School’s back in session at Wilson Preparatory Academy

Students stood in long lines, some holding hands with their parents, as they waited for school doors to open for the first day of school at Wilson Preparatory Academy at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Wilson Prep is located at 2755 Tilghman Road and enrolls students from kindergarten to 11th grade.

“Greetings and welcome back,” Daryl Woodard, founder and executive director, said cheerfully as students and parents walked in the door. “So glad to see you.”

Many gave Woodard a high-five when they walked in.

“Our theme this year is ‘take it to the next level, academically, athletically, socially and behaviorally – all the way around.'” Woodard said of his expectations for the 2017-18 school year. “Our teachers, staff and administration are all on the same page. This is all about the children.”

Woodard said as he travels around the area, he is often met with parents who know how hard they work and want their children to go to WPA.

“The word is out that we care about each and every one of our students,” Woodard said.

Michelle Artis said she was on pins and needles waiting to hear if her son, Derrick, would be picked to be a WPA scholar.

“I had heard about the reputation and I know it is the best, so I said I have got to get my son in that school,” Artis said. “I got the email when I was at work. I was so excited I had to get up from my desk and go into the bathroom so I could give God the praise like I wanted to.”

Artis said little Derrick is ready for kindergarten and knows the alphabets, colors and can read.

Shemika Davis has a third-grader and sixth-grader who were selected to attend Wilson Prep this year.

“I was so excited I screamed right out in my office,” Davis said. “This is a great opportunity for my sons.”

Dindy Perry, who has a sixth-grader, said she and her husband Xavier love WPA because they are so focused on academics.

“I like that my son will be able to transition from middle school to high school and have the same staff to look out for him,” Perry said. “This is our first year here. I am glad he will be able to come to a school that will help him reach his goals for college.”

The student body has increased by more than 250 scholars this fall bringing enrollment to more than 700. New students are chosen by lottery, as required by state law. Woodard said the waiting list is long for parents who want to their children to be enrolled.

“Today we have about 98 percent of our children to show up for the first day,” Woodard said, smiling. “People are still on vacation and so it will take a few days to know how things will be. However, parents should not give up. There is still a chance somebody may not show up. When that happens, we go to the list and pick the next student. We just keep it moving.”

Elementary school principal Beverly Woodard, who is not related to Daryl Woodard, said this school year is going to be even more exciting than last year.

“Every teacher is excellent and we have a lot planned for our students,” Beverly Woodard said. “Children want to know that you care and that you will hear what they have to say. The little ones understand when you care about them.”

Beverly Woodard has a third-grader who attends WPA and a nephew. She said she likes peeping in on them.

Shawan Woodard, associate director of WPA, said educators are expecting students to build upon the great work they have already done at the school.

“When you expect children to do well, they try to meet the expectations,” Shawan Woodard said. “We can achieve even greater and we will.”

Phillip Rountree, middle and high school principal, held a rally for students in the new gym. Students sat attentively and met all of the teachers for the new year.

“Get ready, because we are on the move,” Rountree told the students. “I love each and every one of

you and I want you to see your future and be prepared to step right into it. Every one of you who want to go to college will do that. Believe it. So get ready to work hard.”

WPA’s students go from kindergarten through 11th grade. Next school year the 12th grade will be added.

To view the article click here

County Charter Schools Induct 42 into National Jr. Honor Society

Forty-two scholars from the Vineland and the Millville Public Charter Schools were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at a candlelight ceremony on Thursday, June 1, 2017. The group, made up of students from grades 6-9, represents the top academic achievers from the top two elementary schools in Cumberland County.

