Q & A

* Principal Mary Ann Owsley, Santiago Middle School, Orange

When classes begin Sept. 5 at Santiago Middle School in Orange, it will operate under the first charter in Orange County. Under state law, charter schools may vary from the education code and take a flexible approach to staffing and teacher credentials. At Santiago, the 948 students will wear uniforms and attend interdisciplinary classes. The state, local school board and the school’s teachers approved the charter last year. As part of the agreement, each student’s family agreed to volunteer 12 hours a year. Principal Mary Ann Owsley, 52, spoke with Times correspondent Lesley Wright about how the program started and what she hopes to achieve. Q: What was the motivation for seeking a charter?

A: It started from a teacher’s interest . . . and from there it was an evolution. It kind of grew like Topsy. One of the most exciting things about it is that, for most of us, it’s like a rebirth. You get to a place in life where you are real comfortable and everything is fine. And all of a sudden your whole apple cart is turned over, and you realize that it’s like it was coming to work for the first time 20 years ago. And you are excited. The revitalization was not an original motive at all. But it definitely became a factor. The excitement is catching.

Q: Do you still consider yourself part of the public education system?

A: I definitely consider us part of public education. . . . As long as you, the student, agree to live up to our standards here, we don’t care where you came from or what your background is. . . . A comment was made to me early on, when we started the charter process, that we were doing it to be exclusive, that we would screen out people and so on. That is absolutely the farthest thing from the truth.

Q: What will the school gain most from the new system?

A: Maybe it’s the freedom to be grown up and make decisions that are good for you. The parents and the teachers can say, “This would be really good for our kids,” and you don’t have to look over your shoulder and have someone in Sacramento say, “This would not be good for your kids.”

Q: How will you evaluate the program’s success?

A: Success to me will be that our students personally feel successful. . . . A lot of our successes will be very concrete. Others will be feelings.

Q: Trustees of the Orange Unified School District have been considering charters for all of the schools. What do you think of trying to establish a multi-campus charter?

A: Experience says you have to have buy-in from the people who will implement the charter. I hope they understand that even if they were allowed to vote a charter in, [the votes] would have to come from the teaching staff.