First humanist charter school opens in U.S.

[☆ TexasFreethinker ☆]

First humanist charter school opens in U.S...in a church

 

By DUNCAN CRARY

www.HumanistNetworkNews.org

Aug. 31, 2005

 

School is now in session at the first humanist charter school in the United States.

 

"Everything that we do in our curriculum is based on the humanist philosophy," said Kelly Browning, executive director of the Carl Sagan Academy.

 

The Academy, which is located in east Tampa, Fla., held its first classes on Aug. 4, the starting date for public schools in the state.

 

Named after the late Dr. Carl Sagan, astronomer and humanist, the charter school is dedicated to encouraging free inquiry, the teaching of the scientific method, rational problem-solving and democratic principles. The Academy was founded by the Humanists of Florida Association, which obtained the school's charter from the Hillsborough County School District on Nov. 17, 2004.

 

Here's the twist. The Carl Sagan Academy is housed in an inner city Southern Missionary Baptist Church. Initially, the Humanists of Florida had hoped to acquire a building located in the neighborhoods surrounding the University of South Florida. The group also looked into housing the school at the Museum of Science and Industry. But a variety of reasons kept those plans from materializing, Browning said.

 

The church, however, had space available because it had previously housed a charter school that had failed. (According to the St. Petersburg Times, 50 of the 300 charter schools which have opened in Florida since 1990 have failed.)

 

"Our future goal is to have our own building," Browning said. "But the fact that we can be located inside a Southern Baptist Church really demonstrates that one of the wonderful parts of humanism is respect for differences."

 

And how are the humanists being perceived?

 

In general, the primarily African-American congregation has been very welcoming and helpful, Browning said. There is a small group that is not happy with the idea of a humanist school located in their church. "But they're warming up to us," she said. "They're coming to the understanding that we want to service this population by providing a quality education based on science."

 

Charter schools are publicly funded, but are not restricted by the same rules that govern public school districts. Right now, Browning said there is an abundance of charter schools operated by religious groups.

 

"By law, they should be secular," she said. "But you and I both know that if (a school is) being run by a church, there's always going to be that overriding message."

 

Just because humanism is a secular philosophy, that doesn't mean the teachers at the Carl Sagan Academy can proselytize atheism, though.

 

Already Browning said she has fielded calls from parents concerned "that you're all a bunch of atheists." That may be true. But Browning said the school is prohibited from proselytizing atheism, just as religiously operated charter schools are prohibited from proselytizing theism.

 

The school's academic philosophy does not attempt to "convert" students to nonbelief. Instead it strives to equip students with the means to think for themselves about the world.

 

"It's more of a pedagogical approach," said Virginia Kohl Lieberman, curriculum director. "As a former science teacher, I took great pains to be sure that we had texts that do not suggest anything such as 'intelligent design'."

 

In creating the curriculum, Lieberman said the Academy followed the models of Prof. John Dewey of the Chicago School and Carl Rogers, humanist psychologist and 1964 Humanist of the Year. The emphasis is on student centered learning.

 

Apparently that approach is working. Speaking to the St. Petersburg Times, Seventh-grader DeAnna Revvere said: "Most of the teachers at my old school, when they teach you stuff you've got one chance to get it right...This school, you can get individual attention for help."

 

There are 55 students enrolled at Carl Sagan Academy, with two sections of 6th Grade and one section of 7th Grade. Next year, the school will open its first 8th Grade class.

 

Fifty-three students are African-American. Two students are Latino. Browning said one goal for the next year is to recruit a more culturally diverse student population. Another future goal is to reach full enrollment at 198 students.

 

Five teachers -- two full-time and three part-time -- make up the Carl Sagan Academy faculty. Among the faculty, one is a dedicated science teacher, one is a dedicated language arts teacher and one is a dedicated math teacher -- meaning they have a specialized background in their subject area.

 

"It's extremely exciting. The school looks fabulous," said Jennifer Hancock, executive director of the Humanists of Florida Association. "We're starting to look towards what lessons have we learned. What went right and what went wrong with the opening. How do we make it better?"

 

In Florida, organizations can run up to 15 charter schools.

 

"We do want to open 15 around the state," Hancock said. "This is a really good start."

 

Duncan Crary is the director of communications at the Institute for Humanist Studies. He is the editor of the Institute's weekly e-zine, Humanist Network News.

 

[Editor's Note: The Carl Sagan Academy charter application, submitted by the Humanists of Florida Association, was made possible through a $7,500 grant from the Institute for Humanist Studies Grant Fund. The IHS Grant Fund awards more than $100,000 annually to humanist organizations throughout the world.]

[Amethyst]

What a wonderful idea. If I have kids, I'd love to send them someplace like that.