Syracuse Academy of Science Charter, now 7th to 12th grade, will add kindergarten, first and sixth grades first. Later, it will add grades two through five.
File photo. In February, Syracuse Academy of Science juniors Dakeem McLain, left, and Tyonna Williams conduct an experiment on the effect of bedrock on acid rain and snow during an Earth science class. Both live in Syracuse.
The state says the Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School may expand to a K-12 school, starting next fall.
The 7-12 school, at 2001 Park Ave., next year will add 48 students each in grades kindergarten, first and sixth, Dean of Academics Linda Spencer said Tuesday.
The school will phase in grades two through five over the subsequent two years, topping out at an enrollment of 696 students, according to the plan approved Monday by the New York State Board of Regents. The school’s current enrollment is 331 students.
The expansion is a big move for the school and for the long-term success of its students, Spencer said.
“It’s big because we can get the kids while they are in their formative years and really focus in on what they need to do to be successful later on,” she said.
Spencer said the school will hire six new teachers for next fall.
A charter school is funded by taxpayer money but typically, and in this case, is operated independently of a school district. The academy is run by a board of directors.
When a student leaves a Syracuse district school and enrolls in the charter school, the per-pupil state aid that would have gone to the district follows the student to the charter school. That’s where it gets the money to operate.
A state report about the academy to the Board of Regents noted that it is in good academic standing and outperformed the Syracuse school district on several fronts, including the 2008-009 seventh- and eighth-grade state English and math tests and the eighth-grade state science test.
It bettered the city district at the high school level, too. The charter school outperformed the district by 18 percent in English and 26 percent in math, for the class of 2009, according to the state. The school’s four-year graduation rate of 54 percent is 2 percent higher than the district’s, the state report said.
The current school building will house the new grades next year but in two years the plan is to lease space in a second building for the elementary school, Spencer said.
The charter school told the state it will lease a former parochial school within walking distance of the current building.
Syracuse has one other charter school, the K-8 Southside Academy Charter School, at 2200 Onondaga Creek Boulevard.
For information about the Syracuse Academy of Science call 428-8997 or visit the school website.
Charter schools, like any public school, are open to all students. If there are more students than available seats in the school, charters by state law are supposed to hold a lottery.
Read about one of the Science Academy's academic victories. It has had a big athletic victory, too.
Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com