KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Kansas City school district said Friday that it is looking into sponsoring a charter school, after state education officials gave it permission to do so.
Superintendent Stephen Green said in a news release that district officials "can begin to map out our options" after the Missouri Board of Education agreed Tuesday to allow it to act as a sponsor. Charter schools aren't bound by some of the state regulations that apply to public schools, in an effort to encourage innovation. State law mandates that they have sponsors to monitor their performance.
No plans are in place, but Green said there have been some "very preliminary conversations" about opening a charter school as part of the Urban Neighborhood Initiative. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater Kansas City are backing the neighborhood revitalization effort, which is targeting a roughly 200-block area that is home to about 10,300 people, including about 2,100 school-age children. One idea is to develop a new, high-achieving charter elementary school to be surrounded by new, mixed-use housing.
"This gets us to the table and allows us to be an active and equal participant in the conversation about charter schools in our community," Green said of winning the right to serve as a sponsor, noting that the Urban Neighborhood Initiative is "one possibility of that could emerge."
He cited the initiative, whose goals also include job creation and improving infrastructure, as an example of what is need to help students in the urban core succeed in school.
"We have to break down barriers between schools and homes," Green said.
Dianne Cleave, the initiative's leader and the wife of Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, didn't immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.