The Newberry Community School Board voted on Monday to expand the charter school to kindergarten through fifth grade and approved a school improvement plan.
The decisions come just a week after Newberry Community School opened its doors to students.
Expansion
The board voted to expand Newberry Community School, a kindergarten through fourth grade school, to include fifth grade school at the start of the 2027-28 school year.
The initial charter application said the school will serve kindergarten through fourth grade students for three years before expanding to fifth graders due to capacity constraints.
However, the school currently serves 344 students and has the capacity in its budget to enroll up to 520, principal Lacy Roberts said.
The decision to expand Newberry Community School allows Roberts to begin hiring additional instructional staff, promoting the school’s expansion and enrolling fifth grade students for the next school year.
School improvement plan
The board also approved a school improvement plan during Monday’s meeting. The plan expands upon the Title I plan passed during a July meeting.
The decision stems from the charter school’s inheritance of Newberry Elementary School’s grade for the 2025-26 school year.
The school dropped from a B to a C grade last school year, prompting Roberts to create an improvement plan that aims to get the charter school to an A grade for the 2026-27 school year.
The plan entails implementing teacher training to ensure educators and class material adhere to state standards. It also involves maintaining smaller class sizes.
According to a presentation, kindergarten through third grade classes at Newberry Community School average about 18 students. Fourth grade classrooms have roughly 22.
The presentation also asserts that fourth grade classes at Newberry Elementary School had roughly 36 students.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, classes during the 2024-25 school year averaged 17 students.
Other goals include implementing high expectations for student behavior and participation, professional development for teachers and small support groups for underperforming students.
The school will monitor student data after every assessment.
The federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires state governments to assess subgroups of students with lower performance levels. At Newberry Elementary School, Roberts said, that subgroup was identified as African American students.
The school will be required to periodically report the subgroup’s performance to the state.
Plans to improve and expand Newberry Community School come just a week after its Aug. 10 opening. Several teachers attended Monday’s meeting to celebrate the milestone.
School staff said the charter school has managed to foster a positive environment for students, teachers and parents.
“Families are happy, and teachers are happy to be there,” Roberts said. “We are off to an amazing start.”
Contact Grace Larson at glarson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @graceellarson.
Grace Larson is a second-year journalism student and this summer's metro editor. She previously worked as city/county commission reporter and K-12 education reporter for The Alligator. When she's not editing stories, Grace enjoys running, weightlifting and going on random side quests. If she's not at her desk, you can find her at any place offering free food and crafts.
