BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Last month, Oak Tree Montessoribecame Hamilton County's first community school under a new state law intended to offer families more options and encourage public schools to improve through competition. There soon may be a second.
The Harmony Center, a Roselawn education resource group, will go before the Ohio Board of Education in two weeks for approval to open the Harmony Community School Center in Avondale this fall.
"My idea is to put the "home' back into schooling," said David Nordyke, the center's director. "Rather than to have very large public high schools, I think the opposite is needed -- small, intimate places where students have personalized learning plans."
Mr. Nordyke aims to enroll up to 175 children ages 12 to 16 (grades 6-10) from Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties. He hopes to add older students each year. Most CPS high schools have more than 1,000 students.
Students can enroll in one of two sessions -- 9 a.m.-2 p.m. or 3 p.m.-8 p.m. The first half of each session will concentrate on math, science, social science, English and the arts. The second will focus on students' "investigation, exploration and research" of what they learned.
No more than 15 students will be in each class.
The school -- in a three-story house at 2828 Vernon Place -- also will stress parental involvement. Learning must continue at home, and students will get credit for parents' home lessons, Mr. Nordyke said.
Mr. Nordyke expects the school will attract independent learners, students with learning disabilities who need more individualized attention and students who want to develop specific talents.
The school also will partner with Future World Productions, a Bond Hill urban arts organization, to offer training in such areas as music, dance, visual arts and theater.
Mr. Nordyke ultimately aims to open schools in all of Cincinnati's urban and suburban neighborhoods.
"Our hope is to try to give an alternative to the Cincinnati community for parents who want to keep their kids in safe, orderly, small environments and keep them in the public school system," he said.
Mr. Nordyke, 46, who provided the research upon which Ohio's charter-school law is built, is a certified high school English teacher who also has worked as a principal.
He has a bachelor's degree in English education from the University of Dayton, a master's degree in educational administration from Xavier University and a superintendent's certificate from University of Cincinnati. He also has completed doctoral studies in educational administration at Miami University.
The school will hold informational sessions at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at public libraries throughout the city. Call 761-9700 to learn locations and details.
