A proposal to open a vocational high school in the Kearsarge Regional School District moved one step closer to completion last night when the school board gave the proposal its blessing. Now the detailed plan will go to the state Board of Education, which will determine whether to fund the program.

Like all charter schools in the state, the Kearsarge charter school, if approved, would be open to students from across the state. But unlike several charter schools that have struggled elsewhere, the Kearsarge plan originated in the district superintendent's office and was developed with the guidance of district staff and the Kearsarge Regional High School principal. Now the board has also endorsed the plan.

Currently, students who want to take vocational classes must make long bus rides to Claremont or Newport, the closest districts that offer such classes. That has discouraged many students from signing up and made it hard for those who do to schedule all their other required classes. Still, a student survey showed that more than a third of students would consider a vocational high school if one were available, said Carl Fitzgerald, the Kearsarge High School principal, in his presentation to the board. That number is slightly higher than the 30 to 35 percent of Kearsarge grads who currently don't advance to college.

The school would share some resources with the high school. Some core classes would be held at the school, and some teachers would teach in both high school programs. The charter school would also contract with the district for payroll and some other administrative services.

But the charter school would be an independent entity with its own board, its own director and a significantly different curriculum, said Joy Gobin, a special education administrator in the Newport-Sunapee-Croyden school district who has led the committee that developed the charter.

Students at the charter school would take core history, English and math classes. But English and math would be tweaked from a traditional orientation to emphasize applications in the building trade world. Much of the English course would focus on resume-writing, preparing for a job interview and writing different forms of business letters. The math curriculum would have a hands-on component. The curriculum would also include two years of business classes that would teach students accounting skills, prepare them to make a business plan and teach them how to pitch their businesses to banks and other partners. Core classes would be held for three hours each afternoon.

But the bulk of students' time would be spent on actual job sites learning practical skills. The emphasis will be on building arts, but students will have a wide choice of different fields in which to intern or job shadow, including architecture, construction, plumbing and landscaping. The charter committee has already begun reaching out to local businesses that would partner with the program.

In its first year, the school would admit 20 juniors, and would gradually grow each year to a size of around 100 students, depending on demand. Kearsarge students would bring their full tuition with them to the new school. Students from other districts would bring only their state adequacy aid, a fraction of the total cost to the charter school.

The school board voted unanimously to recommend that the Department of Education approve the application.

Next, the charter committee will wait on the response from the state board. If they get it, they'll have to start planning the details of getting a school off the ground. If all goes as planned, the school would start classes in the fall of 2007. And the school's board can start worrying about fundraising.

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By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

Monitor staff