Mississippi could soon see its first charter schools open in Jackson, Natchez and Columbus. MPB's Lawayne Childrey reports.
All three schools received approval this week from the state authorizer board. Darren Leach, one of the founding members of the Columbus group explains what they hope to accomplish through the charter system.
"As we looked at what was going on in our particular school system which was we have a "D" rating. We decided we need to try something a little innovative and a lot different and a whole lot more student centered to try to bridge some of this achievement gap that we're seeing in Mississippi and the rest of the world."
Mississippi lawmakers approved charter schools last year to give parents options to failing public schools. 12 groups originally applied. Leach says the three that were approved must now be evaluated by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
"That is just like a last minute sanity check to make sure that our plans and our capacity, our capability, that they match."
The board plans to finalize contracts in June. Lawayne Childrey, MPB News.
