But hope survives. A new charter school, Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis, will open its doors this August. The school will be housed in the Epiphany building at 6576 Smiley Ave. and will lease it and the grounds from the parish. It's going to be a college preparatory charter school (for a definition of charter schools, see my earlier post here) and is the first school to open in Missouri by the management company Concept Schools, which currently operates 19 charter schools in four states.
Like all charter schools, there is no tuition and any children within the ZIP code boundaries (which surround the school, making it a neighborhood campus) determined by the charter will be eligible to attend, depending on vacancy. The school will open with grades kindergarten through seven the first year and build a grade each additional year through grade 12. According to Cengiz Karatas, the school’s principal, expected enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is 350.
If you're a parent of a qualifying child, look at the homepage, especially the story about how the schools were started and the amazing things Concept kids do (such as overseas trips!). While Gateway is currently constructing itself – and hard decisions concerning specifics have yet to be made – the Concept model is pretty darn impressive. It isn't like any charter school I’ve seen in this area before, and I, for one, can’t wait to watch it grow.
Blogger notes: Concept Schools is currently being investigated in Ohio for excessive h1-b Visas and is currently asking for a $93 million bond.
http://horizonparentstruth.blogspot.com/2010/12/concept-schools-seeks-93-million-bond.html
Heard the Gateway Science "family" is staying very close to the new staff, breakfast meetings with parents, home visits and publicized open meetings. The Honeymoon stage will be over when they start their Turkish character and culture classes, Turkish Olympiads, trips to Turkey.....Turkey this and Turkey that.
Watch out Gateway Science Parents
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