A group hoping to offer more educational options to elementary-aged children in Columbus has cleared the first hurdle in its quest to open a local charter school.
A spokesman for the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board told The Dispatch the application it received from Inspire Charter School was one of two the board chose this week to proceed into the comprehensive evaluation stage. The other application that cleared the state board’s first hurdle Tuesday was Midtown Public Charter School in Jackson, which proposes to serve fifth through eighth graders.
Organizers of the Columbus school say the school would initially serve kindergarten through third grade students.
Charter schools are publicly funded and do not charge tuition. They are run by private groups that agree to meet certain standards in exchange for less regulation.
State law allows for up to 15 charter schools to be authorized each year.
In August, the state authorizer board received letters of intent from 10 organizations intending to submit applications. Of those, seven submitted applications by the Sept. 15 deadline. Of those, only two were chosen to move forward: Inspire Charter School in Columbus and Midtown Public Charter School in Jackson.
In November, the state board will conduct capacity interviews with the Columbus and Jackson groups. The board will vote on Dec. 5 whether to grant a charter to the groups.
This is the second time that Inspire Charter School has applied for a charter. This summer, the state board denied the group’s first application. That application proposed opening a kindergarten through third grade, as well as a freshman class, in its first year of operation.
Darren Leach, executive officer with Inspire Charter School, has previously told The Dispatch that in response to that initial setback, the group, in its second application, eliminated the possibility of beginning operations with a freshman class. The latest application –which is 315 pages long — also gives a clearer outline in regard to curriculum and culture, Leach said.
The school’s proposed principal, Reddell Holmes, is a native of the Golden Triangle who has served as a school superintendent in Michigan, according to Leach.
The Columbus school would be located at Genesis Church, where Leach serves as the head pastor. If approved, it would open in the fall of 2015 and be the first charter school in the Golden Triangle.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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