By Joni Simon
Contributing Writer

Meadowlands will operate a charter school at 121 Old San Antonio Road beginning in August.

Initial plans call for the school to serve high school students. Some Boerne Independent School District students, other than those who are already at Meadowlands, will be eligible for enrollment at the school.

BISD Superintendent John Kelly calls it a very positive development for the district. “Since the No Child left Behind legislation passed, the ability of BISD to adequately serve those children has diminished because we are required to place older students on our high school campus before they are ready to leave Meadowlands,” Kelly told the school board earlier this year.

“The charter school concept allows Meadowlands some flexibility with teacher certification rules, thereby allowing them to hold on to those children until they are ready for placement on a regular BISD campus.”

The charter was approved by the Texas Education Agency last September, according to Geoff Knitt, who will be the charter school’s superintendent this fall.

“We felt we had to do this primarily because of the No Child Left Behind legislation,” he told the BISD school board.

“It forced our hand to mainstream older students. This group was rarely educated appropriately, which continued the vicious cycle.” Any student in the Boerne School District attendance zone can enroll.

“All students from the community will be assigned a therapist. This will be very beneficial. There were times when we would have wanted to place emotionally disturbed students at Meadowlands,” Kelly said.

“A disproportionate amount of our students right now at the alternative school are from Meadowlands.”

Knitt says the school will meet the needs of at-risk students especially.

“At RMYA, it is our belief that for many at-risk students there is simply no way a traditional public school setting can provide the supervision, structure and clinical approach so necessary for them to achieve academically,” Knitt said.

According to Knitt, a charter school allows freedom for innovation, and it will attract parents with children who might need the more structured setting that the MLCS can provide.

“RMYA has a great reputation for being successful with students who are not meeting their full potential and MLCS will provide a safe, structured, therapeutic, and consistent environment that will enable all secondary students the opportunity for academic success,” Knitt said.

He said the charter school MLCS teacher-student ratio will be 1 to 12, and teachers will hold two certifications—one in a core area, as well as in special education.

The school is scheduled to have a maximum capacity of 240 students in grades seven through 12 by the third year of operation, Knitt said.

“It is our belief that the MLCS culture, experienced faculty, small teacher/student ratio, therapeutic components, and our commitment to personalized programs for each student will have a dramatic and positive impact on the academic and social success of our students,” he said.

To enroll a student, call Knitt at (210) 340-8077.