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October 27, 2018 2018-10-27T16:00:00 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM 836 Reynolds StreetAugusta, GA30901 Admission: Free to the...
Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — Wednesday, the State Charter School Commission of Georgia is expected to give the final approval for proposed charter school SAIL.
Founders say they hope to have the school open by the 2017 school year, so now they have to put in work.
“I was a product of a fine arts education. I went to Davidson, and I know that it sort of saved my life,” said Steven Uhles, one of the founders of the School for Arts-Infused Learning, or SAIL.
“I really wanted to see a school in place that taught those kids that thought more creatively,” he said.
After interviewing 3 times with the State Charter School Commission, they were finally recommended for approval.
And with that green light– the real work begins.
“We have to build a school,” Uhles said. “We have to hire a school, we have to find books and infrastructure for a school and it’s going to take a lot of work.”
He said they have the community’s support.
They’ve already gotten resumes from potential teachers.
And even though they expect to have 400 students, many more want to come.
“Right now we have about 1200 students pre-enrolled that have shown an interest in the school,” Uhles said.
One thing that makes this school different from others– students will be selected by lottery.
No auditions, no G.P.A. requirement.
And it’s open to students all across Georgia.
“Anyone who wants to go to this school is eligible to go to this school,” Uhles said. “We have people interested, we have community engagement and that’s going to be the most important part really.”
They’re hoping to get even more community engagement Wednesday night.
The founders are holding a news conference and town hall meeting on what’s next for SAIL.
It will be at 6 p.m. at the Morris Museum of Art.
The State Charter School Commission recommended SAIL to become a school the same time it recommended Richmond County’s proposed charter, not get approval..
In the commission’s rationale, it read that Richmond County’s proposed Challenge Preparatory Academy didn’t show it was prepared to be its own education agency.
Meaning, it didn’t present some of the requirements to prove that.
One thing it mentioned specifically was that its budget didn’t ensure the school would be okay financially.
That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the end.
SAIL got two rejections before this recommendation to go ahead.
They say they took the criticism seriously and adjusted.
News 12 First at Five / Aug. 26, 2016
COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — The School for Arts-Infused Learning, or “SAIL,” got the first green light from the State’s Charter School Commission. After Wednesday’s final approval, it’s full speed ahead for the next 12 months, so doors can open in August 2017.
Before the things were looking up, school founders and board members battled some rough seas.
“We took criticism. We didn’t throw the towel in,” said Dr. Michael Berg, a SAIL co-founder and board member, “We want it to be difficult to open up a charter school, because these have to be high quality schools that can compete at the same level or better than schools in the geographic area.”
Berg says the people involved are overjoyed, and Wednesday meeting at the Morris Museum will be press conference, but also a celebration of how far they have come.
He says the school will start at Kindergarten through sixth grade, and then grow every year until eighth grade. However, Berg says by then, they hope to go back to the state and expand it out to run through high school.
For him, the school is more than a long thought out idea. Rather, it’s a personal passion.
“We knew there should be a true continuum of the idea that all children do not learn the same, and we’ve always incorporated arts infused lessons in [our own] classrooms,” said Berg.
That’s an idea that resonates with many parents, including Shauna Kenney. Two of her four kids are home-schooled, but two go to Martinez Elementary.
“We’re kind of in both worlds,” she said.
Finally, she’ll be getting some long awaited answers.
Leaders say the starting enrollment will be a little more than 400 student. They say some of the focuses are small classes and individualized attention, as well as learning languages through immersion, beginning with Spanish in all grades. And, the school will be open to anyone in the state.
“We needed to select a piece of property that was going to be close to the I-20 corridor that would accommodate people traveling some distance,” said Berg.
The exact location is not yet final, but could be in either Richmond or Columbia County.
“There’s just so many great things that I’ve heard they’ll offer that I would love for my kids,” said Kenney.
Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016
EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — The School for Arts-Infused Learning, as known as SAIL, has received the recommendation for approval from the State Charter School Commission.
The petition and information presented by SAIL met all requirements of rule and law, according to the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia. The commission believes the school will operate as a high‐quality charter school consistent with the SCSC’s mission and the educational goals of Georgia.
The official approval is set for next Wednesday. Once official approval is confirmed, SAIL will begin the work of enrollment, construction, hiring and garnering support for its proposed August 2017 opening, according to the SAIL governing board.
A special press conference and town hall meeting on the approval and recent SAIL developments will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31 at the Morris Museum of Art.
View the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia recommendation for approval here.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
EVANS, Ga. (WRDW) — The School for Arts-Infused Learning, as known as SAIL, will submit their plan to the State Charter School Commission in May, according to the school’s spokesperson Steven Uhles.
Uhles says school leaders will then interview with the commission in July. They will hear back from the commission sometime late summer or early fall. Uhles says if everything goes as planned, SAIL is scheduled to open fall 2017.
According to Uhles, school leaders have considered input from town hall meetings because it is a community school. The school will now be available to students from Columbia, Richmond, Burke, Lincoln, McDuffie and other surrounding counties in Georgia.
It will also be open to students from Kindergarten to 7th grade. One grade will be added per year until it becomes a fully staffed K-12 charter school.
Monday, Feb. 1, 2016
EVANS, Ga. (WRDW) — Directors at the Columbia County School for the Arts will be submitting a new petition for state approval with a new name to go along with it to the State Charter Commission this spring. They announced today that the school will now be called School for Arts-Infused or SAIL.
The school will now be available to students from Columbia, Richmond, Burke, Lincoln, McDuffie and other surrounding counties in Georgia.
It is also now open to students from Kindergarten to 7th grade. One grade will be added per year until it becomes a fully staffed K-12 charter school.
Their mission is to “produce the creative thinkers that will help shape our community for years to come.”
The board will be holding public forums in the future to outline the process.
For more information you can visit: facebook.com/schoolforartsinfusedlearning
Source: News
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