Their plan is to apply for public charter school status under the new law, which would keep the school under the school board’s authority but with an advisory committee with membership specified by the law.

GFPS considering creating magnet public charter school

If approved for public charter school status, the school could have the option some private funding support and some flexibility in their operations but would still fall under existing school policies, officials told the school board during their Oct. 9 meeting.

The board will be asked to formally consider and vote on the public charter school application during their Oct. 23 meeting. The public charter school application is due to the state Nov. 1.

GFPS gives summer school report to board

District officials have the option to move forward with the proposal regardless of the public charter school designation under existing law and staff will be asking the board for formal approval of the plan during the Oct. 23 meeting.

Their plan is to choose an existing elementary school within the district and turn it into a learning laboratory.

GFPS administrators said the school hasn’t yet been selected.

The district is partnering with the University of Montana-Western’s education program for the proposed project.

Once the school is selected, the teachers at the lab school will be those with masters degrees, since they’ll also become adjunct faculty at Western.

GFPS board approves new teacher union contract

They’ll go through an application process and be paired with student teachers from Western’s program or other university education programs.

The student teachers from university programs will be hired by the district as paraeducators or teacher aides, which have also been in short supply, while their completing their degree program in an immersive educational setting.

GFPS teachers who aren’t selected for the CORE School will be able to move to another school under the existing process in their collective bargaining agreement, according to district administrators.

District officials said current teachers would not lose their jobs under the proposal.

Current students at the selected school will have the option to stay, but for those that want to leave, they could be moved to a nearby school or go through the district’s existing permissive transfer process.

The classrooms will be filled to state capacity and will use a lottery system to fill any available elementary student slots at the lab school, district officials said.

If approved, district officials are planning to start the CORE School in the fall of 2024.

School board members encouraged the public to provide comments and feedback on the idea before they are scheduled to vote on Oct. 23.