After two years of leasing property in Northridge, CHIME Charter Middle School has a new, permanent home on the lush, rustic grounds of the former Santa Susana Academy in Chatsworth.

"We were so fortunate to find such a breathtaking, peaceful setting for our school," said CHIME principal Renee Harvey. CHIME has extensive ties to Cal State Northridge.

Harvey said she received a call out of the blue this past spring from Marilyn Luckey, founder and director of the 28-year-old Santa Susana Academy, shortly after CHIME learned that it had been awarded a $3.4 million facilities grant from the state to help it find a permanent home.

"CHIME had been recommended to her by (Cal State Northridge secondary education) professor Roger Arst," Harvey said. "He knew she was looking for someone to take over her school site who shared similar values--quality education for all children. Dr. Luckey wanted to ensure that though she was retiring, her philosophy and commitment to inclusive and exemplary education would continue with CHIME."

CHIME Charter Middle School and its sister campus, CHIME Charter Elementary School, are independent schools that provide tuition-free public education. Both schools serve as demonstration and teacher-training sites for Cal State Northridge's nationally acclaimed Michael D. Eisner College of Education and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

CHIME Charter Middle School opened in the fall of 2003 in temporary trailers located on property belonging to the Cornerstone Christian Church at the corner of Parthenia Street and Winnetka Avenue in Northridge. The school initially served approximately 112 students in sixth and seventh grades. It added two eighth grade classes and expanded to 156 students last year.

Harvey said the move to the new, larger site at 22280 Devonshire St. will enable the school to add new sixth-grade and seventh-grade classes, bringing its total student population to approximately 224 children this fall. Classes are small, no more than 28 students per class, with a minimum of 1-to-14 adult-to-student ratio.

Harvey said CHIME Charter Middle School embraces the findings of a recent Rand Corp. study recently featured in Time Magazine that said middle school students do best when provided with a rigorous academic curriculum and teachers who 1) have been specifically trained in how to engage their students; 2) Shold both students and themselves accountable for learning; and 3) teach in a safe and nurturing environment where social skills and conflict resolution are part of the learning process.

CHIME Charter Middle School was recently acknowledged by the Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith for having high standardized test scores that place it in the "Super Seven Hundred Club."

CHIME still has a handful of openings for the new school year. For an application or more information about the middle school, interested parents should call (818) 998-6794 or visit its Web site: ms.chimeinstitute.org.