Acadia Academy in Lewiston, pre-K-3, 172 students, 28 on the admissions waiting list. The school has 27 special education students (15.7 percent of total); 31.4 percent receive free or reduced lunch. Baxter Academy of Technology and Science in Portland, grades 9-12, 400 students, 26 on the waiting list. Baxter has 74 special ed students (18.5 percent); 16.2 […]
charter schools
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Charter schools in Maine: How a virtual academy works
AUGUSTA — Maine Virtual Academy is one of nine state-approved, publicly funded charter schools in Maine, and one of two online schools in the state. Maine Virtual Academy opened in September 2015 after approval by the Maine Charter School Commission, the state oversight body within the Maine Department of Education. Despite its “virtual” name, MVA […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Student, 15, follows different path toward learning, happiness
Last year was tough for Oniyah Burns. She was an eighth-grader in the midcoast area. She had social anxiety and was bullied by mean girls at school. She considered suicide, she said. This year is better. Her life turned around, she and her mother said, when she enrolled as an online student at Maine Virtual […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
No new Maine charter schools likely this school year or next
PORTLAND (AP) — No new charter schools are expected to open in Maine this school year or next due to a lack of applications, the Maine charter school commission said. There were no serious contenders to open a 10th charter school by the late August state deadline despite some existing charters having waitlists because of […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Gov. Paul LePage wants more charter schools
LEWISTON — Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to allow more publicly funded charter schools in Maine is getting mixed reviews. LePage wants to change the state law that caps charter schools at no more than 10 statewide. How many more, and whether they get approved, would be up to the Maine Charter School Commission, which has […]
Posted inOxford Hills
SAD 17 names two new principals
PARIS — Two School Administrative District 17 elementary schools will have new principals this fall. Beth Clarke, who served as interim principal of the Agnes Gray School in West Paris this year, has been named principal of the Agnes Gray and Hebron Station schools. She will take over from Melanie Ellsworth, principal of the Hebron […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
SAD 17 grudgingly pays bill for Maine’s charter schools
PARIS — The SAD 17 board of directors reluctantly agreed Monday night to pay a second-quarter bill of $25,471 for 13 students attending charter schools. “It isn’t without some protest, but we are legally obligated to pay it,” board member and Finance Committeeman Joe Vaillancourt said. The board budgeted for one student enrolled in a […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
AG won’t act on complaint of fraudulent charter school application
AUGUSTA — The Maine Attorney General’s Office said it will take no action on whether falsified documents or testimony were presented in Lewiston-Auburn charter school application. An investigator for the AG’s office said he found no basis for a formal investigation of the Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School application. “We have closed this matter and we […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine charter commission to vote on 2nd virtual school this week
AUGUSTA — The board that oversees Maine charter schools has recommended approval of an application from Maine Virtual Academy, which wants to open the state’s second online charter school. The Maine Charter School Commission will vote Thursday on a recommendation to authorize contract negotiations between the state and Maine Virtual Academy. The academy must get […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Brunswick super says charter schools put financial burden on public education
BRUNSWICK — The number of students who have left Brunswick public schools for charter schools has nearly doubled since last year, placing a growing financial burden on the School Department, Superintendent Paul Perzanoski said Wednesday. Perzanoski told the School Board 47 Brunswick students were attending three of the state’s charter schools, up from 24 last […]