Charter schools are breathing new life into public education nationwide, especially for disadvantaged communities. Lighthouse Academies is a new national charity incorporated here in 2003 — a system for launching multiple charter schools (20 in five years), based on a model using an arts-infused curriculum, with visiting and resident artists, to excite students about reading, math, science, social studies, Spanish, music and more. LHA has already won licenses to open eight schools. To ensure consistent high quality, it has a teacher-training program whereby one extra teacher apprentice would work alongside regular faculty at each grade level, and spend a half-day each week preparing to become the founding staff of a new charter school the following September. Trainees will also work at the Framingham headquarters on planning and evaluation. This multiplier feature, however, cannot be covered by students’ tuitions, which are provided by local public school systems; therefore the training year must be supported by philanthropic donations — investments in new charter schools with specially-trained faculty. This is a strategically significant experiment in a highly promising new field of education, and a leveraged opportunity for donors. Contributions are sure to enrich the education of many children. This could be big.