Public charter school enrolling in Katy

Cane Island Elementary plans to offer International Baccalaureate system

Katy youngsters will have yet another public school from which to choose when the doors of academia swing open this fall.

Set to open on the campus of Alief Baptist Church at 906 Ave. A, Cane Island Elementary School is a public charter school open to students in grades K-5 and unaffiliated with the church.

“For now, we’re leasing the space from Alief Baptist Church of Katy,” said Jim Christensen, superintendent of schools for the Leadership Education Foundation, the College Station-based organization opening the school. “The church also has a space next door they are willing to let us buy in a couple of years.”

Christensen, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership, said the organization already oversees six public charter schools. Originally from Cheyenne, Wyoming, Christensen now lives in Houston.

“I’ve been in this business for 30 years,” he said. “We thought Katy would be a good place for us because Katy doesn’t have a lot of choice schools — schools you choose to attend — and this is a choice school.

“Katy also has a good school system with engaged parents,” he added, “and that’s good for the students and the school. It’s a first-rate school system in Katy.”

Christensen said the school expects to use the International Baccalaureate system, which he described as “a global international system that aligns itself in a global manner.”

He said the system began as a high school program. “Then it went to the middle school grades and now it’s an early program,” he explained.

He said Cane Island Elementary is going into a space in the church’s Family Life Center now occupied by Aristoi Classical Academy, which is expected to be at a new site in the fall.

The academy is a public K-9th grade charter school offering a classical education, says its website.

“We’re actively looking for a new location,” said Lauren Boling, administrative assistant to Aristoi’s headmaster.

Boling said the academy offers grades K-5 at its main site, 5618 Eleventh St. in Katy, while grades 6-9 attended classes at Alief Baptist Church.

“We’ll be adding the 10th grade for the 2015-16 school year,” Boling said, “and we expect to continue to grow.”

Heading the new elementary school as principal is Darlene Breaux, Christensen said.

“We opened enrollment April 1,” said Breaux, “and we’ll continue to accept enrollment until each grade level is filled.”

Breaux said the school is a public charter school. “That means there’s no tuition fee,” she said. She has been in education for 17 years as a teacher and a reading specialist as well as a specialist in dyslexia, she added.

“”We expect to have six to 10 teachers to begin,” Breaux said. “We offer reduced class sizes, with only about 18-20 students in each class. Each of our students has a laptop, even our kindergartners.”

Breaux, who is originally from West Virginia but now lives in Houston, has a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Texas Southern University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with principal certification.

“We will be in a threeyear process when we open,” Breaux said. “We’re in the first phase; the second phase is expansion and growth. We would like to have about 150 students to start, and we’ll grow from there.” Trish Johnson is a freelance writer