The Bend International School just got a step closer to its goal of opening in fall of 2015 after it recently received a $700,000 federal grant.

“I just think they really loved our program and philosophy,” said Meera Rupp, the school’s founder and director. “In the past, charter schools have been criticized as seeming like private schools for the upper class in a community. But we’re trying to reach out to low economic and minority students.”

The school, which is under review by the Bend-La Pine Schools to become a public charter school within the district, received a three-year U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Charter Schools Grant. The grant, which is specifically for charter schools just starting out, will be used to help with costs associated with buying classroom furniture, materials, and educational technology. Rupp said out of 100 grant applicants, the Bend International School was one of 15 schools selected.

Charter schools are publicly funded by school districts but are run privately. Rimrock Expeditionary Alternative Learning Middle School is the district’s other charter school, which is focused on environmental stewardship. Charter schools are required to meet annual district program goals to keep charter status.

The Bend International School’s focus would be on Spanish immersion, world studies and promoting diversity, said Rupp. Basic subjects, such as reading, math and science, would be taught in English. But other subjects, such as P.E., would be conducted in Spanish.

“It’s easy to feel isolated from the rest of the world in a place like Bend — we don’t have as much cultural experience in our community as other places,” Rupp said. “We want our students to be global citizens, and in order for that to happen, we have to provide them with a curriculum that has an integrated global focus.”

She plans to initially have just under 200 students at the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, with about 15 teachers.

Rupp said she officially submitted the 750-page charter school application to the district on Sept. 15. The application must be reviewed by district officials and the school board, and community hearings are slated for December and February, at which Rupp will explain the goals of the school. The status of the school will then be put to a vote by the school board, Rupp said. She expects to hear back about whether the school is approved as a Bend-La Pine charter school within three months.

Though the grant is substantial for the school, grant rules mandate the money cannot go toward purchasing a facility, one of the larger challenges facing the school at the moment. Rupp said facility costs wouldn’t be funded by the district either, even if the school is approved. Rupp is set on having the school on the east side of Bend and is working to rally funds to purchase a building. She is looking into alternative loans and nontraditional lending, and is also hoping to fundraise some of the down payment needed to purchase a facility.

“Right now, we’re pursuing all our options,” Rupp said.

She also said she thinks receiving the grant may help legitimize the school even more in the district’s eyes.

“The worst-case scenario, I think they’ll say that we need to take an extra year before starting,” Rupp said. “I think that’s the worst case.”

Rupp said the first community information meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Dec. 2, at Bend’s Community Center. At 6 p.m., Spanish-speaking residents are invited to hear about the school in Spanish.

—Reporter: 541-383-0354, mkehoe@bendbulletin.com.