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Lake City charter school gains approval

By Bradrick McClam
Published: July 22, 2009

LAKE CITY — Lake City will soon be the home to a new charter school.

Dr. Deloris W.B. Brown, director of education for the new Lake City College Preparatory Academy Inc., said in a phone interview July 10 that the school received approval the previous week.

To receive approval for a charter school, she said, you have to establish a planning group of parents, educators and community members. The planning group is comprised of Queen Wallace, Shirley Kennedy, the Rev. Dr. Frank Maddox, the Rev. Ray McAllister, Gloria Tisdale, John Williams, Judy Toney, Vera Elliott, Ruby Jackson and Luvenia Richardson.

Former educators in the planning group are Gloria Brayboy, who was an elementary school teacher; Dr. Flossie Bartell, former assistant superintendent for instruction for Dillon School District 2; and LaKisha Bennett, who was a music teacher and social worker.

Brown said the planning group members had to submit a proposal to the Office of School Choice at the South Carolina State Department of Education. She said they were notified in writing to attend a hearing where they answered questions and received approval.

She said the group also had a similar hearing with the South Carolina Public Charter School District in Columbia.

Members of the Lake City City Council heard about the idea of the new charter school coming to the area during their regular council meeting in April.

Brown said during the meeting that the new charter school had already received 150 signatures from parents stating they will allow their children to attend the school when it opens.

During the council meeting, Brown said the school anticipates an opening date of August 2010.

“This gives us ample time hire the necessary personnel,” she said at the meeting.

She said the charter school will serve grades K-12 and will follow the guidelines of the No Child Left Behind Act.

She hopes to have a student enrollment of 200 when the school opens, she said in April.

The new charter school will focus on the arts. Brown has said that research shows students who participate in arts-based curriculum perform better academically.

She has looked at facilities to house the new charter school, although regulations state the new charter school can be approved before receiving a license of occupancy, she said.

Brown said in April that she thinks teachers in the local school district are trying to make a difference, but parents and students should have other options.

Brown, a Lake City native, has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and district-level director of curriculum and instruction, she said.

Brown received a bachelor’s in English literature from the University of Miami and a Master’s of Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University. She also earned a Master of Science in Education from Fordham University as well as a dual Doctor of Education and Doctor of Philosophy in educational leadership.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

A community meeting about Lake City College Preparatory Academy Inc. will take place Aug. 11 in the Lake City Youth and Family Center, at 106 E. Thomas St.

To learn more about the charter school, which leaders plan to open in August 2010, call (843) 210-9029.

View More: Assistant Superintendent For Instruction, Bennett, Deloris W.B. Brown, Dillon School District, Director Of Curriculum And Instruction, Director Of Education, Education, Elementary School Teacher, Family Center, Flossie Bartell, Fordham University, Frank Maddox, Gloria Brayboy, Gloria Tisdale, John Williams, Judy Toney, Lake City City Council, Lake City College Preparatory Academy Inc., Local School District, Luvenia Richardson, Music Teacher, Music Teacher And Social Worker, Nova Southeastern University, Office Of School Choice, Principal And District-Level Director, Public Administration, Queen, Ray Mcallister, Ruby Jackson, Shirley Kennedy, South Carolina Public Charter School District In Columbia, South Carolina State Department Of Education, Teacher , Assistant, University Of Miami, Vera Elliott, Wallace

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