Colorado School Seizes on Opportunity for Local Control

By Robert C. Johnston

As the principal of an elementary school in Apple Valley, Calif., Brian Ewert was so frustrated by the state and district mandates he had to follow that he considered changing careers.

"California was very top-down. The autonomy was nonexistent," Mr. Ewert recalled of his experiences there some five years ago. "We had parent-community meetings and organizations on school improvement, but, realistically, there was little we could do."

Hoping things would be better elsewhere, Mr. Ewert took a job as the principal of Mountain View Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1995. Since then, the 35-year-old administrator has enjoyed more freedom...