A Columbus group has filed a letter of intent to open a charter school in Lowndes County.
The Columbus Coalition for Educational Options filed a letter of intent with the state last week to establish an elementary school and a boys’ academy.
Kenneth McFarland, spokesperson for the CCEO, said his group is confident Columbus will be chosen as one of the 15 charter schools allowed to open up across the state in 2015 .
“We’re not worried,” McFarland said. “We put in a good letter of intent as far as what we’re planning to do and we plan for our packet to be the best.”
McFarland said CCEO chose to name the schools “Inspire Charter School” to emphasize its mission: The school would inspire students to achieve their full potential through a challenging curriculum, he said.
“We plan to have one of the best curricula and one of the best opportunities for kids so they can learn,” McFarland said. “We expect more from our children. We don’t think that a child can’t do it. We think that they can. Because we think that they can, we want to give them every opportunity to do more than what they do.”
If approved, Inspire Charter School would be housed in Genesis Church, located off of Martin Luther King Drive in Columbus. The elementary school would be located down one hallway and the boys academy would be located down another, McFarland said.
“It will be one charter school but two classes of the school, but it would all be under the Inspire Charter Schools,” he said.
McFarland said the group is seeking advice from the community on what they want the school to be.
“Talking to parents, it’s exciting,” he said. “They’re very happy that something is being done and they want to know more about it.”
Dr. Martha Liddell, who opposed charter schools as the former superintendent for the Columbus Municipal School District, is serving as a consultant for Inspire Charter School.
“Her role is she is helping to work with us as a consultant but she is part of the community like anyone else that wants to see something done for our children,” McFarland said. “She’s a large part of all of us coming together to get this done. She does a wonderful job, too.”
He added that part of Liddell’s role as a consultant is guiding CCEO through the application process. The application is due in March. McFarland said they feel they are laying the groundwork for a smooth application process.
“Once you have done the best that you can do then you have to go from there,” he said. “We’re not just optimistic. We’re doing the work and when you do the work, your work tells you what you can do.”
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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