In her opening remarks, Executive Director, Dr. Ann Garcia, welcomed the students, family members, and faculty and congratulated the inductees on their hard work, dedication to excellence, and self-discipline. The inductees are:

Jose Acevedo
Sophia Adams
Alexander Anderson
Alanah Arkainno-Smith
Alisha Suarez-Armstead
Ronald Batario
Natalie Bateman-Parkhill
Brianna Caraballo
James Carr
Mathieu Carroll
Mackenzie Dutton
Morgan Eschert
Gianna Gonzalez
Achan Harris
Zariah Holmes
Hafsa Jamil
Asher Jenkins
Arianna Luciano
Lauren Maldonado
Alaina Martinez
Gabrielle McChesney
Genevieve Morgan
Tyler Muessig
Christian Nardone
Elizabeth Panchesine
Rebecca Panchesine
Ta’Leyah Parker Jones
Jaylise Perez-Camacho
Kayli Perez-Camacho
Brianna Pettus
Isabella Ramos
Julianna Ramos
Mylani Rodriguez
Dakota Runkle
Samantha Serrano
Sianna Seranno
Alayna Spencer
Alexis Spencer
Carington Tirado
Emma Torres
Natalya Vellon
Daniel Youhari
Ms. Deborah Morton, principal of Vineland Public Charter School and Ms. Valerie Kemp, principal of Millville Public Charter School, each gave closing remarks.

To view the article click here

Cirrus Academy Holds Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony

It was a proud day for parents at Cirrus Academy in Macon as kindergarteners got a chance to walk the stage and turn their tassels.

They are the first graduating class at the charter school which opened last fall.

Some kids we spoke to said they learned a lot in their first year of school, everything from how to make friends to learning how to cross the street safely.

The principal, Dr. Gail Fowler, says if you look at this graduating class, you know the school has a bright future.

“All of our 2017 kindergarten graduates are an awesome group of young students who are thriving and eager to learn and are indeed shining stars,” said Fowler.

Cirrus is holding three more graduations next week for elementary and middle school kids.

To view the article click here

Wilson Prep Plans Monday Open House

Wilson Preparatory Academy will showcase its new high school and gymnasium facilities during an open house planned for 1 p.m. Monday at the 2755 Tilghman Road school.

Students have been attending class inside the high school building for about six weeks, said Daryl Woodard, Wilson Prep’s founder and executive director.

The charter school opened in 2014 for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. School officials have added a grade level each year, with growing enrollment figures requiring a second classroom building for high-schoolers.

“We’re just putting on the finishing touches in the classrooms and the gym,” Woodard said in a news release. “…Now we are ready to show the public what we are doing here as we go into the end-of-grade testing. We are very excited. The students are happy and their parents are excited as well.”

Wilson Prep serves students from Wilson, Nash, Edgecombe, Wayne and Pitt counties.

Monday’s open house will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. Guest parking will be available in front of the school.

To view the article click here

McLean students earn first place at Mathcounts state competition

Two McLean students are headed to Florida for the national Mathcounts competition after finishing first and second in the state competition March 18 in Richmond.

BASIS Independent McLean’s four-student team won their division in its first time competing, according to a BASIS release.

The team includes Austin Feng (8th grade), Joshua Fu (8th grade), Pravalika Putalapattu, (7th grade) and Ethan Zhou (6th grade). They are led by Coaches Tyler Sullivan and Rikki McCullough.

In the individual Mathcounts competitions, Putalapattu and Zhou placed first and second, respectively, which places them on the four-person team representing Virginia at the 2017 Raytheon Mathcounts National Competition in Orlando in May.

As coach of the winning Mathcounts team, McCullough will also be flown to Orlando to coach the Virginia state team.

“As first-time competitors, we were thrilled to see our school win our regional Mathcounts championship, but to see them succeed at the state level and have the opportunity to compete nationally is truly an outstanding achievement, and we’re so proud of our student-teacher team that made this possible,” said Sean Aiken, head of school of BASIS Independent McLean.

To view the article click here

BASIS Independent McLean Wins MATHCOUNTS Competition

BIM broke the 30 year first place competition record after beating Longfellow Middle School of Falls Church, Virginia.

From MATHCOUNTS: For the first time in more than 30 years, the 34th Annual Northern Virginia Regional MATHCOUNTS Competition awarded first place to a new math champion: BASIS Independent McLean (BIM) of McLean, Va., which opened in 2016. BIM’s middle school math team placed first among schools in the Northern Virginia Chapter MATHCOUNTS Competition (comprised of 17 schools). Longfellow Middle School of Falls Church, Va., who has historically earned the first place award since the 1980s, came in second place. For more information on BASIS Independent McLean, go to http://mclean.basisindependent.com.

