February 29, 2012

Massachusetts Board of Education approves 4 new charter schools, including a SABIS school in Lowell

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved four new charter schools yesterday. These school will be located in Lowell, Holyoke, Boston and Springfield.

Among the four new schools approved is a SABIS charter school that will open in Lowell, Massachusetts, in fall 2013. The Lowell Collegiate Charter School will start with 540 students in grades K-5 and expand by one grade level each year until it serves grades K-12 with approximately 1,200 students.

The three other approved charter schools are the Baystate Academy Charter School in Springfield, the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in Holyoke, and the Dudley Street Neighborhood School in Boston. The Springfield and Lowell schools are slated to open their doors in the fall of 2013. The Boston and Holyoke schools are scheduled to open this fall. The four schools collectively are projected to serve more than 2,500 students.

Sixteen charter schools were approved last year after the Patrick administration raised the cap on the schools.

"We are thrilled that the State board has approved the creation of a high quality college preparatory option for the children of Lowell," said William Merrill, president of Lowell Collegiate board of trustees. "Our school will offer a longer school day, students will wear uniforms and will be held to high expectations. An emphasis on college will begin in kindergarten."

The school's board and SABIS are actively searching for a suitable facility. A series of parent informational meetings will be held in different locations around the city over the next several months to share information with residents.

The student enrollment period will begin later this fall and conclude with a public lottery in March 2013. Enrollment priority will be given to Lowell residents. Seats still available after the initial enrollment round will be made available to students from other districts.

"SABIS is excited about the opportunity to establish a college preparatory school in the great city of Lowell," said Jose Afonso, SABIS's Director of US Business Development. "This school will offer a rigorous curriculum that has been successful in closing achievement gaps.'"

For more information about the SABIS program, please visit www.sabis.net

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