A new Toledo charter school is on track to open next fall.
The Northwest Ohio Classical Academy will be based in South Toledo with a projected enrollment of 250 students, according to the school’s charter application.
It would be Toledo’s 29th charter school. Eight have closed in the city in the past two years.
The new school will be K-8 with the expectation of adding a grade level each year, said Robert Pruger, president of the academy’s board.
The academy will have a strong language arts-based curriculum. Courses will include penmanship, spelling, phonics, western and international history, math, and science, Mr. Pruger said. Students will also be expected to learn and become proficient readers in Latin.
It will be Ohio’s first public, tuition-free classical school. Classical schools have a heavy emphasis on the sciences and liberal arts and also help develop character, Mr. Pruger said.
The academy partnered with Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative, which has 20 schools across nine states, Mr. Pruger said. It is sponsored by St. Aloysius in Cincinnati, which also sponsors Glass City Academy, a dropout prevention and recovery charter school in Toledo.
The new school will be open to children of all backgrounds.
“You don’t have to come from a suburban middle-class background to attend this school,” Mr. Pruger said.
It will be located in South Toledo, but the board has yet to finalize the purchase of the school building.
“Obtaining the charter is the first of many steps before the academy can successfully open,” Mr. Pruger said. “While working on submitting its application this past October, the board started on several other key tasks, such as securing an appropriate facility, searching for a strong mission-focused leader, and developing a plan to raise the necessary funds to cover preopening, nonreimbursable costs.”
The academy will apply for a start-up grant through the Ohio Department of Education to help with expenses, Mr. Pruger said.
First Published December 9, 2018, 10:49 p.m.
