Casa Blanca Charter Middle School

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Status: Opened 1997
Grades: 5-8
Enrollment: 210

Located in rural Arizona, Casa Blanca Middle School aims to provide students of the Casa Blanca and Gila River Indian Communities with a culturally relevant education. The curriculum is focused on developing academic skills and is grounded in the Pima and Maricopa cultures. Like many start-up charter schools, however, Casa Blanca has faced major challenges with facilities.

Art and cultural programs convene under large outdoor tents.

Classes meet in modular units.

In 1998 school staff conducted their cultural programs-- dance, pottery, language lessons, and basket weaving and other crafts-- under a tent. The rest of the school is housed in modular classrooms and mobile mini-units. Each modular holds two classes of each grade, while the mini-units provide a resource room and space for small, pull-out classes. Physical education takes place at the community sports complex.

Physical education classes use a community sports complex.

Mobile mini-units provide additional classroom space.

Initially, Casa Blanca Middle School founders planned to move the school into a renovated former bus station, but problems coordinating the groups working to get the building ready for students prevented the move.

The lack of adequate space for the school was an unanticipated hurdle. Thus, the principal advises other charter school founders to plan for facilities needs at least one year ahead of time and investigate short-term facilities solutions, such as old churches or used modulars, to get started.

These stories about how selected charter schools found facilities were co-developed
by WestEd and NWREL. If you have a story to share, please contact us.

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