LEAD Academy is raising money to add a high school
Montgomery’s LEAD Academy launched its annual capital campaign on Tuesday. LEAD Academy is a public charter school separate from the troubled Montgomery Public School System. Alabama Today was given a guided tour of the campus by Chief Academic Officer Cody Shumaker and Principal Danielle Webster. The LEAD Academy has two separate school buildings on the campus, which are located off Montgomery’s Eastern Boulevard. Webster is the principal of the Pre-K thru grade 3 school. Jermaine Coleman is the principal of LEAD Intermediate school, which is the Grades 4 thru 8 school. Webster said the LEAD Academy was awarded a First-Class Pre-K classroom by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. “There were 160 applicants for the 18 available spots,” Webster said. The school has been a heavy adopter of computers and technology. “Every child has a chrome book,” Webster said. “We have a device for every child.” “They do assignments over the internet,” Shumaker explained. “We teach Korean in the Fifth and Sixth grade,” Webster said. “Very few intermediate schools offer a foreign language.” “We have 702 students,” Shumaker stated. “We have been open for four years, and we just opened our eighth grade this year.” Erik Estill is the Executive Director of the LEAD Academy. “We are excited about Lead Academy and all of our scholars,” Estill said. “We are looking forward to providing them a rigorous course of study.” State Rep. Charlotte Meadows Chairs the Board that governs the school. Alabama Today asked Meadows whether students would return to their neighborhood schools for high school upon completion of 8th grade. “We hope not,” Meadows said. “We need a high school, but we are out of space on this site.” “We hope to have our high school open next year,” Estill said. “We do not have any place to put students on this property. We would have add more portable classrooms unless we get a new location.” Meadows said that while Montgomery parents pay taxes for schools, those local tax dollars do not follow the students. “We think we should get a share of local tax revenues, but the county sees it otherwise,” Meadows explained. “The state and federal dollars do follow the children.” “LEAD Academy is a public charter school,” Estill said. “We do not receive any local funds. We are expected to do better with less. We have shown that we can do that.” “We need help with funding,” Estill said, asking donors for money. “It is not a private school. It is tuition-free and provides the education of a private school. We accept any student that enrolls as long as we have a seat available in that particular grade level,” Estill explained. “It is great to have a school here in Montgomery that I would send my own child or grandchild to,” Meadows said. Shumaker explained that LEAD Academy is in a consortium with seven other charter schools and that one food service company prepares the meals for all the schools in the consortium. The school has also just opened its new school library as well as a dedicated playground for the pre-K children. “We can also use this space as an outside classroom,” Shumaker commented. Most parents in Alabama are not given any choices in the schools that their children can attend. Expanding school choice options for Alabama families are likely to be considered in the 2023 Alabama regular legislative session. The Alabama Education Association and the Alabama School Superintendents Association strongly opposed school choice legislation during the 2022 Alabama regular session. Meadows has been a vocal proponent of school choice. She faces a difficult re-election after the legislature redistricted her House District 74 to a majority-minority district. “It has been an uphill challenge,” Meadows said about getting to know her new voters in her re-election campaign. Meadows faces Democratic nominee Phillip Ensler in the November 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
It’s National Charter Schools Week, here’s an update on Alabama charter schools
President Donald Trump on Wednesday proclaimed May 6-12, 2018 National Charter Schools Week. “My Administration has prioritized support for charter schools so that more students have access to this valuable academic option,” said Trump. “This week, we acknowledge the critical role charter schools play in providing students with rigorous education that holds them to high standards. A great education is the foundation for a better future for students facing the demands and challenges of the 21st century. As a Nation, we should continue to support and address their dreams in their innovative efforts to help students reach their full potential.” Millions of educators, parents and advocates, and more than 7,100 charter schools in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will join Trump in celebrating the 18th annual National Charter Schools Week. To celebrate and honor these milestones thousands of events will be taking place throughout the country. In 2015, Alabama joined the national charter school movement when then-Gov. Robert Bentley signed the Student Choice and Student Opportunity Act into law, making Alabama the 43rd state to enable public charter schools. But the state has been slow to attract charter schools. According to the State Department of Education, the Yellowhammer State has only one charter school open now, with several new schools approved for opening in 2018 and 2019: The Acceleration Day and Evening Academy in Mobile, Ala. is currently the only charter school operating within the state, serving high school students in grades 9-12 from Mobile, Baldwin, and Washington Counties. The University Charter School in Livingston, Ala. and the Lead Academy in Montgomery will be opening in the fall of 2018. LEAD Academy in Montgomery, Ala. has recently had its opening delayed to 2019 after a judge ruled the Alabama Public Charter School Commission’s 5-1 vote to approve the school’s application for a charter school missed the mark by one vote that it legally needed for approval. Two charter schools have been approved for opening in the fall of 2019; Legacy Prep in Birmingham, Ala. and SLAM located in Huntsville, Ala.
