FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – On Monday, one of two public meetings was held to inform parents and the community about Virtus Academy Charter School at the Boys and Girls Club in Florence.
Potential charter school Virtus Academy could be the first public charter school in Florence within the South Carolina Public Charter School District.
“Honestly it has been in the works for a number of years. We felt the need for an additional educational option to serve for Florence and surroundings areas.” said Virtus Committee Chairman Elijah Jones.
In 2014, over 270 area students committed to attending the school in a survey conducted.
“You know there are different learning techniques and we just want to offer a new technique. Project based learning,” explained Vice Chairman Bill Pickle.
However, last year the committee hit a bump in the road when its application was denied by the district.
According to the district website, it outlines the five steps to opening a charter school from a letter of intent to a hearing with the board of trustees.
“Some of it was continuity between what the bylaws said versus what was in the narrative of the application. Some were typos. It was just small elements,” Jones stated.
“It was disappointing but we knew at the same time we weren’t shut out,” Pickle mentioned.
The next informational meeting will be next Thursday September 29th at the Florence Public Library starting at 10:00 a.m.
The committee has until October 1st to submit as revised application.
“It’s a whole lot more work in addition to years past that has gone into this past year into this application,” said Jones.
For more information, click here to access Virtus Academy’s website.
