Board previews Wonder Here pilot contract at Philip O'Brien; enrollment priority, lottery discussed
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Summary
The board reviewed a draft two-year, up-to-$130,000-per-year contract with Wonder Here to operate an early-primary pilot at Philip O'Brien; members pressed for enrollment priority for Philip O'Brien students and details on selection and scalability, with a formal vote scheduled for Feb. 24.
Polk County's superintendent presented a draft contract on Feb. 10 with the education provider Wonder Here to run a two-year pilot at Philip O'Brien, and board members spent the session probing enrollment priority, selection mechanics and how the pilot could scale.
Hyde described the draft as "a 2 year contract not to exceed $130,000 a year" for Wonder Here's consultation, curricular resources and a site director. He emphasized the district would retain full authority over enrollment and the district's FTE: "students would remain within the Polk County Public Schools FTE, and the staff would be our staff," Hyde said, adding the district would select, interview and train teachers to implement the partner's instructional model.
Multiple board members urged priority access for Philip O'Brien zoned students. "My strong preference would be that we open it up to the students that are zoned to Philip O'Brien first," Miss Wyatt said. Others (Miss Fields, Mister Keyes) echoed that position but suggested opening remaining seats more broadly for financial viability if local demand does not fill the pilot.
Hyde said the board will receive a draft enrollment-selection process with the contract when it returns on Feb. 24 and described the likely use of the district's traditional random lottery if applications exceed seats. He also listed pilot success metrics staff would evaluate (parent satisfaction, interim assessment data, progress monitoring, attendance, discipline and cohort persistency) and said staff will present a complete timeline and recruitment plan if the board approves the contract.
The workshop included questions on scalability, facility logistics and how the pilot relates to larger "microschool" conversations. Hyde said the pilot is intended to be a recruitment tool to bring families back to district schools and that remaining seats would open to school choice as needed.
No final vote was taken; the draft contract and an enrollment-selection attachment were set to appear on the Feb. 24 workshop and the regular meeting agenda for formal consideration.