“We’re so proud of our students; they made MATHCOUNTS their competition, their project, their win,” said Sean Aiken, head of school of BASIS Independent McLean of McLean, Va. “Our school is designed to help kids take ownership of their own successes and failures, as each lends itself to great learning opportunities; we’re honored to have our students represent BASIS Independent McLean and very impressed that as a new school, they won by working together as a team,” said Aiken.

The Northern Virginia Regional MATHCOUNTS competition is held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. The regional competition combines the Fairfax, George Washington and Northern VA Chapters of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. The top team and top students from each chapter will compete at the Virginia State MATHCOUNTS competition on March 18, 2017 in Richmond, Va. Sixth through eighth grade students from 53 Virginia elementary and middle schools competed at the events. These students have been practicing since the fall and were selected to represent their schools at the competitions. Students compete as school teams and as individuals.

Sponsors of The Northern Virginia Regional MATHCOUNTS program include: Northrop Grumman Information Systems, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Association for Manufacturing Technology, George Mason University, MITRE, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts of Alexandria, Va. and individual engineer contributors. National sponsors of MATHCOUNTS include: Raytheon Company, Northrop Grumman Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Foundation, Phillips 66, Texas Instruments Incorporated, 3Mgives, Art of Problem Solving and NextThought.

To view the article click here

Cultural Outreach at BASIS

In a socially and economically globalized world, the need to be culturally aware has increased dramatically. That’s why BASIS Independent Brooklyn, a private school located in Red Hook, has unrolled a new curriculum designed to expand student cultural awareness.

“We wanted to build a program around international and cultural awareness,” says BASIS Head of School Hadley Ruggles. “We wanted students to look outside of their own world beyond their zip code, community and family.”

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently issued a report on global competency, which noted that “If young people are to co-exist and interact with people from other faiths and countries, open and flexible attitudes, as well as the values that unite us around our common humanity, will be vital.”

In the classroom, BASIS students will look at themes of family, community, and heritage. They will also be connecting with students in other BASIS network classrooms in the US and China.

Jo Goldfarb, director of communications at BASIS, explained that these programs will be present in all classrooms. Last month, for instance, kindergarteners spent several weeks sharing images of their home, their family, and their stories with students in Shenzhen, China.

The middle school students have also been active with the program. In December, they completed a “Cultural Ambassadors” project in collaboration with Columbia University. The students performed in short video talks in which they explored either their own culture or another culture present at BASIS.

In the videos, students discussed topics relevant to a specific culture, government, or place. Examples included pollution in Chinese cities and New Delhi, political policy in China, and the Syrian refugee crisis.

Goldfarb noted that this program aims to “to cultivate empathy and understanding for 21st century learners about to enter an increasingly interconnected marketplace.”
And while BASIS’s new programs spend a good deal of time looking outward at the world, Goldfarb added that “the diverse cultures that make up Red Hook has been a big part of the discussion.”

To view the article click here

Impact Charter Elementary celebrates third year of operation in Baker

Impact Charter Elementary School, on Lavey Lane in Baker, celebrated its third year of operation under its charter status from the state with a Founder’s Day celebration and convocation Oct. 5.

As the first school to be chartered in Baker and the first new school to be constructed in the Baker community in over 30 years, Impact Charter serves more than 350 pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students, a news release said.

 “We meet all children where they are and teach them according to their own personal learning style,” Impact founder and Chief Executive Officer Chakesha Scott said.

Scott, who has a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Southern University and a master’s degree in business administration from LSU, has more than 12 combined years of experience in governmental internal auditing, financial accounting and nonprofit management.

 She recently graduated from the Zachary Chamber’s Leadership North program.

Besides Impact Charter Elementary, Scott is founder of Friends of Impact and co-founder of Education Explosion, a nonprofit educational organization. It was her leadership role with Education Explosion that resulted in the formation and launch of Impact Charter Elementary.

To view the article click here

BASIS Independent McLean School Opens in Tysons

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Nearly 300 students have enrolled at a new private school that has opened its doors in Tysons, the school announced Monday.

More than 40 teachers welcomed the students to the school, called BASIS Independent McLean, a pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade private school.

