We are pleased to announce that we will be adding a second Kindergarten class to ESAA for the 2014-15 school year. While we are excited about the growth of the school and our ability to continue our move to a two track system, this change requires some explanation.

There are two main factors that went into the decision. First of all, ESAA was approaching a waiting list at Kindergarten of ten kids. Since the start of ESAA there has been a strong push to ensure that we took all kids who wanted to attend. We have prided ourselves in minimizing our waiting lists and often accommodating all kids who sign up. As a public school, we have maintained a strong stance against practices that promote exclusivity among charter schools.

The second main factor influencing our decision was focused on our ability to find a highly qualified teacher, with the experience to lead our second class. Over the summer, we have made tremendous strides in hiring highly qualified, experienced teachers whose beliefs align with the ESAA philosophy. Our second Kindergarten class could be no exception. We have used our teacher network to ensure that highly qualified teachers with experience have applied for the position; we feel confident that the teacher we select next week will fit our qualifications.

As we move forward, we will be realigning the classes between Ms. Kimme’s class and the new one with the intent of building balanced classes - keeping with the practice we started last year and allowing teachers to look through the myriad of factors that go into building a balanced class. We understand that some students have already met Ms. Kimme and made a connection. We will consider this when building our classes. As soon as our new teacher is in place, we will hold an event for families to meet the new teacher.

Lastly, we ask for your help in spreading the word about the new Kindergarten. Our kindergarten classes will have room for a few more students. We are willing to set up tours for families interested in joining our community. If you know if someone interested, please have them contact our office at 920.459.0947.

As always, if you have questions about this, please do not hesitate to call or stop in. We are confident that the decision we have made is the right decision for ESAA and will continue our growth into the future.