PRESS RELEASE

Attention: Local News / Education News 

For release: October 2, 2009

Contact: Sandy Davis, Principal, 505 467-1702

Turquoise Trail Charter School

Press release available as PDF and Word documents. 

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Top Performing Charter School Seeks Renewal

Turquoise Trail Charter School, the oldest charter school in New Mexico, submitted its application for charter renewal to the Santa Fe Board of Education on October 1. The school’s current charter expires on June 30, 2010, and the proposed new one will run for five years through 2015. By state law, the Santa Fe Board of Education must accept or deny the charter renewal application by the end of this year.  

In its application, Turquoise Trail highlights its accomplishments of the last five years and sets ambitious new goals for the future. According to Sandy Davis, the school’s Principal, “we have met the high academic goals of our current charter, making a strong case for renewal.” The performance review section of the application notes the school’s achievements in meeting student proficiency according to tough federal standards outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act. “In mathematics our proficiency rate increased by 21% over the past five years and in reading the increase was 8.5% percent”, Ms. Davis stated. She continued, “This year only five of the twenty-nine public schools in Santa Fe met federal standards for adequate yearly progress. We are proud to be one of the five.”

The application notes that the school also met the three other goals of its current charter. “We used technology to increase student learning, we maintained a positive and cooperative learning environment and we increased parental support of our students”.

The application cites a Stanford University report released in July that names Turquoise Trail one of six charter schools in New Mexico which is outperforming its district school counterparts. Fifty-five of New Mexico’s charter schools were analyzed in the Stanford study which compares charter schools to district schools with similar demographics.

The renewal application notes the school’s diverse student population. Seventy percent of the students are Hispanic, twenty-seven percent are Caucasian and nineteen percent are English language learners whose families speak Spanish at home. According to school Principal Sandy Davis, “The success of the school is due to an excellent staff which focuses on individual learning needs of our students and provides engaging and relevant instruction.” Four hundred sixty-five students attend kindergarten through sixth grade and thirty students are enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program at the school.

All sixty-five staff members endorsed the charter renewal application and ninety-two percent of the households served by the school have petitioned the Board of Education to approve its renewal. The Governing Council of the school endorsed the renewal application at its public meeting on September 24th.

Turquoise Trail outlines four ambitious goals for the coming five years in its application. Davis said, “Our new goals will be a challenge to meet, but our staff is determined to set high standards and to maintain our leadership in the Santa Fe education community.” The first goal calls for an average of five percent annual increases in the number of students at full proficiency in mathematics and reading. The second goal states that “eighty percent of TTCS students will demonstrate proficiency in the use of technology to increase learning.”

Other goals call for a 100 percent participation rate in environmental education studies and in fine arts instruction. Since its inception in 1994, Turquoise Trail has offered computer, visual arts, music, dance and theater programs. The new plan also calls for an increase in pre-kindergarten enrollment to forty students.

Turquoise Trail Charter School leases its facilities from Santa Fe Public Schools and is located on Highway 14 in rural Santa Fe County. The school is governed by a council composed of parents, community members and non-voting staff. As a charter school, Turquoise Trail exercises independent control of its curriculum development, hires its own teachers and other staff, and manages its own money. All of New Mexico’s charter schools are public schools funded by the state and federal government. Turquoise Trail’s budget for the current school year is $4.4 million, including lease costs.

The charter application is on file at Turquoise Trail Charter School and at the district offices of Santa Fe Public Schools, and may be viewed at either location.