Located at 8000 Jones Branch Drive (see map below) at the redesigned former campus of Freddie Mac, the 120,000 square-foot school designed by Gilbane Perkins Eastman Design has more than 23 classrooms, as well as a gymnasium, chemistry, biology and physics laboratories, demonstration and reading rooms, full-service cafeteria and indoor and outdoor play areas.

Tuition for the 2016-2017 year at the school is $22,000 for pre-school and $25,500 per year for kindergarten to 12th grade. Next year the tuition will be $22,900 for preschool, $25,900 for kindergarten-grade 4 and $26,900 for grades 5-12.

Classroom sizes at the new school average around 17 students, according to a news release announcing its opening. In addition to traditional classrooms, BASIS Independent McLean offers an industrial arts room, a theater, music rooms and art rooms. Designed to be energy-efficient, every classroom has its own climate control, with programmable light settings, while natural light prevails in the school with a four-story glass arch atrium and five additional light wells in the cafeteria.

The gym is two stories high, with natural light, with visibility into spaces designed for college counseling and an art gallery. The early childhood (preK-K) area has its own entrance and a multi-purpose atrium with indoor and outdoor play areas, and classrooms for younger students.

“We’re thrilled to see all the students and begin a new chapter of education in Tysons Corner,” said Sean Aiken, head of school of BASIS Independent McLean, in the news release. “The school’s design and classrooms are reflective of our teaching and education philosophy, providing engaging tools, spaces and environments that nurture, invite and challenge our students in learning.”

Aiken was a crucial member of the leadership team that built BASIS Oro Valley in Arizona which was ranked number one by the Washington Post in 2016 and also in 2015.

As an English teacher, soccer coach, developer of the first 7th grade Logic curriculum, the school’s founding college counselor and finally the Head of School, “his influence on the school community was profound,” the school noted in its news release. In 2013, Aiken relocated to Washington D.C. where, as Head of School, he led BASIS Washington DC and its faculty to achieve Tier 1 status and recognition as the #2 charter school in Washington, D.C. in only the school’s second year of operation. He subsequently oversaw the opening of BASIS Independent of Brooklyn, N.Y. and BASIS Independent of Silicon Valley, Calif. and has also served as VP Intellectual Capital managing the structure and implementation of the BASIS.ed curriculum.

The former corporate headquarters campus for Freddie Mac, BASIS Independent McLean is an environment uniquely suited for its liberal arts and science programs. The three-story commercial property is being repositioned to ultimately accommodate up to 1,250 students. The initial phase converted approximately 120,000 square feet of the commercial space into classrooms, labs, athletic space, administrative space and a central atrium.

“Repositioning an old corporate headquarters into a collaborative learning environment for BASIS Independent McLean was a really unique situation; it involved applying not only our K-12 experience but also our corporate office experience…you just don’t see that every day,” says Drew Mucci, senior vice president at Gilbane Building Company. “This project was particularly important to us because the school employs a STEM-focused curriculum, a project that gives us a chance to support the industry and hopefully inspire students to pursue careers in construction too, ” said Mucci.

Here’s more information about Gilbane and Perkins Eastman, the company that redesigned the school space:

Gilbane Perkins Eastman DC’s (PEDC) extensive experience working together, includes over $240 million in recent design build projects in the DC metro area. The team combines the talents, experience, and resources of Gilbane as the prime contractor and our design partner, PEDC, two national leaders in public sector design and construction, who have collectively delivered over $3 billion in facilities in the District of Columbia in the past 10 years, including Dunbar High School, Roosevelt High School and Cleveland Park Library, which is still in progress. For more information go www.gilbaneco.com and www.perkinseastman.com.

Here’s more about the founding of BASIS:

BASIS was founded in 1998 by Dr. Michael and Olga Block, world-class economists and academics, who developed a formula for success for every child by offering a rigorous, globally competitive liberal arts and science curriculum taught by passionate subject-expert teachers and supported by a culture of excellence. What began as a single campus in Tucson, Ariz. has grown to become a unique, high-achieving, network of schools with three independent, private schools in Brooklyn, N.Y., Silicon Valley and Fremont in Calif., and now in McLean, with an international school in Shenzhen, China, and 16 public charter schools across the United States. Today, BASIS.ed students have propelled their schools to become the top ranked in the nation.Visit them at http://mclean.basisindependent.com, Facebook, Twitter@BASISI.

