Two new charter schools hope to open in downtown Charleston in 2014-15

Community members hoping to open two new charter schools downtown will host informational meetings during the next two weekends.

Parents who are interested in learning more about the curriculum, school operations and enrollment procedures are invited to attend.

Carolina Voyager School initially hopes to offer grades K-2, and it would expand by one grade per year through eighth grade. The school would use blended learning, which is traditional classroom instruction combined with individualized instruction and online technology.

Charleston School for Musically Inspired Minds hopes to initially offer 6-8 grades and expand by one grade per year through 12th grade. The school plans to partner with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and enable students to study a range of music.

The meetings will be this Saturday and March 23. Carolina Voyager School will meet from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Charleston County main library, and the Charleston School for Musically Inspired Minds will meet from 11 a.m. until noon in the same place.

Both schools hope to open in the fall of 2014. Organizers are drafting applications for both programs now, and both the state Charter School Advisory Board and a sponsoring school district will have to approve their charters before the schools can open.

Neither school has secured a building in which it can open yet. Danny Beckley is chair of the charter committee for the Charleston School for Musically Inspired Minds, and Jennifer Metts is interim chair of the charter committee for the Carolina Voyager School (we are looking for a replacement).

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