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Ivy Classical Academy Charter School Coming to Prattville as Early as Fall 2021

By Andrew Edwards

Staff Writer

Barring a setback, Prattville will be getting a charter school located on the Prattville side of Autauga County for the Fall of 2021 – Ivy Classical Academy.

The charter school is still waiting for approval from the Alabama Public Charter School Commission on March 13th. If approved, it’s full speed ahead, says Member of the Founding Board, Bradley Neave.

But the actual application process has been months in the making.

Neave has been working very closely with the Barney Charter School Initiative, a non-profit project affiliated with Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan that promotes the founding of classic charter schools.

15 different locations for charter schools from all across the country were submitted to the initiative, but only two were selected for Fall 2021 – Prattville, AL and Naples, FL. Charlotte, North Carolina was a finalist but was not selected. Neave says board members for the BCSI are excited to bring a charter school to Prattville.

The school is tuition free and will select its students with a lottery-based system, which could extend to any part of the State of Alabama. The school is still regulated under federal and state guidelines and potentially will operate under the same calendar as the Autauga County School System.

In its first year, the school will house students K-6th grade, with each grade having around 60 students. Each individual class will have approximately 20 students. After its first year, the school will add a grade every year until it reaches K-12th grade.

Neave says the school currently has 58 students pre-enrolled, but that they must have at least 250 before the school officially opens.

“This school can help to release the burden on Elmore and Autauga County without putting undo stress on their budgets. We’re not creating whole new system, we’re starting a whole new school that’s governed by a stand-alone body,” Neave says.

Part of that system involves the Trivium Method, which is what the school will use to drive their curriculum. The method focuses on general grammar, formal logic and classical rhetoric which helps students to discover, develop and apply the knowledge that they receive from each individual subject.

“In the last 50 years we’ve seen watered down curriculum in our schools because of federal and state involvement. Students are learning what it takes to pass a test, not what it means to become a better human being. We will teach our students about virtues and to learn how to learn. We want our students to graduate and understand their value to society,” Neave said.

Neave says that the school will shy away from having contact sports, but that they will still provide a “full-slate” of other athletics such as golf, baseball, tennis, crew, softball and soccer.

Beyond athletics, Neave says the school will allow students to partake in other extracurriculars like robotics club, engine building and geo-tagging.

After being approved by the APCSC, Neave says the school will be held at a temporary location until its permanent one is constructed.

For more information about the academy, visit their Facebook page or website, ivyclassical.com. The school is currently accepting pre-enrollments through the website.