PHOTOS of students and faculty at BASIS McLean courtesy of BASIS McLean

To view the article click here

Charter School Facility Developer Announces Strategic Hire: Amy Ruck Kagan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASELogo Hi Res 1 copy

Contact:

Patrick Beausoleil

Tel. 616.717.0484

patrick@highmarkschools.com

Charter School Facility Developer

Announces Strategic Hire: Amy Ruck Kagan

 

Salt Lake City, UT: August 30, 2016 – Highmark School Development—the nation’s leading, facility developer for charter schools—has announced the hiring of Amy Ruck Kagan as its Director of Portfolio Management.

Ms. Ruck Kagan brings 15 years of public education experience to Highmark, with nine of those years in the charter school sector. Most recently, she served as the founding Executive Director for Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE), Philadelphia’s leading advocate for high-quality charter schools in the city.

Prior to PCE, Ruck Kagan was the Director of Charter Schools for the New Jersey Department of Education where she oversaw a portfolio of 87 charter schools and later served students and families in New Jersey as the Deputy Commissioner for Innovation for the state Department of Education. Before her work in New Jersey, she developed charter schools in New York City and Washington, DC for a non-profit organization and also worked for the New York City Charter School Center.

Highmark selected Ruck Kagan because of her experience in building accountability and performance management systems; in finding areas of flexibility and autonomy for charter schools; and for her support of policies and practices that improve educational options and outcomes for students.

Highmark CEO Glenn Hileman described Ruck Kagan’s hiring as “strategic.” “We have a portfolio of nearly 50 charter schools across 15 states, and we’re adding up to 20 facilities per year. We’ve known Amy for several years and are very pleased to have her on board. Her relationships, experience, depth of knowledge, and character will prove to be a great value to Highmark and the schools we serve.” Hileman concluded with, “I look forward to having Amy engage our current and future charter school partners.”

Highmark School Development is a facility developer for charter schools with access to $200 million in capital annually for facilities. Highmark was founded in 2005 and operates in 15 states, serving over 30,000 students. The firm works with start-up charter schools, operational schools, and multiple-site charter school management companies. It also develops properties for select private school operators.

Expansion to nearly double size of Wilson Prep

Wilson Preparatory Academy recently broke ground on a new wing that will nearly double the size of its existing building.

According to Daryl Woodard, founder and executive director of Wilson Prep, the new wing will add 25,000-28,000 square feet to the already 30,000 square-foot building.

He said the wing will house high school-age children as the school continues to grow.

In 2014, Wilson Prep was approved by the State Board of Education as a K-12 charter school. It were initially approved to begin as a K-8 school and add a grade level each year. This year, the school will house kindergarten through 10th-grade students.

Woodard said the growing demand makes this kind of addition necessary.

“Because of our waiting list, because of the demand, because of the success we’ve had academically, we are really looking forward to having more success with additional space and additional teachers,” said Woodard.

The addition, which the school is calling Phase 2, will have not only additional classroom space, but a regulation-size high school gym. He said once the school is operating as K-12 institution, ninth through 12th-graders will have class in the new wing.

Bouma Construction, which will be building the addition, constructed the initial building on a 90-day timeline once the foundation was laid.

Woodard said he is planning for the same fast turnaround as last time.

“We were very excited when we moved into this building, and when parents were applying to this school, this was nothing but a field,” said Woodard. “The faith and confidence that they had in us was really tremendous. We hope they have the same confidence in us this time.”

He said the most important thing is the addition will allow the school to educate more students.

When the school was founded in 2014, 900 applications were recieved for 360 spots.

“Educate, motivate, graduate — that’s our motto,” said Woodard. “Just to have kids come through is not our thing. We want to [have] a personalized education for each one of the kids, or what we call scholars. Here at Wilson Prep, we don’t want to be like a warehouse. We want them to feel like they are loved, they are appreciated and the parents feel confident that their kids are going to have a quality education.”

To view the article click here

Cirrus Academy gearing up for first school day

On Monday, Sheldon Hart and other organizers will see their vision become reality as Cirrus Academy opens its doors to students for the first time.

