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New Prospect Charter School superintendent wants more community engagement By Kevin Opsahl Oct 25, 2022 12:30 AM A A Daye Stone, superintendent of Prospect Charter School, poses on campus, located off Mill Creek Drive, Wednesday, Oct. 19. [Kevin Opsahl/Mail Tribune] Prospect Charter School Superintendent Daye Stone loved his years at places like Hidden Valley High School and Central Medford High School, where he most recently worked. But all the while, heading back to his roots was never far from his mind. Stone and his wife purchased a ranch in Days Creek, an hour northwest, where he grew up and his grandpa owned property. His dream was to work a job much closer to the ranch and commute to it on the weekends. So when the Prospect superintendent job opened up last summer, Stone applied and was hired by the charter school’s board. “It met my needs professionally as a place where I could come and work in a small community, where I could really make a difference,” he said. “I was pretty excited about this chance.” Prospect Charter School, located at 160 Mill Creek Drive, includes 230 K-12 students and 39 staff members. Unlike other charter schools, including those in the Medford School District, which are dependent on a charter agreement between it and the district school board, Prospect Charter School is its own school district. But that kind of arrangement is not stopping Prospect from operating like a traditional charter school. “There’s a different set of expectations that open us up for freedom to educate in a nontraditional manner. We really focus on place-based education in the forest, here,” Stone said. “Because we’re in the forest, we’re really working on college- and career-readiness.” Examples include a timber culture class, allowing students to chop wood in the backyard of their own school. Agriculture, animal sciences and metalworking also are offered. “We know the Rogue Valley, a couple years ago, had 1,500 advanced manufacturing jobs annually,” Stone said, “and so trying to match what type of career readiness positions there are within our local service area, prepare our kids for it and do it in an alternative manner, that is really what our charter is about.” The vision of Prospect’s charter goes hand in hand with Stone’s vision of community engagement. “The school is the center of the community. It’s the only form of entertainment there is here in Prospect,” he said. “You can build programs and things the community is proud of with kids. That’s the vitality of any community, is our kids.” That’s why Prospect’s back-to-school night was not traditional, meeting on the football field, introducing the new students and hearing from a guest speaker. A taco truck from Grants Pass-based Casa Amiga served food for free. “What materialized out of that was, post-COVID, an opportunity to reconnect,” Stone said. “Engagement and connection on every level is what we all desire. It’s what our school can bring with these activities.” A first-ever Veterans Day celebration is scheduled for Nov. 10. Prospect students will feed veterans and their families afterwards. “It’s one of the marquee things that I’ve spearheaded,” Stone said. “It’s institutional now at Hidden Valley.” Asked what else he might change about Prospect Charter School, Stone said he will spend a lot of his first year observing and asking questions. “You set up some systems to where you can look at what’s been done in the past, so you can improve systems, essentially, in year two,” Stone said. This school year, the focus has been on reengaging students post-COVID-19 protocols and treating staff with “respect, dignity and positivity.” “It’s for me, as a leader, that my staff feels like they are supported,” Stone said, “that I’m not just interested in their professional endeavors. I’m also interested in their personal pursuits. When you care about people, you get a lot more out of them. Right now, it’s all hands on deck; it’s hard.” He acknowledges students, like educators, are facing challenges like never before, partly due to integrating to in-class lessons after so much virtual learning. But one thing is certain: Stone wants everyone who graduates from Prospect to be “productive citizens.” “I think that’s what every school wants,” he said. Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.