Learning Communities of
Achievement and Hope Imaginings
Imagine Schools For the Imagine Schools community
is a national
organization, V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e
comprised
mostly of
teachers, First Things: What Does it Take to Be an Imagine Teacher?
committed to By Eileen Bakke, Co-Founder and VP for Education
helping parents
Welcome to an exciting new school
and guardians year at Imagine Schools. We are
educate their pleased to welcome 15 new schools
children in and many talented educators to the
Imagine Schools family. Together,
high-quality
we are poised to change the lives of
public charter nearly 25,000 students and their fami-
schools. lies nationwide!
At our Annual Forum and Celebration
in Arizona, there was a popular rally-
ing cheer. To the question, “Who is
Inside this Imagine Schools?” there was a re-
issue: sounding cry, “I AM IMAGINE
SCHOOLS”. Imagine Schools is not a
Classroom 2 management company. We are edu-
News: cators, joined together to create won-
The Power of derful places for kids to learn. We
Positive Talk teach children. What does it take to
be an Imagine Schools educator?
Imagine 2 well as for ourselves. Justice drives
First, being an Imagine person
Forum
requires a commitment to embrace
Award Winners and attempt to live out our shared
values of integrity, justice, and fun.
Meet Maryea 3 values to students, to parents, and to
These are lofty sounding words, and
Flaherty, you’ll find that we take them very
2007
seriously.
Imagine Schools Integrity means wholeness, honesty,
Teacher of the
Year
Announcing... 4 Advanced Science – Is It Elementary?
By Tad Hartman, Imagine Academy of Environmental Science & Math, St. Louis, MO
Science in a child’s world is complex.
A simple latex balloon can present an
almost limitless collection of queries—
Why does a helium balloon float but a
balloon filled with air sink? Why does a
balloon make a loud noise when it
pops? Is the loudness based on size?
Color? The instrument used to pop the
balloon?
The balloon premised questions posed
by a 6 year old have their basis in
physics. So now the question arises —
do we teach physics to a 6 year old? I
1 S e p t e m b e r
and trustworthiness. It means moral
and personal consistency. It has to
do with my personhood and with my
identity. Am I the same person at
home as I am at work? Do I treat the
less powerful as well as I treat the
more powerful? Do I say the same
thing to a person’s face that I say
behind their back? Am I truthful?
Can people count on me?
Justice means the fairness, dignity,
and respect with which I treat others.
Justice does not mean sameness.
Since each person is unique, made in
the image of God, justice means that
we treat each person uniquely as they
need and deserve. We must balance
competing needs, and attempt to do
what is right and good for others as
our mission to provide a challenging,
safe, and nurturing learning environ-
ment for every child enrolled in our
schools.
Fun has to do with the community we
create. In many ways this is the most
intriguing and misunderstood of our
shared values. We want all teaching
must say yes. Many may argue that
density of gasses (why a balloon floats
or sinks) is not in the national science
standards outlining the curriculum for a 6
year old—therefore we cannot introduce
that yet. I advise against such rigidity.
Teachers must not misperceive the
standards to be a defining blueprint of all
content in the curriculum. Introducing
advanced themed science to lower ele-
mentary children lays the foundation of a
crucial science knowledge base. Must a
kindergartener or 1st grader remember
2 0 0 7
and learning to be fun. Fun means
creating an environment where every
person can contribute their gifts and
talents to make something wonderful
happen. A fun place to teach and
learn is a place that fosters and cele-
brates taking responsibility, assuming
risks, making decisions, taking action,
failing and learning from those fail-
ures. School and regional leaders
must give away power in order that
others can exercise their gifts in mak-
ing decisions and taking responsibil-
ity. That is what makes a workplace
fun.
Our job is to create joy at work in our
schools, and joy in learning in our
classrooms. Whether you are new to
Imagine, part of a new school, or a
veteran, your challenge is to make
these values yours. Challenge one
another to set the bar high in our
conduct toward one another. Then,
figure out how to communicate these
the larger community so that they
understand and support them.
continued on page 3
the definition of den-
sity? Of course not.
The child will remem-
ber, however, that a
balloon bumped along the ceiling of the
classroom for an afternoon and it did
so for a reason; a reason that can be
answered with science. The skills that
can be developed through such scien-
tific experiences will foster curiosity
about everyday life, enthusiasm for
asking questions and seeking answers,
and comfort in working collaboratively
with other young scientists.
 Page 2
Resource
Corner:
Donors Choose is a simple
way to provide students in
need with resources that our
public schools often lack. At
this not-for-profit website,
teachers submit project
proposals for materials or
experiences their students
need to learn. These ideas
become classroom reality when
concerned individuals, called
Citizen Philanthropists, choose
projects to fund.
You can request an almost
endless number of supplies for
your classroom. The process
is easy and rewards are
abundant. Visit
www.donorschoose.org for
steps to finding the resources
you need for your school and
promoting economic
sustainability.
Imaginings
Classroom News: The Power of Positive Talk
By Krystal Boxeth, Education Associate
Studies conducted in recent years
evidence the importance of vocabu-
lary in child development. Research
shows that both the amount of vo-
cabulary introduced, and the quality of
the words heard by small children
have a major impact on their vocabu-
