New charter schools planned for area get start-up grants
The Journal Sentinel education reporters offer news and notes from their beat
Eleven new public charter schools in the works for the Milwaukee area - eight in the city and three in the greater metropolitan area - are slated to receive about $2.4 million in federal start-up planning grants this year, according to information released Monday from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Planning grants were awarded to a total of 24 new charter schools starting up statewide, and that money is part of a total pot of $16.1 million in federal charter school grants that will support the initial or ongoing activities of 84 charter schools in Wisconsin this school year, according to the DPI.
Charter schools are public schools that enter into a contract with an approved institution, such as a school district, to meet academic performance goals in exchange for more freedom from state rules and regulations.
They are different from choice schools in Milwaukee and in and around Racine, which are private, mostly religious institutions that accept qualifying students on a publicly funded voucher.
Last year Wisconsin had 232 charter schools serving 40,329 students, according to the DPI.
New charter schools slated for Milwaukee that received federal funds for planning this year include:
- Quest, $250,000, chartered by the City of Milwaukee
- Rocketship, $250,000, chartered by the city
- MTEC School of Environmental Science, $250,000, chartered by Milwaukee Public Schools
- Northeast Campus School, $250,000, chartered by MPS
- Banner School of Milwaukee, $250,000, chartered by MPS
- Breakwater Lighthouse Charter School, $200,000, chartered by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Northwest Scholars Charter School, $200,000, chartered by UWM
- Woodlands School II, $200,000, chartered by UWM
New charter schools planned for Milwaukee County or the greater metro area that received grants include:
- Hartland School of Fine Arts, Literacy and Culture, $150,000, chartered by the Hartland-Lakeside School District
- Forest Exploration Center Charter School, $175,000, chartered by the Wauwatosa School District
- PACE Studio Academy, $225,000, chartered by the West Bend School District
See DPI's news release for a complete list of schools around the state that received planning grants, implementation awards for their first-year in business, or other continuation grants.
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