New Racine Charter School Awarded Start-Up Grant

REAL School founder Willie Maryland could be up to his successful education tricks again next fall thanks to a $250,000 planning grant from the state Department of Public Instruction.

A list of 19 proposed charter schools receiving planning grants was distributed by DPI Monday. The Racine Civil Leaders Academy - the brain-child of Maryland and colleagues Curt Shircel and Danielle Dekker - was the only Racine school on the list.

The school would serve primarily low-income students in grades 4K - 8, according to a story in The Journal Times, and would be set up initially in the tower of the downtown YMCA, 725 Lake Avenue.

Maryland told the newspaper the Academy would operate as an instrumentality charter school, which means the school would be part of Racine Unified using district staff. But, school leaders would have control over its budget, curriculum and the decisions about who staffs the classrooms.

The Racine Unified Board of Education would need to approve the instrumentality school before it could move forward as a part of the district. Start-up costs are funded by the planning grant so there is no immediate impact on RUSD's budget, the newspaper reported.

Maryland helped found the REAL School, considered an example of academic success, located now at 5915 Erie Street. Shircel is a teacher at the REAL School, and Dekker teaches at Fratt Elementary, 3500 Kinzie Avenue.