lary development.
Hart and Risely (1995) meticulously
recorded every spoken word over the
course of an hour between parent
and child in 42 families ranging in
background from professional, work-
ing class and welfare families. They
found that;
“by age 3, between profes-
sional and welfare parents,
there was a difference of al-
most 300 words spoken per
Measures of Excellence Corner
2007 Imagine Schools Forum Awards
Congratulations to the following award
winners recognized at the Imagine
Schools Summer Forum in Phoenix, Ari-
zona! We are proud of you!
Developer of the Year
Peter Harvey, Ohio Region
Teacher of the Year
Maryea Flaherty, Imagine Cortez
Park, AZ
Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Leonora Farrah, Board Chair, AZ
Joy at Work Awards
Marge Dailey – Imagine Early Learning
Center, Sierra Vista, AZ
Kelly & Craig Willis – Imagine South Lake
Charter School, Clermont, FL
Brandy Reihl – Imagine Renaissance
Public School Academy,
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Mona Milner – Imagine Great Western
Academy, Columbus, OH
Dianne Tulley – Imagine MASTer
Academy, Ft. Wayne, IN
Overall School of the Year (co-winners)
Imagine Great Western Academy,
Columbus, OH
Imagine Charter School at Cortez Park,
Phoenix, AZ
hour. Extrapolating this verbal
interaction to a year, a child in a
professional family would hear 11
million words while a child in a
welfare family would hear just 3
million.”
Their findings show that in a typical hour, opment? As Imagine Schools educators
the average child may hear:
Welfare: 616 words
Working Class: 1,251 words
Professional: 2,153 words
Discrepancies in the quality of words
heard:
Welfare:
5 affirmations, 11 prohibitions
New School of the Year
Imagine Harvard Avenue Community
School, Cleveland, OH
Most Improved
Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Middle & High
St. Louis, MO
Shared Values Awards
Winner: Imagine Great Western Academy,
Columbus, OH
Runner Up: Imagine Renaissance Acad-
emy for Math & Science, Kansas City, MO
New School of the Year: Imagine Charter
School at Tempe, Tempe, AZ
Most Improved: Imagine E. H. Lyle Middle
& High College Prep, St. Louis, MO
Parent Choice Awards
Winner: Imagine School at Cortez Park,
Phoenix, AZ
Runner Up: Kissimmee Charter Academy,
Kissimmee, FL
New School of the Year: Imagine Harvard
Ave. Community School, Cleveland, OH
Most Improved: Kennesaw Charter School, Kennesaw, GA
Kennesaw, GA
Academic Achievement Awards
Winner: Imagine Charter School at East
Mesa, Mesa, AZ
Working Class:
12 affirmations, 7 prohibitions
Professional:
32 affirmations, 5 prohibitions
What are the implications of this re-
search in the area of vocabulary devel-
aiming to support parents in educating
their children, we hope that these find-
ings will cause us to carefully consider
our daily habits and structures in and out
of the classroom. We must look carefully
at how we:
1. Speak to children in our classrooms,
seeking to offer encouragement and
affirmation instead of using words that
will prohibit constructive conversation,
continued on page 4
Co-Runners Up:
Imagine Charter School at Weston,
Weston, FL
Imagine Charter School at Bell
Canyon, Phoenix, AZ
New School of the Year: Imagine Charter
School at Camelback, Phoenix, AZ
Most Improved: Imagine Conner Creek
Academy, Warren, MI
Character Education Awards
Winner: Imagine Hope Community Char-
ter School, Washington, DC
Runner Up: Imagine Charter School at
Cortez Park, Phoenix, Arizona
New School of the Year: Imagine Charter
School at North Manatee, Ellenton, FL
Honorable Mention: Imagine Renaissance
Academy for Math & Science, Kansas
City, MO
Economic Sustainability Awards
Winner: Chancellor Charter School at
Lantana, Lantana, FL
Runner Up: Kennesaw Charter School,
New School of the Year: Imagine Harvard
Ave. Community School, Cleveland, OH
Most Improved: Imagine Charter School
at North Lauderdale, N. Lauderdale, FL
 Volume 2, Issue 1
Meet Maryea Flaherty, Imagine 2007 Teacher of the Year
Maryea Flaherty is the
recipient of the 2007 Imag-
ine Schools Teacher of the
Year Award. This year,
she will teach Reading and
Language Arts to 6th-8th
grade students at the
Imagine Charter School at
Cortez Park in Phoenix,
Arizona. Over the past 6
years she has taught 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade at
Cortez Park.
What prompted you to become a teacher?
The teachers I had growing up prompted my
desire to be a teacher. The great ones inspired
me and made me want to emulate them; the not-
so-great ones stirred within me a desire to change
education. I knew I wanted to become a teacher
from a very young age. I went to Hillsdale Col-
lege, a liberal arts college, to broaden my knowl-
edge base in all areas, not just teacher educa-
tion. My first job out of college was teaching at an
inner-city school in Detroit. I taught there for one
year and then moved to Arizona to escape the
frigid winters in Michigan! This is my sixth year at
Cortez Park.
First Things: What Does it Take to Be an Imagine Teacher?
By Eileen Bakke, Co-Founder and VP for Education
These shared
values form the
basis for an
outstanding
character educa-
tion curriculum
for adults as well
as our students!
Second, being an Imagine person necessi-
tates that you take responsibility, not only for
your classroom, but for the success of the
whole school and even the whole organiza-
tion.
We believe that the success of our schools is up
to each person in our organization. Taking re-
sponsibility for the whole means that you: (1)
commit yourself to continual evaluation and im-
provement in our six measures of excellence; (2)
know your school budget and use Imagine’s re-
sources honestly and wisely; (3) become a prob-
lem solver, not a complainer; (4) throw out your
job description, and be willing to help out, lead, or
How has working for Imagine Schools im-
pacted your teaching or influenced you in or
out of the classroom?
The philosophy of Imagine Schools impacts
