Arizona has paved the way for nearly a dozen new charter schools as the state continues to meet the needs of Arizona students and families.
The 11 new schools, set to open in August 2016 and August 2017, were approved by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools on Monday. Once built out, these schools have the capacity to serve an additional 9,000 students.
The charters will focus on specific instruction areas, including STEM, Back-to-Basics, Montessori, Online Instruction and alternative education. Many of the new schools will educate underserved populations, including students from low-income families, minority students, English Language Learners, and students who need credit recovery to graduate.
The schools include:
• Legacy Traditional School – This growing network plans to add four additional K-8 schools in Glendale, Mesa, Peoria and West Surprise. The back-to-basics charter schools will serve more than 5,000 students once at capacity. Legacy is on track to be the largest charter network in Arizona.
• Painted Desert Montessori Academy – Currently a small Montessori school in Patagonia, Ariz., Painted Desert plans to open a new campus in Buckeye, eventually serving 600 K-8 students in the growing community. This will be the first Montessori charter school in the West Valley.
• Maricopa Institute of Technology (MIT) – This STEM-focused high school, eventually serving 450 students, is the first charter school in the Riverside Elementary School District boundaries, which primarily serves students in the Laveen area of southwest Phoenix. “We want to show that public school systems can work with charter school systems,” said Chief Operating Officer Ruben Gutierrez. “If we work together, we can bring dynamic education to our students.” This school is part of New Schools For Phoenix, a project to expand high quality school options to students in the Phoenix urban core.
• The Grande Innovation Academy- Formerly part of Odyssey Preparatory Academy, Grande Innovation leaders chose to seek a separate charter in order to meet the specific needs of students and families in Casa Grande. The school will eventually serve 650 K-8 students.
• Highland Prep – This STEM-focused high school, eventually serving 350 students, plans to serve high school students in Goodyear. In an area where many of the families live at or below the poverty line, school leaders are enthusiastic about inspiring students to reach college and beyond.
• New America School-Phoenix- This charter will serve students in east Central Phoenix, part of the city’s urban core. New American School will specifically target English Language Learners, immigrants and academically underserved students. (266 students in grades 9-12).
• Fifth Arrow Charter School- This blended learning model school will provide students with independent study, online courses and in-person small group instruction that meets the individual needs of an academically underserved high school population. Once at scale, this charter will serve 900 students in grades 9-12 in Phoenix. The school’s network, Pathways in Education, also operates charter schools in other states, including California and Illinois.
• Pensar Academy– In an area of northwest Phoenix with no A- or B-rated schools, Pensar Academy plans to be the “agents of change,” providing middle school students with the tools they need to be successful in a 21st Century global society. Eventually serving 400 students in grades 4-8, Pensar’s goal is to be the first A-rated school in the area. This school is also part of the New Schools For Phoenix leadership program.
