First charter school in the Quad-Cities opens in Davenport
Quad City Times- Cesar Toscano
On an early Friday morning, students in green-shirted uniforms walked in lines guided by their teachers to the front court of Horizon Science Academy. What followed were cheers and applause as local, state leaders and school leaders cut a ribbon, signifying the beginning of the first charter school in the Quad-Cities.
Horizon Science Academy in Davenport serves over 200 K-6 students with a STEM focus. Like other Iowa schools, the tuition-free charter school started this past Monday. The school has leased a building on a yearly basis from the Diocese of Davenport at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.
Another local partnership has been the Quad Cities Chamber. Member Engagement Manager Deanna Jensen-Valliere thanked the school for their “investment in the community and investment in the Chamber."
Principal Shawn Buettner said the process of establishing the school was a slow burn "that all of a sudden, in the last few weeks, just exploded into awesome dedication."
“To the architects, builders, planners and everyone who poured their time and talent and heart into this project,” Buettner said. “You didn't just construct a school. You built a foundation for future scientists, engineers, mathematicians, artists and innovators.” Buettner said what makes being a principal at a charter school unique is how many “different hats” she needs for the job.
“The building maintenance, the finance, the overseeing custodial duties, being the teacher leader, helping with, the student coaching and student success and trying to piece together several different roles and I know smaller public schools would have that similar problem without an assistant or a very short-staffed administrative team,” she said.
Buettner and others were joined by state elected officials Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer and State Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen, who had a key role in passing a series of bills expanding access to charter schools in Iowa.
One allowed charter schools to apply through the state rather than the local school district. Another bill also increased funding for new charter schools through grants, $500,000 for the first year and $200,000 for the second year.
“This new school is a meaningful expansion for choice and opportunity for Davenport,” Cournoyer said. “... Since 2021, when Iowa's new public charter school law was signed by Governor (Kim) Reynolds, Iowa has seen impressive growth in the number of new high-quality charter schools in the state.”
Asked about possible expansion, Cournoyer said it will be up to the community. “It's going to be based on demand. And what do parents want for their children and their education? Having the choice of taking your child to the best school that best fits their learning, and how they can best reach their full potential is important. And as demand grows or doesn't grow, I think we'll see that reflected in the number of charter schools that we have,” Cournoyer said.
Superintendent Christopher Murphy agreed. He is the superintendent of the Horizon Science Academies campuses in Davenport and Des Moines and the chief growth and strategy officer for the nonprofit organization Concept Schools, which both campuses fall under.
Murphy said the school will have no effect on local property tax funding for other public schools, as property tax funds do not go toward the charter. While the charter school doesn't receive funding from local property tax, it does earn state funding per-pupil enrolled. Critics argue this could reduce state funding for public schools if a charter school attracts students away from public schools.
Murphy said charter schools provide autonomy for administrators and families to create the school they want.
"What that autonomy lets you do in your charter agreement is to focus on one thing that you want to specialize to afford an option to those parents. That's what this is about, giving kids a choice to find the right educational pathway for themselves. Some schools are focused on STEM education like ours. Some are focused on workforce development. Some are focused on could be a cooking or culinary program," Murphy said.
