Five new charter schools authorized by state commission

Ivy Prep Academy in Kirkwood is among schools previously authorized by the State Charter Schools Commission. The commission just added five more schools to its roster. PHOTO / JASON GETZ

Ivy Prep Academy in Kirkwood is among schools previously authorized by the State Charter Schools Commission. The commission just added five more schools to its roster. PHOTO / JASON GETZ

Georgia’s State Charter Schools Commission has authorized five new schools, including three in metro Atlanta.

The commission on Wednesday gave charters to Genesis Academy in Atlanta which will have separate K-10 facilities for boys and girls and offer an extended day, week and year program aimed at preparing kids for college. Resurgence Hall in Fulton County will serve K-8 students with an emphasis on computer science and 200 minutes a day of literacy instruction and also offer an extended day and year.

The other schools are DREAM Academy, serving K-10 students in Macon-Bibb County, and SAIL: School for Arts-Infused Learning, in Columbia or Richmond County.

All except Resurgence Hall will have a statewide attendance zone, according to the commission, which was established in 2013 by a constitutional amendment in 2012. Previously, only local school districts had clear authority to authorize charter schools, but the state commission now has authority to grant charters to schools either with a statewide attendance zone or with a local zone and “special characteristics.”

The five will join a list of two dozen schools with a charter through the commission.