College Park Academy Gets Go-Ahead from School Board

On Thursday night, the Prince George's County School Board has cleared the way for the first charter school in the county to open, according to a NBC4, which reported that more than 450 students have applied for only 300 spots at the new school. 

The school, College Park Academy, originally was planned to open in College Park but will instead be opening in Hyattsville at the currently vacant school campus at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Adelphi Road. 

The move comes after school officials abandoned plans to operate the school at the old College Park Elementary School building, one block off of Route 1 on Calvert Road. 

The College Park Academy, once open, will serve middle and high school age students from Prince George's County. The school is a joint venture between the University of Maryland and the city of College Park, who are each funding the school to the tune of $80,000, plus $2.5 million in funding from Prince George's County. Students enrolled will be able to earn up to 60 college credits by the time they graduate. School officials are crafting a curiculum which mixes face-to-face learning with digital and web-based teaching methods.  

The school is projected to have 575 students by 2017. By that time, school officials hope to have found a new location within College Park to host the school, according to The Gazette. They plan on staying at St. Marks for only two years.