Charter school to open after all

The demise of Holy Trinity Catholic School was an opportunity for the Cesar Chavez School Network to get back on track in opening a Colorado Springs school this year.

Cesar Chavez Academy-Central will start classes Aug. 20 in the building at 3115 Larkspur Drive. It will be similar to the network’s successful charter school in Pueblo.

School officials said earlier this spring that they would delay opening the school until the 2008-09 school year.

The school, chartered by the state Charter School Institute, is enrolling students in kindergarten through second grade, said CEO Lawrence Hernandez.

Students who are interested “need to get their applications in quickly,” Hernandez said.

Even after the delay was announced, calls about enrolling in a Colorado Springs campus kept coming, Hernandez said. Then an opportunity to open arose when Holy Trinity Catholic School closed this month.

Cesar Chavez School Network plans to lease the building from the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs for $1 per year, he said. The network will pay for building maintenance and utilities.

“It’s just kind of an ideal situation,” Hernandez said.

The groups have signed a memorandum of understanding and plan to finalize a lease by mid-June, said Carolyn Gery, who will be the principal and executive director of Cesar Chavez Academy-Central.

Gery is the chief academic officer for Cesar Chavez School Network.

The school will consider expanding to include upper elementary grades if there is interest, Hernandez said.

The building can hold about 300 students, depending on class sizes. A lottery will be held if more students apply than there is room for, he said.

The school will have similar programs to Cesar Chavez Academy in Pueblo, including the Core Knowledge curriculum.

Core Knowledge requires students to learn specific information in each grade and builds each year on prior knowledge.

Cesar Chavez Academy has a high percentage of minority students and students who qualify for free or reducedpriced lunches.

Test scores at the school are typically high, and the school has been named a John Irwin School of Excellence, meaning it is in the top 8 percent of the state based on overall academic performance.

The Cesar Chavez School Network also runs Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School in Pueblo.

For more information and to apply, visit www.ccacentral. org.

School officials hope to be in the school’s office by June 6, Hernandez said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com