It's an important cultural motif, because the Hmong inhabited the top of the mountains throughout the Indochinese peninsula. The board told them it was non-negotiable. LearnNow, a new for-profit company based in New York, emphasizes English literacy, mathematics, science and technology. Growth will be an issue. It's opened K-3, though its founders envision expanding to 12th grade.
Culture is also an issue.
A charter school, by law, cannot exclude a student who wants to attend. Down in the basement, LearnNow President Jim Shelton helps sort breakfast milk. Choua Lee, the school's assistant director, goes from classroom to classroom to take a head count. Maychy Vu, dressed in the school uniform colors of white and navy blue, tries to track down late buses. On the whole of it, it's as much normal as extraordinary.