The Examiner U-46 News Feed

U-46 receives additional charter school application

By Seth Hancock
  School District U-46 has had a charter school application submitted from Andromeda Blue Academy.
  The application was announced at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, Nov. 1. If eventually approved, Andromeda would be the second charter school in U-46 after the Elgin Math and Science Academy (EMSA) was approved in 2017.
  Trisha Olson, Chief Legal Officer said the district has “45 days from receipt of that application to convene a public meeting to obtain information to assist the board in making our decision.” After that meeting, the board has 30 days to decide on the application.  
  Superintendent Tony Sanders released the application in a message to staff later in the week. He described the proposed charter school as a “virtual school for grades kindergarten through 8th beginning in fiscal year 2023.” Andromeda is seeking “$8.4 million in funding, with expenditures for the first year totaling $2.6 million, for a surplus of $5.8 million.”
  Milena Perryman, Andromeda’s founder, stated in the application that the curriculum “combines common core standards with STEM, thanks in part to Project Lead The Way, a revolutionary program with rock solid educational offerings that can be scaled up or down based on need. But where our program truly differs from the rest, is in the fact that we are a primarily digital/online school. All courses will be instructed by licensed teachers, presented digitally in a combination of live streamed lessons, prerecorded lessons, interactive games, and on-site labs carried out at our partner sites throughout the Chicagoland area.”
  According to the financial information, Andromeda seeks 700 students in Fiscal Year 2023 increasing to 800 by Fiscal Year 2026. Expenditures would be set at $2.6 million increasing to $2.9 million by Fiscal Year 2026.
  That spending level for the first year equates to $3,714 per student, a fraction of the $16,964 spent in U-46 using the $610 million in expenditure and 35,958 students in FY2020 on the Illinois State Board of Education’s annual report card.
  The U-46 board initially supported the EMSA proposal in 2017 to later reverse its stance leading to the Illinois State Charter School Commission eventually approving that charter school.