Aug. 1, 2017

LaToya Purvis and others involved in a new charter school on North Tryon Street are military veterans. They will call the school’s youngsters “cadets.” There will be pushups, but not suspensions, for out-of-line behavior. And the no-nonsense approach is designed to refocus children on academic work.

The school opens for the first time later this month, with lunch and snacks and a 7:30-5:30 day and transportation from Charlotte residential addresses. The founders boosted their charter above 250 children to deal with no-shows; Purvis said break-even is 200. The promised maximum class size is 1:20.

In the video below, there is a tone to a number of questions: Why did you have to go off and create this approach in a small charter when so many schools in CMS need to adopt your approach. The apparent answer – CMS was interested in our work only when we volunteered and after six years we needed to feed our families – may go to the heart of what the community might learn from listening to the story of how this particular charter came into being.

Purvis’ presentation begins at minute 7:55. The Q&A begins at minute  16:23.