AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Charter School Commission approved contracts for three new charter schools which are scheduled to open in the fall.
The three schools received preliminary approval earlier this year and the commission’s votes Tuesday represent the final approval they need from the commission. The schools that received final approval Tuesday were the Baxter Academy for Technology and Sciences in Portland, the Fiddlehead School of Arts and Science in Gray and the Harpswell Coastal Academy in Harpswell. They will join the Cornville Regional Charter School in Cornville and the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences in Fairfield, both of which opened last fall, as the state’s first five charter schools.
Under a law passed two years ago, the commission can approve up to 10 charter schools statewide. Local school districts also can create their own charter schools, though none have at this point.
“These programs can serve as an alternative model of learning that other schools might consider and replicate,” said Jana Lapoint, chairwoman of the commission, in a news release. “Our hope is that all public schools, non-charter and charter, working collaboratively together, will result in improved educational results for all of Maine’s students.”