East Cooper Montessori Charter School opened the doors to the first day of school.   The new building is beautiful and a great addition to I’On. 

School charted difficult course

By Diette Courrégé (Contact)

The Post and Courier

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The East Cooper Montessori Charter School has accomplished what only a handful of charter schools statewide have: The school funded, designed and constructed a new building that will open this week.

It’s the first charter school in Charleston County to undertake the massive task of building its school. The building cost $3.2 million, of which the school raised $1 million through private donations.

“I can’t pass enough kudos their way,” said Bill Lewis, executive director of the Charleston County School District’s building program. “This is the ultimate in parents supporting their kids. They should be given tremendous credit for what they’ve done. It’s pretty spectacular.”

Lewis, the district’s building expert, offered initial guidance to the school but didn’t work on the project.

Most charter schools rent space, and only a few have buildings they constructed, said David Church, executive director of the South Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools. No charter school in the state owns its building outright, he said.

Charter schools are public schools governed by boards of parents and community members. They follow state laws but not school district mandates.

It’s a difficult struggle for charter schools to obtain buildings, and that’s one of the top two barriers for their growth and sustainability, Church said. He called the Mount Pleasant school one of the finest examples of how a charter school can rally its supporters to get behind a facility plan.

“This is really a heartfelt example of what charter schools can do to build community,” he said.

The school has moved from trailers to the new 15,000-square-foot building, which blends exactly with its I’On neighborhood. Construction lasted five months, less than half the time it typically takes to do a project that size.

The school got the OK to move in last Friday. Principal Jody Swanigan decided to push back the first day of school until Wednesday, the day after Charleston County schools begin. It takes longer to set up Montessori classrooms than traditional rooms because Montessori rooms have thousands of pieces of materials that students use to learn, she said. Their environment is critical to their learning, she said.

The school opened four years ago and has seen its grade levels, students and waiting list grow every year since then. It serves all of Charleston County, not just Mount Pleasant communities. Eighth graders will be added to the mix this year, pushing the school’s total enrollment to 162 students. Seventy-five students are on its waiting list.

The building has a room big enough to host school-wide meetings, and its design sacrifices office space for classrooms with up to 900 square feet. Classrooms have accent walls in warm colors so students will feel more like they are at home, Swanigan said. Green building concepts are incorporated throughout the building, and natural light pours in from numerous classroom windows.

The school kept costs low by going without some of the amenities and standard features in most new public schools, such as a kitchen, media center and full-sized gym.

Swanigan beamed as she walked around the school, which was filled with parents and teachers who were unpacking boxes and setting up classrooms.

“This is absolutely a dream come true,” Swanigan said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Filed under: I'On Village on August 21st, 2007