Email accompanying Proposal Form

Dear Sirs Please find attached the Proposal Form with respect to the International School of America’s application to establish a new Free School in Bath, along the lines of Charter Schools in America. Naturally this is on the basis that we believe you wish the Charter School procedure to be part of your Free School aspirations, which we support. Our application has been somewhat delayed while we waited for information about how you plan to help the funding of Charter Schools here. In America the funding procedure has varied in different US States. We are confident that we can succeed here with the standard per pupil funding procedure once the school is in operation. This was also the case for the Charter School the International School of America designed for Cambridge, Massachusetts. The funding of the start-up expenditure needs careful investigation because it will depend upon the specific school site. In recognition of the fact that Charter Schools in America are chosen and are successful on the basis of the quality of their educational innovation, we present to you our innovative approach to secondary schooling. The student-centred learning system described in our Proposal moves away from the teacher-centred classroom system (established at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to allow mothers to work in factories) and replaces it with a student-centred procedure where each student is treated as a customer of learning and allowed to move at his/her own individual pace with assistance from teachers, outside experts and personal mentors. There is also a video entitled 'A Day in the Life of a Student' prepared by Dr James Lengel, Professor of Information Technology at Boston University and former Assistant State Superintendent of Education in New Hampshire State, which can be seen by going to www.internationalschoolofamerica.com.  James Lengel is a member of the International School of America's Board of Directors and worked closely with the ISA's successful approval of our Cambridge, Massachusetts, Charter School application.  He is prepared to help the ISA's Bath Charter School to succeed.  He is currently working with the New York City School Department and Cisco, one of America's leading IT corporations.  We hope the Bath Charter School may also be able to benefit from Cisco's assistance here.  Cisco has 68,500 employees globally.  The NYC project involves 10 new high schools, now open, which follow student-centred procedures, as illustrated in the the video 'A Day in the Life of a Student'.

Jean Houston is also a member of the ISA's Board of Directors.  She is a scholar, philosopher, author and researcher in human capacities, one of the foremost

visionary thinkers and doers of our time, and one of the principal founders of the Human Potential Movement. A powerful and dynamic speaker, she holds conferences and seminars with social leaders, educational institutions and business organizations worldwide. She is a prolific writer and author of 26 books. She has lectured in more than 100 countries and worked intensively in 40 cultures. She has received many awards for her work. Jean founded the Foundation for Mind Research, The International Institute for Social Artistry and The Mystery School.  She is an advisor to UNICEF and currently working with the United Nations Development Programme training leaders in developing countries throughout the world in the new field of social artistry. Jean has served for two years in an advisory capacity to President and Mrs Clinton as well as helping Mrs Clinton write It Takes A Village To Raise A Child. Jean has taught at several universities including Columbia University. Jean holds a B.A., a Ph.D. in psychology, and a Ph.D. in religion.

The ISA's plans for an outstanding model school in Bath will be greatly benefited by James Lengel's and Jean Houston's involvement.  Personally I would hope you may see the Bath Charter School as a model to replicate elsewhere.

We are happy to provide you with a copy of the ISA's 1996 application to the Massachusetts Dept of Education which was approved by them for a 400 student secondary school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Naturally we are happy to discuss our thoughts on how best to create a Charter School here.  We are quite certain it will be well received by students and parents here in Bath.  Our local authority, BANES, has disappointed many here, especially since they recently told three secondary schools they might be axed.  Since then all three have sought Academy status or religious amalgamation to escape the local authority's economic manipulations.  Many parents here are quite disillusioned by the local authority's apparent interest in economic benefits coming from selling off school property via closing of schools. Sincerely Karl JaegerExecutive DirectorInternational School of America