AUTHORIZER
Sponsor/Authorizer Information
For more than 18 years Stillwater Area Schools, district 834, served as the sponsor of New Heights School. The Stillwater district was actually the first public school district to sponsor a charter school in the state of Minnesota and was the first in the United States, as charter schools were first legislated in the great state of Minnesota. However, the relationship came to a sad and abrupt end as a result of the new legislation requiring charters to transition from “sponsors” to “authorizers;” which significantly raised the rigor and accountability of the charter school accountability partners in the state of Minnesota. In April of 2012, New Heights had its application to change authorizers approved, and began a new relationship with Innovative Quality Schools, a single purpose authorizer, which lasted approximately three years. In October of 2014, New Heights submitted a request for a change of authorizer to the commissioner of education. In the spring of 2015, the application was approved and New Heights began its relationship with The Minnesota Guild for Charter Schools; also a “single purpose authorizer.” Single purpose authorizers are simply that; organizations whose sole purpose is to support charter schools and to ensure and report on compliance.
The current authorizer liaison to New Heights is:
Lynn Nordgren
Minnesota Guild for Charter Schools
323 Washington Ave N Minneapolis MN 55401
email: executivedirectormnguild@gmail.com