Apple Charter clears state hurdle

Organizers of the proposed Apple Charter School received this week the approval they've waited for since the fall.

A state committee decided Wednesday to certify the revised application from the prospective charter school, and the Charleston County School Board will have to decide within the next 30 days whether to allow the school to open.

The proposed school for at-risk students failed in October to earn the blessing of the state Charter School Advisory Committee after it didn't include critical budget information in its application. Charter groups must have the committee's OK to move forward.

"It's been quite a process," said Patricia Williams, the school's founder. "I am elated. I believe in it because I'm in a public school every day. I see what is happening and what has happened to a large subgroup of students. ... It's unacceptable.

"In a lot of instances it's not about money. It's about really getting in there and working with students and families."

The Apple Charter School is the second school that will be seeking permission to operate from the school board within the next month.

The state committee also has signed off on the application for Pattison's Academy for Comprehensive Education, a proposed kindergarten through eighth-grade school that would serve 70 students with profound disabilities.

The Apple Charter School plans to eventually serve 280 at-risk students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and it will target students who scored below basic or basic on the state's standardized test.

The school would open in the fall of 2010, and it would offer single-gender classes.

Larry DiCenzo, chairman of the state advisory committee and principal of Orange Grove Elementary Charter, said last week that he's excited about the Apple Charter School because it's going to serve students who need that kind of environment.

Single-gender education is a proven way to work with kids, and the school will be successful, he said.

"(Williams) has a lot of backing in the community," he said. "She's continued to develop relationships, and I think she's going to have some exciting partnerships and definitely a population that will attend."

The school board has a moratorium on approving charter school applications, and the board's chairwoman has said she's unsure how the board would handle new charter school applications.