The state-funded charter school is located in the old Hamilton Elementary School site on Pio Nono Avenue, and Hart — chairman of the school’s governing board — said things were “moving very quickly” to put finishing touches on classrooms and other parts of the building.

“It’s almost kind of surreal a little bit,” he said of being so close to opening.

The school has reached its goal of 618 students with a waiting list in every grade, and construction at the school was complete in time for teachers to move into their classrooms. Last week, as those teachers began to decorate classrooms and post class rosters, Hart said he could tell everything was coming together.

“It started to really, really look like a school,” he said.

School leader Ashanti Johnson, who is serving alongside Principal Michele Flowers, said her enthusiasm picked up when she met with teachers last week.

“We’re excited,” she said. “It’s like a community, it really is.”

Johnson came on board in June after a career in higher education, most recently at the University of Texas at Arlington. She said the school’s leadership, faculty and staff are aiming to make Cirrus a “light on the hill” for the community, and that common goal is encouraging.

“That is like watching a group come together, hearing the potential and actually seeing it,” she said.

The school — the county’s third charter school — will have a focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math. That curriculum will focus heavily on hands-on learning, which will include a new gardening program through Mercer University in the spring. This fall, students will begin learning about compost and making preparations for their gardens.

“It’s essential,” Johnson said of the experience-based education.

That emphasis helped convince LaQuita Mainer to come out of retirement to coordinate the school’s classroom technology efforts. Mainer taught for 33 years in Bryan County, Savannah and Bibb County schools and also worked at Middle Georgia State College, but she decided she wasn’t quite done when she read the vision statement of preparing students for college and careers through a STEAM education that was posted on the school’s website.

“It just seemed like something that I feel is really needed,” Mainer said.

She even said she didn’t necessarily need to get paid to work at the school.

“I told them, ‘Even if I can’t be involved, I’ll volunteer,’ ” Mainer said.

In her position with the school, Mainer said it’s her goal to help teachers incorporate technology into their lessons and methods. She said today’s students are “digital natives,” so it’s important that teachers use technology with a purpose and even learn from their students’ creativity in the digital realm.

“My passion is I love to work with teachers on the integration of technology,” she said.

The Bibb County school district, along with the Academy for Classical Education and Macon Charter Academy, will also start school on Monday, and there are several new things to remember this year.

Veterans Elementary School

For the first time, students will attend the new Veterans Elementary School, located at 4901 Faubus Ave. in southwest Macon. The school is a consolidation of Morgan Elementary School and Barden Elementary School, and it features a two-story layout.

Cleveland Johnson III is the school’s first principal, and Arrika Tunstell, who has worked in Bibb County for 13 years, is the school’s assistant principal.

New career education campus

The career education programs for Bibb County schools are also on the move.

Formerly housed at the Hutchings building on Riverside Drive, the programs will now operate from the Dr. Robert J. Williams Complex on Anthony Road, formerly known as the Promise Center. That created room at the Hutchings building for the alternative school, which is moving from the Burghard Elementary campus.

Bell schedule change

The district has also changed the bell schedule for all of its students in a switch to a three-tiered system that is expected to allow buses to arrive on time more consistently.

High school students will attend school from 7:30 a.m. to 2:35 p.m., elementary school students will attend from 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m., and middle school students will attend from 9:05 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. The move came after a series of surveys and public forums and was largely in response to a shortage of bus drivers.

Jeremy Timmerman: 478-744-4331, @MTJTimm

To view the article click here

Hillsdale College Nurtures Charter Schools in its Image

PALM BAY, Florida—A large electronic welcome sign outside Pineapple Cove Classical Academy scrolls: ” An old-fashioned education.”

Located in Palm Bay, on Florida’s mid-Atlantic coast, this public charter school serves a diverse community of lower- and middle-income families. Pineapple Cove quickly has become an educational gem in Brevard County. Its 23 classrooms feature directed instruction, teaching in explicit phonics, history (imparted through original source documents – not textbooks), music, art and – rare in 2016 – cursive writing.
A fervent expectation infuses this campus: All students can grow, academically and also in character.