my teaching in a positive way. It gives me
room to grow as an educator because I am
empowered to make sound decisions regard-
ing how I teach and am not given a mandate
to teach in a certain way. Mr. Villalon, my
principal, has always trusted my choices and
allowed me the freedom to learn about and
use different teaching strategies. I also be-
lieve that I have grown as a leader as a result
of the Imagine philosophy because I have had
the opportunity to lead task forces and make
important decisions for the school.
What is one way you reflect the Imagine
Schools shared values in your classroom?
JUSTICE = I teach my students that "fair" Imagine Schools
does not always equal "the same". I teach
and implement a policy that "fair" means treat-
ing everyone differently depending on their
individual needs. My students learn tolerance
fortable and never stop learning. Hold yourself
and acceptance because I am consistent. When
to the highest possible standard and never stop
the students in my class are shown that they
improving yourself, even if you've been teaching
will each be treated as an individual and not a
or working at your current job for 20 years!
serve wherever you see a need; (5) trust others,
give advice and feedback, celebrate others’ accom-
plishments; (6) take responsibility for a decision
you didn’t make or even agree with; (7) care about
the well being of the Imagine school across town or
across the country, offering whatever you can to
help everyone succeed.
Third, being an Imagine person means that you
are in the business of changing lives.
Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy at USC,
recently wrote a book about the place of moral
knowledge in education. He states, “Historically,
the role of a teacher was to change lives, not to
impart information.”
Of course we must teach our students skills and a
core body of knowledge. However, through our
teaching and modeling, we embrace the mission of
changing students’ lives for the better. Being an
Imagine teacher involves loving your students
enough to care deeply about each one’s intellec-
tual, emotional, physical, and moral development.
I started my first school in Beaufort, SC when I was
Page 3
collective whole (what I perceive as "justice"),
they learn how to be tolerant and accept differ-
ences. I treat them all
with love and respect, but
“I am not just a always consider their
teacher. I am a unique needs in deci-
sions I make regarding
member of a discipline, grading, etc.
school and a By modeling this and
talking about it, my stu-
company and I dents learn to accept
strive to help differences; they learn
maintain the that every individual is a
little different and that is
health and something to celebrate.
strength of both. If you could address
the entire Imagine
I am an Schools community,
what advice would you
give them in light of
Teacher.” you journey thus far?
Never become too com-
continued from page 1
12 years old. Two friends and I set up a summer
recreation program for neighborhood kids and
named it “The Humpty Dumpty Day School”. We
charged parents $2/ week and the graduation
exercises were covered in the local newspaper.
I helped start my first “real” school, a K-8 inde-
pendent school named Rivendell School, when
our children were toddlers. We created wonder-
ful literature-based curriculum, and had lots of
parent involvement, rich field trips, and strong
visual and performing arts. My chief goal for the
school was that we would create a place where
students loved to come to school each day and
loved to learn.
What are the ingredients to creating a “joy in
learning” classroom and school? I hope that
each of you will make it your pursuit to create joy
in learning as you begin this wonderful new
school year with your colleagues and students. I
wish each of you a challenging, fulfilling, and
joyful year. Know that I admire you and pray for
you in your special calling as an Imagine
Schools educator.
Announcing...
Congratulations! married on September 1st. August 18th to Randy McCurley.
• Cara Downerd (2nd • The Day School at Coral Springs was voted
• Isabel Berio,General The Best Private School for the second year
Counsel, was promoted to grade teacher) was mar-
ried this summer. in a row. Mr. Jerry Zank was voted the Best
Senior VP Principal (Head of School) for 2007.
• Ralph Garbart was pro- • Lisa Meuse (curriculum
coach) birth of baby girl Hope Community Charter School
moted from Principal at
River's Edge to Area Direc- in May. • Steve Robinson (5th grade teacher) was
tor of the Central Florida Region. • Lauren Ramspacher (Kindergarten teacher) married August 4th.
• Shawn Black was promoted from Principal at engaged to be married.
• Tara Sigovich
Kennesaw Charter School to Regional Director (Kindergarten
of Georgia. Imagine School Charter at East Mesa
Teacher) will be
• Lyle Cady, (Music Teacher) will be married married to Michael
• D'Anne Tombs-Shelton was promoted from on Sept. 8th.
Principal at Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Academy to Williams Sept. 29th.
Regional Director of Missouri Imagine Schools at Cortez Park • John Miller
• Krystal Boxeth was promoted from 5th grade • Mrs. Tina Cerrano (4th grade teacher) married (Facilities Manager)
Teacher at Hope Community Charter school to on June 23rd. starts Facilities
Education Associate. Management
• Mrs. Stephanie VanLonkhuyzen (1st grade
School this fall.
• Dennis Cagle was promoted from Principal at teacher) married on July 21st.
Imagine Charter School at Desert West to Re- • Mrs. Rebecca Tamboli (Special Education
gional Director in Arizona. teacher) birth of daughter, Kaehli, on April EHLA College Prep:
24th. • Home Depot donated $250.00 so the environ-
Celebrations!
mental science class could decorate the
Imagine Great Western Academy The Day School at Coral Springs school’s foyer. Students planted various
• Jericho Strausbaugh (2nd grade teacher) was • Jamie Mavrides (Teacher, Pre K4) engaged plants and flowers too!

