- April 25, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Palm Harbor Academy, a once-failing charter school, has turned itself around and earned a three-year contract renewal with the Flagler County School District.
“They certainly have made a lot of growth, going from a school that was deemed to be one of the lowest-performing schools of the lowest 300 in the state, to being essentially what could have been classified as an ‘A’ school if they would have had the population,” School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin told the board at a Tuesday, Sept. 16 meeting.
The board voted unanimously to approve the contract, which has already been signed by the school’s officials.
Palm Harbor Academy opened in 2009 as a kindergarten through fifth grade school, then expanded to include pre-K and sixth grade, Gavin said.
“There has been positive growth both academically and for the program itself at Palm Harbor,” said School Board Member Colleen Conklin. “I look forward to good things. I have said all along, and l’ll say it one more time, that I believe that Palm Harbor captures what the original intent of what charter schools were to be, and that is a local group coming together — parents, educators — to create niche programming for students who felt that they weren’t a fit or felt that their needs were not being met in that local school district, instead of a corporate entity doing that. And I support the project.”
School Board Member John Fischer said he’s visited the school several times so far this year.
“They certainly are trying, and I hope they do succeed,” he said.
