Chelsea Self / Post Independent file
The public will have its first chance to comment Wednesday evening on a proposal for the Two Rivers Community School in Glenwood Springs to re-charter under the Roaring Fork School District.
TRCS, now in its fifth year, operates as a K-8 school under the Colorado Charter School Institute. The school applied Sept. 30 to come under the umbrella of the local school district, and is concurrently seeking to renew its charter with the state.
The application has since been deemed complete by the school district, and is now under internal review by a Charter Review Committee, consisting of 11 department heads, according to Kelsy Been, public information officer for the district.
After that, it will go before a review subcommittee of the District Accountability Committee before heading to the Board of Education’s table no later than Dec. 2, Been said.
A final decision must be made by the school board by Jan. 4.
To help get to that point, the board has scheduled a public hearing during its regular Wednesday meeting “to obtain information to assist the board to make a decision about the district charter school application.”
The hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. on the evening’s agenda.
“We anticipate that the board will make a decision on authorization at the Dec. 11 meeting,” Been said.
TRCS serves about 350 students, drawing from both the Roaring Fork and Garfield Re-2 school districts. It was chartered in 2014 under the Colorado Charter School Institute, after first applying with the Roaring Fork School District. When that application was rejected, the school was approved by the state.
Curriculum at the school is tailored around projects-based learning and bilingual immersion in Spanish and English.
Head of School Jamie Nims indicated at the start of the school year that TRCS could benefit from being a district charter school rather than continuing under the state. Among those benefits are the potential for local tax revenue and other resource sharing related to staff development and transportation.
