Charter school proposals on tap
SARASOTA COUNTY — Five applicants for charter schools will come up for review Tuesday at the Sarasota County School Board’s monthly work session, including one — the Florida Center for Early Childhood Starfish Academy — that would set up shop in North Port.
The 9:30 a.m. meeting will offer each school the opportunity to make a presentation to the School Board, then field questions as to how it does or does not comply with standards set by the district’s Charter Review Committee, according to district spokesman Scott Ferguson. The School Board will formally vote whether to accept the charter schools’ applications on Oct. 16. However, initial ratings by the Charter Review Committee do not look promising for all five charter school applicants — AMIkids Sarasota County, The Classical Academy of Sarasota, the Sarasota Academy of the Arts, Visible Men Academy and Starfish Academy. Each school was rated by the CRC under 19 different criteria, including mission, guiding principles and purpose, curriculum plan, exceptional students, English language learners, facilities, transportation, food service, budget and financial management and oversight, to name a few.