Charter School Advocates File Petition With District

Supporters of focused on civic leadership filed a petition for recognition with the Dec. 8.

More than 150 parents signed on saying they were "meaningfully interested" in sending their children to The Grove Leadership Academy, according to Councilmember Gary Davis, a key backer of the school.

School board members will formally receive the petition at their Jan. 3 meeting and hold a public hearing to consider it Jan. 17, said district spokesperson Elizabeth Graswich.

If the petition is successful, the academy will be only the second independent charter school to receive district approval. (The first, a Montessori school, opened in 2001.) It would open with 200 students in grades K-7 in fall 2012, expanding to include a high school by 2014.

State law gives school districts 60 days to grant or deny petitions for charter schools—schools that receive public funds but don't have to abide by the same rules as traditional public schools. Petitions must outline a school's curriculum and strategy for success, and include signatures from parents representing at least half the number of students expected to enroll in the first year. 

Charter schools that fail to gain approval can appeal to the county board of education.