Collegiate Academies leaders have a few ideas about what kind of communities might make good charter school homes as they seek to expand into other cities.
Morgan Ripski, president of the charter organization that oversees Sci Academy, George Washington Carver Collegiate Academy and George Washington Carver Preparatory Academy, talked about the possibilities during the board’s Wednesday meeting.
She said the cities should have:
- The need for high-performing high schools.
- Community demand.
- Availability of financial support.
- The opportunity to obtain a charter agreement.
She also said it would be important to examine the availability of programs like Teach for America and The New Teacher Project to help staff the schools, as the school currently does at its three New Orleans schools.
Ripski said that she’d also like to try to involve community members from the towns where the schools would be located in governance positions.
Collegiate Academies’ board also discussed the possibility of expanding into other cities last month. Sci Academy, a B school in eastern New Orleans, serves grades 9-12. Collegiate took over F rated George Washington Carver High in the upper 9th Ward last summer. The organization converted it into two schools serving ninth-graders only, but plans to add a new grade every year.
All members of the board were present during Tuesday’s meeting except newly reappointed member Dana Henry. The next meeting will be announced on Collegiate Academy’s website.
