It was a given that the Montgomery County school board would approve the county’s first charter school last night after former Superintendent Jerry Weast and new Superintendent Joshua Starr both gave Crossways Community Montessori Public Charter School the nod.
And indeed, the board gave a 6-2 stamp of approval to the charter, which will open in fall 2012.
The Gazette quotes Crossway CEO Kathleen Guinan: “It’s authentic … It’s really 20 years of work.”
Located in Kensington, the school will serve pre-k through third-grade students — about 122 students in its first year — and is prepared to hold a lottery if necessary.
The Maryland State Board of Education blasted Montgomery’s school board earlier this year, forcing it to reconsider Crossway’s application — originally rejected by the board — and the application of another school.
The state charged Montgomery school officials with holding biases against charter schools and violating its own review process.
After making tweaks to their application, Crossways officials saw more favor with the school board. Weast recommended approval in June, and Starr followed days later.
The school board was originally set to vote weeks ago, but postponed the vote to Monday night.
