Board approves five-year charter renewal for Northrop Community Charter; district and school discuss possible conversion to school of innovation

The Steamboat Springs School Board voted unanimously April 7 to approve a five-year renewal of the charter contract for Northrop Community Charter School.

Board President Katie Lee moved the renewal and Cresta seconded; the vote was recorded as Cresta, Kevin, Laura, Leah and Katie all voting aye. The motion accepted the superintendent’s recommendation and renewed Northrop’s charter for five years as presented.

During discussion prior to the vote, district leaders said they also discussed with Northrop the option of bringing the charter into the district under the district as a "school of innovation." The district described the conversion process: Northrop would need to apply to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) as a school of innovation, and Northrop’s staff would need to approve exploring the idea by a staff vote requiring a 50% plus one majority before it goes to the broader community for a vote. The board noted that a CDE turnaround for a school-of-innovation application is typically about 60 days.

District staff said the conversion would be intended to be "symbiotic": Northrop’s students already feed into the district, and coming under the district umbrella could change staffing and pay structures while preserving Northrop’s curricular innovations (for example, outdoor education) as the innovation component.

Ending: The board approved the charter renewal at the April 7 meeting. District staff will continue conversations with Northrop about whether to pursue a school-of-innovation application and will return with a more detailed discussion if Northrop’s internal community indicates interest.