The idea for South City Preparatory Academy was born from seeing evidence of great urban charter schools throughout our country. Over the course of several years, I had the opportunity to visit amazing charter schools like Boston Collegiate, Academy of the Pacific Rim, Roxbury Prep and schools in the KIPP, Uncommon Schools, Achievement First, and Noble Street networks. These schools changed my paradigm on what schools could accomplish. They were eliminating the achievement gap for countless students across our country.
South City Prep opened in August of 2011, when we welcomed our first crop of 5th and 6th grade scholars. Within the first week, we realized one of the hardships of charter schools throughout the country: financial issues. Because of a lower than expected student enrollment, we were forced to make some hard decisions. We had to lay off our PE teacher and one of our support teachers within the first month of school. Additionally, we decided that we would pinch our pennies even more by not hiring a school secretary. Every person on staff had a shift at the front desk answering phones, sorting mail and assisting our students. Despite these roadblocks, by many accounts, our year was a success. Our scholars averaged 1.9 years worth of growth in Reading and 1.7 years worth of growth in Math as measured by a national norm referenced exam. Our families love our school and during our first year, we heard countless tales of gratitude from these same families. In looking back, I’m amazed that these families “took the leap” with our school. When they were touring our facility, all we could point out were dusty, empty classrooms with no walls. August 2012 signals the start of our 2nd year. Sitting at coffee shops working on our charter now seems light years away. We have doubled our students and added 5 new staff members. Having 16 staff members feels like an embarrassment of riches compared to our first year as we even have someone to answer the phones! We’ve earned a positive reputation in our community and feel proud about our first year. However, we also know that thousands of students in our city do not have access to high quality schools and thousands are doomed to failure in failing schools. We know that we must do our job well as the reality for many of our students is that we are their only hope. Additionally, once we’ve laid the groundwork for this school and proved that it can work, we have to replicate the model. The beauty of the public charter model is that we can serve as an incubator for what works. When something is working, it can be replicated and expanded; when it is not working, it can be changed or closed. We look forward to building more great schools in the St. Louis region so that we can dramatically change the educational landscape of our city and our nation. Big dreams from a humble beginning. Photo: Author Mike Malone, Head of School of South City Preparatory Academy (St. Louis, Missouri)
Menu
