School choice stirs in Johnston

Two options are on the horizon

Johnston County parents have long perused a one-item menu when it comes to public schools.

The district has none of the magnet or charter schools that have gained popularity in Wake and other Triangle counties, instead keeping its tradition of community schools intact.

But options may soon exist in Johnston, too. The district is weighing a proposal to open an exclusive school for its most talented students, and a Smithfield group hopes to open the county's first charter school.

"We're getting so big now, we have a diversified clientele with increasingly diverse needs," said Keith Beamon, associate superintendent for curriculum, who is spearheading the concept of an Advanced Learning Center.

The center, in Smithfield, would be a full-time middle and high school for 500 students from across the county who compete for spots based on their academic ability or talent in the arts.

It would house the rigorous International Baccalaureate program and offer three specialized degrees -- science, math and technology; international studies; and communication and cultural arts.

It also would serve the gifted elementary students who now spend a few hours a week at the Academically and Intellectually Gifted Center in Smithfield. The center needs renovations, and it could be used for central office staff if its programs are moved, Beamon said.

In the long term, the county would build three such centers, with others in the northern and western parts of the county.

Creative alternatives

Board member Kay Carroll said the new center should address the concerns of a group of parents who have repeatedly asked the district to explore creative ways to engage students at schools in the eastern part of the county that have high concentrations of poverty.

Carroll said the center would pull a limited number of students from other schools.

"If the public is saying this is what we want, why should we not start looking at it?" he said.

Many of the same parents are behind the move to open the Neuse Charter School of Johnston County. The charter school would accept up to about 500 "highly motivated students" and would have a "strong emphasis on communication and critical thinking skills."

Todd Johnson, who is directing the effort, said he sees the charter as a way to keep students who are leaving the county out of frustration with the lack of progress at high-poverty schools.

Schools in Smithfield and Selma consistently score above state averages but lag behind schools in the western part of the county.

About 1,114 Johnston students were home-schooled and 212 went to private schools during the 2004-05 school year, according to the state Division of Non-Public Education. Another 150 attend charter schools outside the county.

"We want to offer them something to make them stay in our schools," Johnson said.

Charter school backers point to one key difference between their school and the district's proposal. While the district would accept only the best students in academics and the arts, the charter school would randomly select applicants.

"I don't want to pull just the best students out of every school," Johnson said. "I'm convinced that any kid, regardless of their background, can learn."

School choice has become an issue in this year's school board election. Parents in the western part of the county are asking for more options in response to reassignments driven by the district's growth.

But the Advanced Learning Center could prove a hard sell in a district struggling to build enough classrooms for a burgeoning student population. The district of 27,000 students is adding more than 1,000 students a year.

No cost estimates for the center have been released. Dixon Road Elementary School, now under construction, would house a similar number of students and will cost the district roughly $11 million.

Board member Larry Strickland supports the idea of charter schools. He said that each student who leaves the district for a charter school or other option takes away some state funding, but charter schools also mean fewer classrooms needed in the growing district.

"That is a group of students that local dollars don't have to cover as far as school construction," Strickland said. "In a time that we're dealing with growth as we are, it eases the burden on us."