Group works on plans for charter school proposal in Horry County

A local group is nearing completion on plans for what its members hope will become the next charter for high school aged students in Horry County.

Melinda Tavernier, co-director for the proposed Coastal Leadership Academy, said if approved, the school would serve grades nine through 11. It would be slated to open in the fall of 2012 and provide a high school option for students and parents who want to stick with a charter school setting. The charter application must be submitted to the state Charter School Advisory Committee by May 2 to get the process under way.

Tavernier said the idea for the school came up last fall among parents who saw a need for a charter school that served students in higher grade levels. One other such school will open later this year.

"I have a degree in educational leadership, and this is something I want for my child," said Tavernier, who said she has home-schooled for nine and a half years. With one child now in college, the other is in eighth grade at Palmetto Academy for Learning and Success (PALS), a charter school in Myrtle Beach. Tavernier said she is considering using a virtual charter school as a possible bridge for her daughter between graduating from PALS and the proposed 2012 opening of the new high school.

"There are a lot of K through 8 options in the area, but there's not a choice for high school," Tavernier said. "Even with those who home-school, many go back into the [public] high schools. It's a different world."

Cindy Elsberry, Horry County Schools superintendent, said at this point, the district has seen only a one-page summary about the proposed school.

"It does seem to be a trend nationally that many people are supportive of charter schools," said Elsberry, who added that the charter school bill in the legislature may promote more charter school applications in the future.

Tavernier said the plan for the proposed high school includes project-based learning, through the Buck Institute of Education program, and a focus on leadership. Students would shadow community leaders and hold internships, as well as be involved in community service, she said. Speakers from the area would address students during a weekly luncheon called Empower Hour to spur interest in community issues.

All students also would wear uniforms, she said, and committee members want to find a "green" building to fit in with an environmental initiative. The school would foster healthy lifestyles for students by incorporating local produce in the cafeteria through the Farm to School program and by working with Michelle Obama's Let's Move program, she said.

Any person or group, including an existing public school that forms a nonprofit corporation, may apply to operate a charter school, according to the S.C. Charter Schools Act, which defines a charter school as a public, nonreligious, non-home-based, nonprofit corporation that forms a school.

Charter schools are public schools and operate within either the local school district or the S.C. Public Charter School District. The schools use tax dollars but have more freedom from state regulations than traditional public schools.

When a charter school application is approved, the application becomes a contract with the school district and is binding for 10 years. Funds allocated for charter schools cannot be touched by its district, unless there is a breach in the contract.

"The law contemplates that the board would consider any charter application," Elsberry said, "but [board members] could use financial impact to deny it."

Elsberry said that was what she proposed when the Academy of Hope came up for approval because the district already had three charter schools at that time. The state does not have a cap on the number of charter schools it can have. N.C. lawmakers are considering removing their state's cap of 100.

South Carolina currently has 44 charter schools, including five that are virtual, or online, charter schools. Eight of the are new this year, including PALS, which became the second charter school in Horry County along with Bridgewater Academy - also in Myrtle Beach. Both schools serve students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Two new charter schools will open in Horry County this fall. The Academy of Hope will serve K-4 its first year and hold classes in Conway. The Palmetto Academy for Learning Motorsports will be in Myrtle Beach and target at-risk 16- to 20-year-olds. PALMS will provide academics along with vocational training in the field of motorsports.

Edi Cox, HCS' director of charter schools, said once the school's application is submitted to the state committee, it has 60 days to send its recommendations and give its approval to Horry County Schools.

The Horry County school board then has 30 days to act on the application, or it is automatically approved.

Typically, the district would get a copy of the application and wait for feedback from the state before starting its own review, Cox said. However, experience has taught the district to move up the process so that the administration and board members can make sure the application includes everything it should.

Elsberry said the 30-day turnaround is unreasonable and that part of the new charter school bill would extend that period to 60 days.

Cox said a team from the new school is meeting with district officials April 21 to begin looking at the draft application.

If the charter application is approved, "there is one year of planning by law, which I think is going to take every day of it," Tavernier said. "This is my full-time job right now. It's something I've always wanted to do."