The Banning Lewis Ranch Management Company, with support from bond financing and the builders of the development, has begun construction on a K-8 charter school, with plans to open this fall.John Cassiani, vice president of project operations for the Banning Lewis management company, said, “We want to be able to provide a school system that is integrated into the community, and we’ve taken that first step by helping to build this school.”The 60,000-square-foot charter school is located at the heart of the Inaugural Village in Banning Lewis Ranch, adjacent to a community recreation center. Children who live in the Banning Lewis Ranch are welcome to apply, as well as children who live outside of the ranch.”This effort was a way for us to immediately begin to address the overcrowding issues in this school district,” Cassiani said.Mosaica Education Inc. will operate and manage the school. Mosaica manages 70 charter schools – serving roughly 13,000 students in eight states, the District of Columbia and the Persian Gulf country of Qatar. The company also provides after-school tutoring services to students attending traditional public schools at 140 sites around the country. Mosaica-managed schools have yielded superior academic results by using a proprietary curriculum called Paragon, state-of-the-art technology and sound fiscal practices, according to the release. WestEd, a nonprofit research agency designated by the U.S. Department of Education to provide leadership in educational assessment, reported that the average Mosaica student exceeded his or her expected academic growth by more than 17 percent.For more information on the charter school program or to enroll online, visit www.BanningLewisRanch.com.The new charter school is hosting a series of meetings for anyone who wants to meet the board members and learn more about the academy. The next gathering is Feb. 1 at Gateway Church from 7 to 8 p.m.
