Amy started her job as director - that's like superintendent and principal rolled into one - at Crosslake Community School (CCS) in March. It's her first administrative position in the education field. Prior to that, she was a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Pequot Lakes School since 1999.

She is licensed as a K-12 principal and superintendent. When she earned her master's degree in education leadership she thought maybe she'd use that someday, when her kids were older. Then came the opportunity in Crosslake.

"I was surprised to even get an interview," Amy confesses, "because I had no administrative experience."

She credits Pequot Lakes High School Principal John McDonald for encouraging her growth in leadership. "He and Mr. Arns, now superintendent at Pillager, encouraged me to pursue administration," she explains. It helped that she had a lot of opportunities to gain leadership experience by way of working on committees, according to Amy.

The timing of the job worked out well, too. She came in at the end of the last school year, giving her a chance to assess the school's current situation. The summer provided an opportunity to do some planning in time to implement plans in the fall.

The timing worked out well personally, too. "This is perfect for my family right now," she said. Amy and her family live in Pequot Lakes in a home built by her husband, Steve. With three children - Sophia, 4, Max, 2, and Lily, 3 months - she has her hands full, but the scheduling demands of the small school are still manageable.

And she stresses that charter schools are like a big district, just on a smaller scale. At CCS, a K-8 school that opened in 2000 with 39 students, class sizes are now capped at 19, and overall enrollment is capped at 125.

"There are many misconceptions about charter schools," offers Amy. "I want to help people understand that we're just another public school - not competition for the other districts, just another alternative." The school has classrooms, a science lab and a gymnasium, just like any other public school.

She says that people asked what our charter school's "thing" is. Some charter schools have language immersion programs or are focused on music or art. "Ours is really that we're a community school," she continues. "We want to give students a sense of citizenship, to learn what it is to be part of the community."

One way the school does that is by requiring students to spend time volunteering in the community. The school also participates in fundraising efforts. Currently students and staff are having "Penny Wars" to raise money for the Radiothon to End Child Abuse, which is taking place in the Brainerd and Bemidji areas Dec. 7 and 8.

One of the things Amy has had to adjust to is the size of the kids. "I've always worked in junior and senior high schools," she says. "I've had to get used to seeing little people in the building instead of the big kids."

The small size of the school has also been an adjustment after working at Pequot Lakes. It's especially small considering where she graduated high school. "I graduated in a class of 997 at Anoka High School," she recalls. "At the time it was the biggest high school in Minnesota."

Amy is proud of CCS's recent Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments-Series II (MCA II) results. Out of the 143 charter schools in Minnesota, only 12 achieved 70 percent in both reading and math. CCS is one of those schools, putting it in the top 8 percent of charter schools academically.

Her ultimate professional goal is to have a positive influence on people who educate our children. Amy says she finds working at CCS gratifying, and the longer she's doing what she is, the more impressed she is with Minnesota's approach to charter schools and school choice.

For more information on Crosslake Community School, visit www.crosslakekids.org or call (218) 692-5437. To find out more about Minnesota charter schools, visit www.mncharterschools.org