43°
A public information session will be held to discuss the proposed Guardian Academy Charter School of Peekskill at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26. The meeting will be held at the Peekskill Elks Club, 1038 Brown St.
“The meeting will first and foremost be about what a charter school is and its benefits to the community,” said Audrey Warn, who is helping to initiate the charter school’s creation. “We will talk about what we hope to accomplish.”
The Assumption School, a K-8 Catholic elementary school run by the Church of the Assumption, will close at the end of the current school year. The school is among dozens being closed by the Archdiocese of New York due to budgetary constraints. The Rev. John Higgins of the Assumption parish announced plans to create a charter school last week.
Charter schools are public schools that are free and open to all students, including those with disabilities. Charter schools are non-selective and enroll students through a non-discriminatory admissions lottery. Each charter school is governed by a volunteer board of trustees, which typically includes educators, community members who would help guide the school’s operations. Charter schools must follow all the rules that any other New York public school would, and are held to the same standards, Warn explained.
“In those first few years, the state is constantly monitoring the progress of its charter schools,” Warn said.
Warn stressed that the school would not be religion-based, but would maintain what she called a “values-based curriculum.”
Members of the charter school group will try to answer any questions the public may have, Warn said.
For further information, contact Audrey Warn at (914) 494-1430 or by email at guardianacademypeekskill@gmail.com.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Peekskill and receive free news updates.
