Augusta, Maine - The State's Acting Education Commissioner is applauding the state's first two public charters after their inaugural monitoring reports show the central Maine schools are engaging students and adapting quickly to meet emerging needs.
Cornville Regional Charter School in Cornville, which served approximately 60 grade K-6 students, and the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences (MeANS) in Hinckley, which served 52 students grades 9-12, opened in the fall of 2012 after Maine, under the leadership of Governor Paul R. LePage, became the 41st state to allow public charter schools.
As part of its oversight responsibilities, the Maine Charter School Commission evaluates performance of the state's charter schools on an ongoing basis and releases an annual monitoring report based on multiple site visits and extensive document review. The Commission finalized and made public their first reports earlier this month.
In their opening year, both schools met all of the expectations of their contracts and excelled at engaging students and families, according to the Commission's findings for the 2012-13 school year. Parents told Commission members there "were no cracks for kids to fall in" at Cornville Regional and that students were "learning like never before" at MeANS.
"Maine's new public charter schools are delivering on their commitment to put students first," said Acting
