Charter school seeks new students

Dave Brackett is built like a wrestler " stalwart, bushy-haired, East Coast-tough.

Having worked with inner-city youth in Baltimore, the 27-year-old principal of Sierra Crest Academy walks through the halls of Douglas County's only public charter school with a conviction that every kid can be reached, no matter how difficult or crazy or hopeless the prospect may seem.

"I'm a revolutionary at heart, unable to accept the status quo," Brackett said. "I want to shift people's and educators' perspectives on what education is and how it should look, or at least shed some light on a different perspective."

Originally from Maine, Brackett attended Johns Hopkins University where he coached baseball and taught math to disadvantaged students at the Baltimore Lab School. By 2006, he had earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in school administration.

"I posted my resume online, and Sierra Crest Academy contacted me about a position," Brackett said. "I jumped at the chance to work at a charter school."

First and foremost, Brackett wants to ensure the community that Sierra Crest Academy is open. Budget woes last year may have contributed to a misconception that the Minden school was closed.

"We're not closed, and we're not going to close," Brackett said.

On the contrary, Brackett wants to increase enrollment " the school currently has 64 students and is chartered for 80.

"We have 16 seats available, and I want the community to know that we offer quite a few services," Brackett said.

Founded in 2004, Sierra Crest Academy offers a project-based curriculum for middle schoolers and high schoolers who struggle in traditional classroom settings.

"We take reluctant learners and motivate them," Brackett said. "And the way to motivate them is to make it about them, to make it real to them."

Students are afforded creative choice, Brackett said. State content standards, what students need to know before graduating, are incorporated into individual and team projects.

Brackett gave the example of a Civil War project. He said one student may choose to write a five-page paper on Sherman's March, incorporating history and English content standards. Another may choose to give a three-minute oral presentation on munitions used during the war, incorporating science and math standards.

Brackett emphasized the school's technological bent. Students research archives, journals and other electronic media rather than using traditional textbooks.

"Every student has their own Web site," Brackett said.

Mary Woolery, a part-time counselor at the school, said students are taught to identify their own learning needs.

"We want the students to ask, 'Who am I? How do I function best? What type of learner am I?'" Woolery said. "The students take ownership."

Woolery said most of the students are either extremely shy or have had behavioral issues at other schools.

"They come with not one, but many chips on their shoulders," she said. "And those quickly disappear."

Each student is assigned two advisors, Woolery said, a service which helps build camaraderie and a sense of community.

"Students who walk through the door every day know there are at least two positive adults who care about them," she said.

Yet no matter how caring or attentive an atmosphere, the question remains whether a project-based curriculum can produce real results.

"Our kids perform," Brackett affirmed. "The data backs us up that the learning model is working."

Sierra Crest has made adequate yearly progress, as mandated by No Child Left Behind, for four years in a row. Last year, 100 percent of the school's ninth through 12th graders who took the state high school proficiency reading exam either met or exceeded state standards. Students also performed strongly in writing.

Some students struggled in math, Brackett said, although math scores were still high enough to make adequate yearly progress. But he said the school is implementing a new applied mathematics program, consisting of about 40 percent instruction time and 60 percent application.

Flexibility is what Brackett loves about his job.

"It just comes down to choosing a way that is effective with each student while maintaining the necessary academic rigor as one would expect from any school," Brackett said.

Whatever the way, Sierra Crest Academy has a crucial year ahead of it. It's the first year the school will have a graduating class. It's also the year the school must renew its charter, while simultaneously seeking accreditation.

"I believe charter schools and other school choice programs will a play a major role in the reformation of the outdated, inelastic, traditional public school systems that dominate this country's educational system," Brackett said. "I am a huge proponent of public education, but I believe the current system is ineffective at meeting the needs of each student as an individual, especially if that student is outside the norm."

For more information about Sierra Crest Academy, visit www.sierracrest.org or call 783-9002.