“It’s really funny that our 2,500-year-old curriculum is now an innovative one,” says the school’s principal, Kelly Gunter, 33, who wrote the school’s charter.

Just a year old, the kindergarten-to-sixth-grade school will expand to add a seventh grade this fall and an eighth by 2017, when new classrooms are completed.

This campus is one of the latest in Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative. The Michigan-based liberal arts college has supported 15 U.S. charter school startups, aiming for 50 such institutions by 2022.

Hillsdale does not fund the schools. Instead, it offers free mentoring to school founders who follow Hillsdale’s educational philosophy.

“Our role is to serve as the architect of the academic program, which includes curriculum and instruction, and provide on-going advice to the school founders and to the school principal,” said Phillip Kilgore, director of Hillsdale’s charter program. Hillsdale also helps the schools recruit principals, trains teachers and offers feedback after on-site visits.

“We maintain this relationship with each school,” Kilgore said, ” so long as they stay on mission and adhere to the educational philosophy we all embraced together at the inception of the relationship.”

With its classical curriculum, uniforms and commitment to teaching the virtues of courtesy, perseverance, self-government, service, honesty and courage, Pineapple Cove already boasts a 400-student waiting list for fall as word spreads.

The First Look at Charters and Earnings

Charter high schools graduates more likely to graduate, go to college, stay in college and earn more.

“It has taken that community by storm,” said Kilgore, who praises the school’s great start. “The teachers there have had just a really wonderful experience intheir launch in their first year.”

The school was founded by John and Beth Moran, who opened Pineapple Cove Academy Early Learning facility, also in Palm Bay. Thanks to their success with pre-kindergarten students, parents asked for more. Soon, the enterprising couple connected with Hillsdale and started the new campus last August.

Moran says he’s no educator and calls himself a “business guy.” But his enthusiasm for excellence is heartfelt. “I have an incredible drive,” he says. His connection to children is also undeniable as he scans the cafeteria and playfully sprays whipped cream on small, giggling faces.

Statewide, 22 percent of all charter-school students are black. Pineapple Cove is similarly diverse. Hispanic students make up 16 percent of enrollees. Black and multiracial students represent 9 percent each.

Academically, Florida charter schools perform well against their traditional counterparts, according to Student Achievement in Florida Charter Schools, an April 2014 state education department study. Most significantly, the report revealed that the black/white student-achievement gap” was lower for charter-school students in18 of the 18 comparisons,” across all grades and subjects.

Charter Schools Score in Cities

Urban charter schools are doing better than public ones, but can’t always close the achievement gap.

State reading scores from 2015-16 show Pineapple Cove outpacing its district counterparts in second, fourth and sixth grades.

Gunter says teachers and students focus on excellence. “It’s all business when you are here, because this should be your job.”

Latin and classic literature are school staples. Sixth graders read everything from Shakespeare to “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” They also learn to recite poetry, which fortifies their memorization and public-speaking skills.

Pineapple Cove uses a core knowledge curriculum that outlines a series of lessons and learning goals that fortify one another, from grade to grade. When students study Greek, they also listen to Greek music. Students do not work on computers in the classroom.

Perhaps most important, there is a shared focus on teaching virtues and doing the right thing. A tone-setting sign in a second-grade classroom cites Booker T. Washington: “Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”

The school also teaches service and patriotism by partnering with the American Legion. Members participate in school ceremonies and student projects, such as Valentine’s for Veterans.

Assistant Principal Lisa Wheeler, 37, praises her colleagues and the school’s growing family. ” We have such invested parties here,” she said of their spirited devotion.

“I believe the freedom we have been given as a charter school allows usto make decisions that are in the best interests of the children,” she said. “There are a lot of things that we profess in this school that are the exact opposite of what public progressive schools are doing today.”

To view the article click here

What’s Going on with Cirrus Academy on Macon’s Pio Nono Avenue?

With just six weeks until the first day of classes, Cirrus Academy is making final preparations to open its doors to students.

The state-approved charter school announced Ashanti Johnson, an assistant vice provost and professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, as its CEO and head of schools on Friday.

