A proposal to start a charter school for the 2009-10 school term will be considered Tuesday by the Caddo School Board.
Saed Gazawaneh, of Bossier City, is trying to start The Children’s Future Charter School with the vision to “provide a superior education for children ages 5 through 18, while teaching them the Arabic and French languages and exposing them to a blending of the Arabic and American cultures.”
The school district received Gazawaneh’s letter of intent June 30. The district received the proposal July 23.
But the proposal won’t likely be approved because “more intensive work needs to be done,” according to a letter accompanying the proposal that Wanda Gunn, Caddo’s interim schools superintendent, wrote to the School Board.
Gazawaneh could not be reached for comment.
The board has to indicate whether it’s interested in working with the charter applicant on the school plan and what time line and procedures it would follow before making a final decision. The board will discuss the matter during its work session Tuesday and will vote Aug. 19.
“People are welcome to apply for charter schools,” said Board President Willie Burton. “They just have to know what to do in order to get one started.”
The Children’s Future Charter School would serve 200 children in kindergarten through 12th grade in Shreveport and surrounding areas.
The school’s ultimate goal is to prepare children for successful entry into the collegiate and career worlds. Another goal is to promote a blending of two distinctly different cultures in an effort to establish better relations between students and their respective communities, the proposal states.
The charter school concept is nothing new in Louisiana. Several parishes have charter schools in southern Louisiana, especially in New Orleans. And this is not the first time Caddo has received an application for a charter school, Burton said.
A similar concept arose when Bethune Middle Academy was being considered for state takeover. The local advocacy group Alliance for Education said it wanted to partner with the state Education Department to help run the Shreveport school. And Ed Futures, an educational management company that operates a school in Atlanta and one in Fort Myers, Fla., said it wanted to partner with a local nonprofit in operating the school.
Neither group was given control of the school, and there is no charter school in Caddo.
Also on the board’s agenda for consideration are a school improvement proposal for Title I schools, a 2008-09 pupil progression plan and proposed job descriptions.