Do Melrose children need access to another charter school in the area? It's a pertinent question now that the Pioneer Charter School of Science (PCSS) has reached the final round of the application process to open two new charter public schools—one of which would serve Melrose and five other communities, according to a statement.
The new schools, if approved by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in February, would serve 360 students in grades 7-12 in communities north of Boston, according to the statement.
The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School already educates Melrose students, but perhaps families are searching for something different.
What do you think? Tell us in the comments section.
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Mystic Valley Regional Charter School
770 Salem St, Malden, MA (High School: 306 Highland Ave., Malden, MA)
Betsey Benagh
8:42 pm on Wednesday, October 3, 2012
I am personally very interested in the Pioneer school. I have no beef with Mystic Valley; it's just not a good fit for my family. With two kids who have strong interest and aptitude in math and science, though, the concept of a science charter school is appealing.
Alanna Nelson
11:32 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012
My big beef with charter schools: Melrose schools pay more for a child to attend Mystic Valley than it spends on kids in its own schools. This creates a very inequitable situation in the long run.
The Mystic Valley school follows the International Baccalaureate program, which is an excellent approach to learning all material and develop critical thinking. I'm not sure how the proposed school would emphasize science and math learning, but perhaps a larger portion of the budget would be spent on lab equipment?
Why couldn't Melrose just dedicate more resources to Math and Science learning? This seems more efficient, and equitable. In addition, kids wouldn't be in buses and their friends would be closer to home.
Dave Gray
11:32 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012
Once again, I understand the sentiment, but he thought of diluting the public school budget even further with assessments from another charter school is worrying. We already have the Voke and the MV assessments consuming our limited resources. Another charter school can only further damage an already floundering public system, which has yet to bottom out, despite the "everything is good" nonsense spouted by our so-called "education experts".