Johnson is set to replace Teresa Yarber. Founding board chairman Sheldon Hart said Yarber had been “working hard” but is expected to move out of the area soon, and Hart said the board found a more than adequate new leader in Johnson.

“It’s like walking past Michael Jordan in a pickup game,” he said. “You can’t just walk past Michael Jordan.”

An earth and environmental science professor before her stint in administration, Johnson, 45, said she’s concentrated largely on professional development for graduate students. When she discovered that those students were not prepared well enough for the next stage in life, she began working with undergraduate students.

From there, she discovered that lower grades needed her focus.

“Then you realize the undergrad is still too late,” she said.

Coming to Cirrus Academy, her plan is to make the science, technology, engineering, arts and math-focused school a place where students are exposed to successful leaders in various fields. Johnson, a mother of three, is hopeful that by bringing in representatives from Georgia Tech for students interested in engineering, for example, she can help the students at Cirrus become the “cream of the crop” for colleges down the road.

“It’s more than just a degree out the door,” she said. “It’s getting them ready for the next level.”

Rebuilding an old property

The school is located at 1870 Pio Nono Ave., on the site of the old Hamilton Elementary School. Cirrus first announced it had secured that property in November 2015 with plans to renovate and be open by August 2016.

HighMark School Development has provided the estimated $7.6 million for the project. HighMark CEO Glen Hileman said in November that the old building had deteriorated enough that significant work would be needed.

“But the foundation and structure of the school is extraordinary,” he said.

HighMark also provided the $10 million for construction on what is now Macon Charter Academy, which recently filed for Chapter 11 reorganization and has been facing charter termination by the state.

Partially due to that solid brick and mortar shell and base structure, Cirrus Academy is on track to be open well before the planned Aug. 1 opening date. Hart said the construction should actually be complete within the next couple of weeks.

“At this point right here, it’s just formalities,” he said.

NOW YOU’VE GOT A BRIGHT, NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, REHABILITATED, ADDED ONTO, ADDITIONS, TECHNOLOGY AND THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER. I THINK IT SENDS A VERY POSITIVE MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW WE FAVOR EDUCATION.
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert

The school has cameras in the halls, with plans to expand that to the classrooms, both for security and professional development, a concept also being implemented in Bibb County schools. Cirrus classrooms will also be equipped with projectors for the whiteboards, which teachers will be able to use through computers, laptops or even tablets.

“While they’re walking around, working with groups of students, they can manipulate the projector,” Hart said.

A former math educator, Hart made sure to point out that teachers can still turn off the projector for more traditional work on the board.

“Nothing replaces going and working an equation on the whiteboard,” he said.

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert was among the officials in attendance, and he said he was “excited” by the progress at the school. He said the new school would provide parents an additional option and be a welcome change from the run-down former Hamilton campus.

“It eliminates an eyesore,” he said, pointing to the highly visible location. “To have a dilapidated school building, what sort of a message does that send? Now you’ve got a bright, new school building, rehabilitated, added on to, additions, technology, this, that and the other. I think it sends a very positive message to the community about how we favor education.”

Work left to be done

Reichert said he was also glad to hear that the school had about 530 students already set to attend in August, which Hart said was in line with what’s outlined in the school’s charter. He added that there were still about 10 spots left in seventh and eighth grades, but that kindergarten through sixth grade were all full.

“We’re still combing the waiting list,” he said.

The school still has a “ways to go” on hiring teachers, Hart said, and some student spots have been left open in case faculty members have children that will need to attend the school. Johnson said she wasn’t worried about being able to get qualified teachers hired and added that it was ideal to get the leadership team in place before rounding out the faculty to make sure everyone has a chance to “buy in” on personnel choices.

“We have a lot of talented applicants,” she said.

For now, the blue and white walls of the classrooms and hallways are mostly bare, but Johnson said that would change once teachers get in their rooms.

“The creativity of the teachers to customize is something I can’t wait to see,” she said.

She told parents and leaders gathered at Friday’s news conference that the school will be a joint effort of parents, teachers and community members. In the end, the plan is to inspire the students to reach goals beyond high school.

“We have students with a lot of potential, but we have a need to get them through a process,” Johnson said.

Jeremy Timmerman: 478-744-4331, @MTJTimm

To view the article click here