PULLMAN, WA - Lots of changes are happening with the proposed Pullman charter school, Pullman Community Montessori (PCM). The school founders have been hard at work expanding the founding school board, writing the charter sections, designing a website, crafting logo options, touring high performing schools within and outside of Washington to inform their model, meeting with Dr. Maxwell of Pullman School District to investigate collaboration potential, meeting with Friends of Gladish board members to determine the long-term potential of Gladish Community and Cultural Center being the school’s home, and designing sessions to gather community input to tailor the schools model to community needs.

 

Pullman Community Montessori’s new website will help answer basic questions, provide background on both Montessori and Charter, and provide a platform for submitting questions, concerns, and comments in the event one of the two duplicate Community Input Sessions cannot be attended. To aid PCM in community outreach, a Community Advisory Council was formed.  These members, listed on PCM’s website, serve as an additional point of contact for the community.  Community Input Sessions will be held November 4th and 13th from 5:30-7:30 in the Gladish Community and Cultural Center View Room. Pick one of the sessions that fits your schedule.  Food and refreshments will be served and limited childcare is available (for potty trained children, ages 2 – 10, with advanced registration).  Go to the PCM website, www.PullmanCommunityMontessori.org, or Facebook page for more information and to register!  For those who want to know more about Washington charter schools in general, the Washington State Charter School Commission will host an informational session November 19th.  This session will not be specific to PCM, but speak generally about how WA charter schools are formed, operated, and held accountable.  The time and location for this session will be posted on PCM’s website soon.

 

Keep an eye out for our “PCM Logo” survey that will be out soon.  We are excited to solidify PCM’s brand and need our community’s input to do it.

The three leading questions we have received to date are “What are the enrollment requirements for the school?”, “How will the new school affect local taxes?”, and “What is the expected relationship with Pullman School District?”.  To answer the first question, PCM will be a non-profit public school open and free to all that apply.  The school will have a lottery preference to increase opportunity for students who qualify for free-and-reduced lunch.  If interest in enrollment exceeds the school’s capacity, enrollment will be determined by random lottery like other public schools.  The second question is simple, we cannot run levies or bonds so our presence will not increase your taxes.  This is also why a charter board’s leading responsibility is fundraising.  To answer the third question, the intention of the new school is not to replace or compete with PSD but rather to offer expanded options to better serve our local families.  To date PSD has seemed to reciprocate this attitude and is open to collaboration on things like food services that align with both entities and do not overtax one or the other.

 

PCM will submit a charter application to the Washington State Charter School Commission on or before February 28, 2020.  If approved, the school’s doors will open August 2021.  As a charter public school, PCM will be free and open to all students, regardless of background or ability. The school will serve grades K-5 in the first year and grow a grade per year up through 9th grade.

 

To stay informed about Pullman Community Montessori’s developments, please follow the school on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/PullmanCommunityMontessori/ If you have any questions or would like to schedule an interview, please email pullmancharter@gmail.com or call 509-336-5909. Check out our new website: www.PullmanCommunityMontessori.org 

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