Judge rules against Montgomery’s first charter school; won’t open in 2018
Montgomery’s first charter school is no longer on track to open in 2018. On Tuesday, Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines ruled the Alabama Public Charter School Commission’s 5-1 vote to approve the LEAD Academy’s application for a charter school missed the mark by one vote that it legally needed for approval. Alabama law requires at least six votes for the charter school’s approval to be valid. The judge’s decision follows a March lawsuit made against the school by the Alabama Education Association, which alleged the state charter commission’s approval of Montgomery’s first-approved charter school was “invalid” or “arbitrary,” calling into question the legitimacy its approval of LEAD Academy. It named both LEAD Academy and state commission members as defendants. The AEA applauded Judge Gaine’s decision, which they believe stops “the unlawful granting of a charter school to out-of-state investors.” “The Commission’s own national experts said this application was deficient in all three core areas it reviewed and should be denied,” explained AEA President Sherry Tucker. “Thus, it was no surprise that its backers could not get enough votes in favor of it. AEA will continue to be the strongest supporter of all students in all of Alabama’s public schools.” Theron Stokes, AEA Associate Executive Director, added, “AEA will remain vigilant and fight all attempts to illegally divert public school dollars from Alabama classrooms to out-of-state, for-profit, charter school corporations and those operators should know that before trying to take public money from our public schools. We celebrate this victory for the students in the Montgomery Public Schools and the taxpaying citizens of Montgomery County.” But the school’s spokeswoman said they’re not giving up. The school’s chairwoman Charlotte Meadows told the AP, “it’s a sad day for our students” but “this is not the end of a charter school in Montgomery.” Meadows said she’s looking into legal options, but the start date may be delayed to 2019. Last month the school secured a facility for its learning center, after their initial plans to renovate the building that houses the Small Business Resource Center in downtown Montgomery fell through in February. When it opens, LEAD Academy will be located at the former Algernon Blair Building, which previously served as a bank headquarters, at 2897 Eastern Boulevard.
Building falls through for Montgomery’s first charter school
The LEAD Academy, Montgomery, Ala.’s first charter school is still looking for a building for its students. The charter school was approved earlier in February, by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission. Charlotte Meadows, the LEAD Academy board chair expects the academy to have 360 students enrolled in the fall. The problem is, they have nowhere to put them. The plan was to renovate the building that houses the Small Business Resource Center in downtown Montgomery. Board members were ready to move forward with the renovations, but the Chamber of Commerce recently notified them that the building would not be sold to them after all. “We definitely can start in 2019 because we can buy a building and renovate it between now and then,” Meadows told Alabama News. “So that’s not the issue. The issue is finding a specific building that is already move in ready. We just don’t have time between now and August to do a ton of renovations.” The academy will begin the search for a new building to occupy before August. LEAD Academy will focus on K-5 education in the first year, adding higher grades every year. By 2024, the school aims to offer all grades K-12. The focus being on teaching children how to interact effectively with one another and adults. The school’s curriculum will focus on STREAMS: science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math and social/emotional learning. “Start from kindergarten on to help children learn social skills needed to survive in this world. Teach a child to speak face to face, look someone in the eye when you speak to them and shake hands when you meet someone,” said LEAD Academy board member, Lori White.
