AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Charter School Commission approved the state’s ninth charter school on Tuesday.
Acadia Academy will open this fall in Lewiston. The school will start with 128 students in pre-kindergarten through second grade. The commission and school officials signed a contract after commissioners approved the agreement Tuesday.
The school hopes to expand each year, by adding one grade level annually until it includes students in pre-K through sixth grade.
The school’s board has selected a former bowling alley and warehouse at 12 Westminster St. as its future home. Commission officials toured the facility and got a look at building plans last month.
Acadia Academy officials say small class sizes, one-on-one attention, and a blend of traditional classrooms and “hands-on” learning will set them apart and draw students from the area.
“We’re very excited, this is the culmination of many hours and days and months of hard work,” Chris Brann, the chairman of the school’s board, said Tuesday afternoon.
Now, Acadia Academy’s board begins the process of finding and hiring a head of school, then seeking out staff and teachers.
“We’ve seen a great amount of community interest and support already,” Brann said.
There is only one more opening for a charter school in the state. When lawmakers passed a charter school law in 2012, they stipulated that a maximum of 10 charter schools could be allowed in the first decade of the law.
The commission will consider applications to fill that final slot in June.
Last month, the commission approved the contract for another charter school, Snow Pond Arts Academy. The high school, starting with 124 students, will be focused on the performing arts and be based at the site of the New England Music Camp in Sidney.
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