The Power of Positive Talk

By Krystal Boxeth, Education Associate continued from page 2

2. Create ways for students to begin to acquire

lary through conversation and do so in an af- 1992) should be reason enough to compel all
new vocabulary; using diverse resources (e.g.
firming way. teachers to explore new ways to reach out;
newspapers and scientific articles) with rich
providing parents with new tools to communi-
vocabulary;
Opportunities are endless when it comes to cate and to encourage their children to read at
encouraging parents, but we must take our job home.
3. Create relevant opportunities to explore
as educators seriously. Knowing that “children
applying and using new vocabulary in and out
who read even ten minutes outside of school For more on research by Betty Hart, Ph.D
of the classroom; and
experience substantially higher rates of vo- and Todd R. Risely go to:
cabulary growth between grades 2 and 5 than http:www.brookes publishing.com/store/books
4. Actively provide ways to encourage parents
children who do little or no reading” (Anderson, /hart-1979
and families to expand their children’s vocabu-

Who is Imagine Schools? We are an organization, comprised mostly of teachers, that

operates public charter schools and independent schools in 9 states and the District of
Columbia. Our mission is to help parents educate their children by creating learning com-
munities of achievement and hope. Imagine Schools was founded with the goal of restor-
ing vision and purpose to the learning environment and to returning parents to full partici-
pation in the education of their children.

Imagine Schools’ founders, Dennis and Eileen Bakke, are passionate about making a
Learning Communities of difference in education by applying a unique organizational and operational structure
guided by shared values of integrity, justice, and fun. This structure puts teachers and
1005 North Glebe Road, Suite 610 school leaders squarely in charge of the decisions affecting the schools they serve.
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-527-2600 “I just wanted to let you all know how impressed I was with your sincere, lighted-
hearted, and dedicated introductions last night. Your team made me so proud
Fax: 703-527-0038
about my decision to place my "little Masterpieces" in your care each
E-mail: krystal.boxeth@imagineschools.com
day.” - Middle School parent, Hope Community Charter School
Newsletter Editor