Ever since Mayor Allan Fung announced his intention to open a Mayoral Academy Charter School in Cranston, the city has been abuzz with debate, including an exchange of letters between Fung and Superintendent Peter Nero on the subject.

As a founding faculty member at the Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley Charter School, Cranston resident Joy Souza says her city should welcome the idea.

“When I got to Democracy Prep, I was blown away by everything that I saw and heard, especially about high expectations for all students,” Souza said.

That is not to say that Souza doesn’t appreciate the work done at public schools. In fact, her children are students in the Cranston system.

A former Exeter-West Greenwich kindergarten teacher, Souza was nominated twice in that district for Teacher of the Year and is now a lead teacher in one of four kindergarten classrooms at Democracy Prep, which opened in Cumberland this fall.

DPBV is modeled after the Democracy Prep Charter School in the Harlem section of New York City. The Blackstone Valley charter school currently houses 76 kindergarteners from various socioeconomic levels and educational abilities.

The students, or scholars as they are called at the school, are from Cumberland, Lincoln, Central Falls and Pawtucket. They were accepted through a lottery system as there were many more applications than slots available, according to Jeremy Chiappetta, the head of the school.

Democracy Prep will add one grade level each year until it reaches capacity at 745 students from kindergarten through grade eight. The school also includes an inclusive special education program for students who need those services.

Despite a rigorous application process, Souza said she couldn’t turn down the chance to attend a school-sponsored recruiting event.

“I went to the Democracy Prep recruiting event because I had been interested in the charter school movement for some time and I wanted to learn more about the first Mayoral Academy,” she said.

By not relying on teachers unions for staffing, Democracy Prep is able to give teachers base pay and benefits along with merit pay based on student performance and classroom observations throughout the year. They can earn up to 10 percent of their salaries by merit alone, and each staff member is also provided with a laptop computer and a Blackberry.

After Souza was accepted for the job, she was given a teaching fellow to mentor in her classroom. Teaching fellows are highly qualified teachers who don’t have as much classroom experience as the lead teachers. By using this collaborative approach, however, Chiapetta says students like the 19 in Souza’s class get more personal attention.

Souza’s day at DPBV is a long one, lasting from 6:30 a.m. to about 6:30 p.m. each night. Although the hours seem long in comparison to a regular public school where teachers are only required to be in school 20 minutes before and after classroom time, Souza said everyone on the staff at DPBV keeps long hours.

“No one minds doing it. The teachers here are all so excited about what we’re doing. When you see the scholars’ test scores come back and they’re through the roof, we know it was all worth it,” she said.

The official school day begins at 7:40 a.m., when the students arrive for breakfast and Morning Circle.

“The whole-school meeting lasts maybe six minutes,” said Chiappetta, who explained that the group often discusses their DREAM values, which stands for discipline, respect, enthusiasm, accountability and maturity. “By the time the scholars move upstairs, they are ready to learn and their baggage has been left at the door. It’s very cleansing.”

Each Wednesday, the school lets out at 1:30 p.m. instead of the usual 4 p.m., so staff can participate in professional development. The staff also receives three weeks of full-day professional development in the summertime, prior to the opening of school. This past summer, Souza was able to attend a professional development conference in Orlando, Fla. College classes are reimbursed up to $1,500 per year as well.

“Over the years, I have worked with several very dedicated, wonderful teachers, but at DPBV, I am surrounded by a faculty that is 100 percent dedicated in every way to the success of our scholars,” Souza said.

College is the focus for DPBV scholars and college pennants hang in the entryway. Each classroom is named for the college or university that the teachers in that classroom attended.

On Friday afternoons the school has Town Hall meetings to share their learning experiences.

“At Democracy Prep I have so many opportunities to grow as a teacher through daily teacher collaboration, weekly professional development, school visits and conferences,” said Souza.

Her classroom is made up of centers where students can work with teachers or independently, reading aloud or practicing their “popcorn” sight words they are becoming familiar with at this point in the year.

It is a differentiated instruction model, where instructors teach to the individual needs of each student.

“There’s nothing more frustrating as a teacher than not being able to support your children. When they’re writing for example, both of us are available to listen to their work,” she said of the team teaching approach being used.

When asked what he thinks makes DPBV stand out, Chiappetta says they provide the fundamentals as any public school, but are able to recruit teachers to fit specific needs.

“We have been able to recruit the best-of-the-best here and we have some of the most amazing and talented teachers in the northeast,” he said, noting that private funding and the ability to go after outside grants and donations also allows them to support faculty through extensive professional development.

“Because of our faculty, our scholars are working very rigorously and they don’t even know it because the teachers have made learning fun. It’s a very joyous environment,” he added.

As high as the expectations are for teachers, so they are for students, who are constantly assessed during the year.

“We use data regularly that drives what we do and how we approach instruction to make sure each scholar is working to a high level,” Chiappetta said.

The scholars have 30 to 40 minutes of homework per night and extra homework on the weekends. Chiappetta mentioned that the high level of commitment evident within the classroom is also evident from the families.

“We have wonderful families here who share our ideal of high expectations and putting their children on the college track,” he said.

Souza agreed, and says she thinks Democracy Prep has its priorities in the right place.

“I am excited to work in a high performing school that celebrates and rewards great teaching, hard work and student achievement results,” she said.