With the population boom in Hays County continuing, it is time to diversify Kyle’s education options, Jewel Cournoyer and Natasha MacNevin said.
In January the education professionals applied to start a K-12 charter school in the city. They said they expect to find out in September whether the application was accepted.
Cournoyer, a Kyle resident, said it became evident while working for a local tutoring company that the city needed an alternative to traditional public schools. Hays CISD campuses were becoming overcrowded, she said.
“I kept having parents come to me and saying, ‘The schools are just overpopulated. There are 30 kids in my child’s classroom,’” Cournoyer said. “The teachers are doing the best they can, but there are just too many kiddos.”
Cournoyer and MacNevin will hold an information session March 27 in the Kyle City Council Chambers in city hall. The event is open to the public and will provide an overview of the plans for the school, which will be called A.I.M. Charter School. The name is an acronym for “advocating for the individual mind,” and that is the type of learning the educators hope to propel at the school, Cournoyer said.
“Our emphasis in the curriculum is well-rounded students,” she said. “Science, technology, engineering and math is a huge push just in the world right now. We know that is where a majority of the jobs are. That does not mean we are not going to include the arts. A big part … of a child growing is the ability to make the appropriate choices. If we can facilitate a stronger sense of the appropriate choice for them, that’s our goal.”
If approved in September, the charter school would open its doors in August 2016, Cournoyer said. Beginning with about 240 students and covering kindergarten through third grade in its first year, the school would add grades over time, including plans for prekindergarten, MacNevin said.
Cournoyer and MacNevin are raising funds to support the startup costs of opening the school. The Texas Education Agency, which approves and accredits charters across the state, provides grant funding to schools, but only once the school’s application is accepted. In the meantime, A.I.M.’s founders are seeking donations.
They said they need at least $80,000 to “break even” before opening the school’s doors.
In addition to fundraising, finding a home for the school is also among the founders’ main pursuits. Cournoyer said the Word of Life Christian Faith Center, 400 Old Post Road, is their primary option.
The school is also seeking board members, Cournoyer said. Five people sit on the board, but the school is looking for six more board members, she said.
Enrollment will be open to residents in Hays County as well as those in select South Austin zip codes. Like many open-enrollment charter schools, a lottery will be held to admit new students, Cournoyer and MacNevin said.
But the school founders are aware of the challenges ahead. TEA officials are currently scoring charter school applications. If A.I.M.’s score is high enough, Cournoyer and MacNevin would be called in for an interview with the agency in May. TEA will announce the approved applicants in September.
Last year, the agency granted approval to five charter schools out of 117 applicants, Cournoyer said.
Among the criteria for scoring applicants are the demographics in the school’s service area, innovative educational programs and qualifications of the school’s administrators.
“In short, what they are looking for is, 'Are your goals realistic,' and, 'Can you afford them?'” MacNevin said. “Is this going to be a better option for this community than what is being offered now? There has to be a huge need in the community, and everything has to align.”
She said she is confident they will be able to show the community supports their project if granted an interview.
“We have real live people who will be standing with us at that interview sharing their experiences and saying, ‘We want this to be a reality,’” MacNevin said.
