about the purpose of education including the best curriculum and delivery model. The choice serves to remind parents of their responsibility. This has great value in getting parents involved. Once parents make a choice, they have bought into that system and more often than not will work extra hard to make that system work for their child. As customers with choices, parents are also more likely to hold their school accountable for results. Schools vying for customers will be responsive when their patrons have concerns.

Effective schools offer a comprehensive, well-articulated program focusing on student success. Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy is one such school, exemplifying the value of choice in education. The mission of CMCA is to help guide students in development of their character and academic potential through academically rigorous, content-rich, educational programs. The school follows a simple formula of high expectations, excellent curriculum, parent involvement, and outstanding teachers to accomplish its mission. Indicators of success include The John Irwin School of Excellence Award, The Henri Salvatori Award for Excellence in Teaching from Hillsdale College, an Excellent Rating from the Colorado Department of Education every year ratings have been given, and consistent placement among the top performers of all public schools based on CSAPs with the CMCA junior high placing at the very top for the past six years.

Many who see these results are quick to attribute the success to the school being chartered out of the affluent Cheyenne Mountain School District. While 21% of the students do come from the Cheyenne Mountain School District, the remaining 79% come from 13 other school districts. Students are selected off of the waiting list based on a lottery that is held each spring. Families commute from as far as Pueblo and Florissant, Woodland Park and Falcon to attend this school. Twenty four percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch and 26% are minorities.

At CMCA, excellence is the standard for which all strive. Demographics are not a focus, academic achievement and strong moral character are. These expectations guide student and teacher actions. Teachers expect students to learn, and they build those expectations into the students. Students gain self-esteem by working hard and accomplishing meaningful work. Virtue is modeled by staff and required of students. Good and bad examples of character from historical and literary figures are discussed along with the consequences that follow such examples.

CMCA holds that all students want to learn and can learn if taught using effective curriculum and teaching techniques. In addition to the expectation of success is the use of teaching material that is proven effective. Elementary students are taught the Core Knowledge curriculum using direct instruction methods. As students move into the high school program, The Vanguard School, they undertake a classical, liberal arts curriculum focusing on our country's western heritage. The schools' underlying philosophy of education creates consistency in the curriculum, teaching techniques, and behavioral expectations. This consistent focus from classroom to classroom and grade to grade yields great benefit. Students don't have to spend mental energy wondering what one teacher expects versus another. The standards are the same, and the curriculum builds from one grade to the next.

Parental involvement and support has been an absolutely critical contributor to CMCA's success. First and foremost parents accept the responsibility to bring students to school on time and monitor the completion of their daily homework. Parents at CMCA are also required to attend parent / teacher conferences each year at that end of the first quarter. Report cards are handed out at these conferences and teachers and parents discuss issues affecting the student. If necessary, measures are put in place to address any concerns.

Above and beyond this basic foundation, many parents are involved in every aspect of the school from helping in individual classrooms with filing or reading checkouts to raising money with the PTO and setting policy of the school as members of the school board. As an intentional part of the culture, parents are strongly encouraged to sit in the classroom whenever possible in order to understand what their children are learning and to understand the basic processes of the school. This is such an important aspect of the school culture that the school board created an "Open Door / Open Chair Policy" stating that parents may come into the classroom at any time to observe, and that teachers will have a place for them to sit comfortably during their visit. The standard practice is that at their first opportunity, teachers provide observers with books, worksheets, etc. so the observer can more effectively follow the lesson. Students are trained to ignore any possible disruption the arrival of an observer may cause, and they become very adept at continuing their work without being distracted.

Teachers are the most important asset of any school. As educational consultant Harry Wong says "Some 200 studies state the obvious but profound finding that no other intervention can make the difference that a skillful, knowledgeable teacher can make on student achievement." Recognizing this, CMCA puts enormous effort and resources into finding teachers who are the right fit and training them to be successful. This is accomplished through extensive professional development and ongoing teacher coaching. In-house coaches provide regular timely feedback to teachers regarding how their teaching is effective and what can be done to improve student performance. Most teachers at CMCA find this an enormous personal and professional benefit of the job. Consistent coaching also standardizes and aligns procedures from classroom to classroom. This constant focus on improvement most often has results at the individual staff-member level, but also grows into groups of teachers discussing the best approach for teaching a topic or handling a particularly difficult student issue. This level of professional collaboration is invaluable to finding more effective ways to teach kids.

This brings us back to the whole point of what schools of choice like Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy are working to accomplish, student success. Success that is lasting and meaningful and that creates pride in accomplishment. Success that is born from hard work, discipline, and sacrifice on the part of the student, parent, and teacher. Success that is earned day after day in spite of the ill will and obstruction on the part of those who wish to deny parents a choice.

About Colin Mullaney

Colin Mullaney joined Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy at its inception in 1995 after serving as an officer in the army. He began as the junior high math and science teacher and was asked to take over as principal in 1998. He is currently the sixth grade through tenth grade principal and the Executive Director of the overall program. Colin holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy operated as a kindergarten through eighth grade from 1995-2006. In 2006, CMCA opened the 9^th grade of its new high school program named The Vanguard School. The school will add a grade each year for the next three years until it has a full K-12 program.