Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff

Charter schools are a familiar approach to education in many parts of the country, but they are relatively unknown for South Dakotans. That could change when the 2008 Legislature convenes.

At the urging of a group of Native American parents and educators in Rapid City, Sen. Tom Katus, D-Rapid City, is preparing South Dakota's first charter school legislation, which he plans to introduce during the coming session.

Charter schools are public schools operating independently from the traditional public school system, but they do receive public funds.

South Dakota is one of the last states in the nation to deal with charter schools, according to state Secretary of Education Rick Melmer.

"They're primarily started in large cities where people maybe became disenchanted with the public school system, and yet they wanted to have some of the benefits of being a public system, so they didn't become private," Melmer said.

A charter school would be an alternative school within a public system, according to Katus.

The parents he has talked with want a multicultural school with a focus on Native Americans, as well as other cultures, he said.

Katus says parents and teachers familiar with the Rapid City school system believe the school district is not meeting the needs of Native American students.

The school district's graduation rate for Native students was 37 percent last year, compared with 51 percent the previous year.

The graduation rate for the district as a whole was 78 percent last year. Native students make up 17 percent of the student population.

"High dropout rates are clearly driving it," Katus said.

Delores Riley, director of Indian Education for the Rapid City School District, had experience with charter schools in Utah, where she worked for the Salt Lake City School District and a consulting firm.

Parents view charter schools as a way to have a more direct say in their children's education.

What they don't realize is that a charter school is subject to the same guidelines and regulations as a public school, Riley said.

Parents frequently become disillusioned when they realize that it takes hard work and cooperation to make a charter school successful, she said.

With the help of the Society for the Advancement of Native Interests-Today, parents and others looking for a solution to poor student achievement and high dropout rates began meeting months ago to discuss the charter school concept.

"We're facilitating what the community wants," said SANI-T executive director Laurette Pourier. "Kids are leaving (school) at too fast a rate."

Supporters of the charter school effort envision a school based upon Lakota culture and values that would be open not only to Native American students, but students of other cultures.

Education Secretary Melmer is concerned, though, that charter schools could result in the segregation of Native students.

"You start to wonder if we're moving in the right direction if we're pulling Native American kids out of the system and putting them in charter schools," Melmer said.

Nicole Prairie Chicken grew up in Rapid City and attended Central High School. Her two children attend a Rapid City elementary school.

A charter school would be a different approach that could improve the school system, she said.

There are many racial and social issues for Native Americans in Rapid City that are not dealt with, Prairie Chicken said.

"We need to break the circle that a lot of kids and families are in," she said

Daphne Richards-Cook, a member of the Rapid City School Board, has attended several of the SANI-T sponsored meetings.

"As a Native parent and school board member, I'm concerned about the disparity in the achievement gap," Richards-Cook said. "It behooves us to make public schools a better place."

A charter school would have the flexibility to use Native American culture and traditions to connect students with their coursework, she said.

Richards-Cook recently attended the National Indian Education Association's annual conference in Hawaii, where the association passed a resolution endorsing charter schools as an important school choice option for Native communities.

According to Richards-Cook, the parents and educators committed to a charter school do not have a definite school plan.

"They're waiting for the enabling legislation," she said.

Katus' legislation is the access key to federal funds made available annually for charter school start-up costs.

Melmer said the Rapid City group is the first he has encountered in his tenure with the state that has expressed an interest in a charter school.

"We're not aware of any other districts or individuals that wanted to pursue it," he said. So far, the state is listening and monitoring the charter-school effort, Melmer said.

In its present form, Katus' legislation grants chartering authority to local school boards, the state board of education and an 11-member board of charter schools.

Katus would prefer to see charter-school supporters seek authorization through the local school board.

"This is set up to reform public education, not compete with it," he said.