School has its eye on being among best

Meeting Street Academy hopes to become one of the best education institutions in the community, but it accepts only those who can't afford private school tuition but want a better education. Parents pay only $1 per day for an education that's being compared to the likes of what's offered at Porter-Gaud School and Ashley Hall.

Charleston-based Sherman Financial Group, a debt collection agency, has been the school's primary bankroller, but it doesn't want credit for the school. Neither does it want to discuss the amount of money it is investing in the school.

All it wants is to fill a desperate need it sees in this community for underprivileged children, said Gabriela Moreira, a member of the school's board of directors and liaison between the company and school.

The "tuition" families pay, which includes an extra $1 for after-school care, is a way for parents to feel ownership of the school at a cost that fits in their budget, Moreira said. The school provides everything students need: books, uniforms and supplies.

The school's investors recruited top-notch directors and teachers, and the school hand-picked a class of 45 3- and 4-year-olds through an extensive process that included more than 130 home visits.

They didn't have income guidelines and instead required families to demonstrate a commitment to and vision for their children's education. They had to understand that "this is an opportunity of a lifetime," said Trish Scarry, the pre-school director and former head of the school district's Child and Family Development Center.

The connection between home and school is a critical component of the school's program, and it's a departure from traditional neighborhood schools that can't mandate parent involvement, Scarry said. Parents must sign a contract agreeing to a number of conditions, including the completion of 20 volunteer hours at the school and spending at least 15 minutes nightly with their children on specific assignments. Failure to follow the contract could mean dismissal from the school, which has happened to two families since the school opened last fall.

The school plans to add 15 students annually, beginning with a kindergarten class next year, until the school reaches eighth grade. The plan is to begin with young children, close the achievement gap now and enable them to compete with students nationally and in private schools.

Meeting Street Academy takes a holistic approach to learning and tries to address every area of a child's development. The pre-school offers art, music, gardening and dance, and teachers take students on frequent field trips. Students help cook meals with vegetables they grow in their garden, and they eat a healthy breakfast and lunch in a family-style environment to practice manners and conversation. Books and activities go home with students to help them shore up academic skills.

Teachers talk about college daily, and it's a matter of which college students will go to — not whether they will go.

"We feel like education is the means to a better life, and that's what we're going to provide," Scarry said.

Students seemed engaged in Tuesday afternoon's lessons, practicing consonant sounds and working on art projects. The pre-school uses a literacy-based curriculum that other local private schools use, and they continually assess students to measure their progress, strengths and weaknesses. Classes are kept small; each has about 15 students.

Rhondnette Smiley, whose 4-year-old daughter is enrolled at the school, said her daughter shows her at home every day what she learned. Her daughter is more independent, and Smiley appreciates the school's family-oriented culture.

School leaders hope to be in a new building that will accommodate their increasing enrollment by the fall of 2010, but the longer term journey of this school is what fills educators with excitement and hope.

"To us, this is a dream," Scarry said.