Officials with Texas A&M University-Commerce are awaiting word on whether the university will receive a charter to open a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) charter school in Greenville.
If approved, the school probably won’t open locally until next year, and there is also a question as to where it would be located.
But Dr. Dan Jones, the university’s president, believes there is little doubt there will be an open enrollment university charter school is in Greenville’s future.
“We’re extremely optimistic, very confident,” he said.
Jones said the school submitted its application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in November and expects to hear back this spring.
“Quite frankly, it just blew my socks off,” Jones said of the 256-page application.
Should the charter be approved, Jones said it would be “highly doubtful” the school would be able to open as previously planned this fall. Jones said preparing for the school would take a full year of planning, then there would be the hiring and training of the teachers and administration.
“The reality is, we are looking at the fall of 2017,” Jones said. Open admission would begin in April 2017.
The school would be a public charter school and would not require tuition. The campus would initially offer K-6 grades, with a maximum of 100 students per grade, adding a grade each year until reaching grade 12.
Jones explained the school would utilize “Project Lead The Way,” a research-based curriculum. The university would maintain its relationships with 44 area school districts, including the 10 in Hunt County.
“None of that is going away,” he said.
Still to be decided is where the school would be located. The university had considered taking over the former home of the Phoenix Charter School in Greenville, which closed last year, although the Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy (PTAA) will be using that campus.
Jones said university representatives are working alongside City of Greenville officials to find a new, suitable site.
“We’re looking at some vacant church property,” Jones said, although he noted the school might obtain a currently empty lot, “and put modulars up on a temporary basis.”
Those wanting additional information about the charter school can contact Dr. Arlene Horne at ArleneHorne@tamuc.edu.