http://66.225.205.104/LM20120720.mp3
The number of charter schools in the Charlotte area is about to jump. The state's charter advisory council recommended approving seven new schools in the area for the fall of 2013. The state board of education is likely to give those schools the green light. Charter schools get tax money, but don't answer to public school districts. The Charlotte area already has more than fifteen, serving upwards of 10,000 kids. Four new charter schools proposed for Mecklenburg County would focus on serving at-risk students, mainly in west Charlotte. Linda Cruz wants to open Charlotte Choice Charter there. The school would serve grades K through five and eventually expand to middle school. "Our main goal is to provide assistance and other opportunities one-on-one, smaller classroom settings that would be conducive to your lower performing students," says Cruz. Invest Collegiate is planned for Charlotte's Wilmore neighborhood, just southwest of Uptown. The school wants to attract both low-income and more well-to-do students. Two more schools are proposed for Iredell and Cabarrus Counties. Langtree and Cabarrus Charter Academies would be managed by a for-profit company called Charter Schools USA which oversees several schools in Florida. Last year, the state lifted its cap on charter schools. Since then, applications for new charters have been rolling into the state's charter school office. This week its advisory council gave the first round of approval to 25 new charters. The state board of education will make the final decision in September.