Schools
Charter School Classes in Full Swing After Two Delayed Starts
A week of thunderstorms and Hurricane Irene caused delays in the opening of Kingdom Charter School of Leadership.
Last week’s thunderstorms plus Hurricane Irene delayed the opening of the .
Classes began for all grades on Aug. 30, but were slated to begin for the class on Aug. 24.
Severe thunderstorms the week of Aug. 21 were to blame for the delayed kindergarten start date, according to Kingdom Charter lead person Wandria McCall-Hampton.
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"The storms the week before delayed final renovations, so we needed to postpone the start date," McCall-Hampton said.
Hurricane Irene caused an additional delay. The charter school’s board of trustees made the call on Saturday, as Irene’s impact was felt on the region, to delay opening the school by one day.
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"We wanted to give parents enough notice," McCall-Hampton said. "And we were not sure what the true impact would be."
The physical infrastructure of the school fared well. According to McCall-Hampton, there was no damage or flooding on the property. However, the school was without power for most of the weekend and into Monday morning, which would have prevented school from starting had the board not already decided to delay opening day.
Tuesday, the charter school’s 119 students in grades K-3 began classes. McCall-Hampton said the first day in the new school went smoothly, with the main hiccup being transportation issues.
"Drivers are still learning bus routes," said McCall-Hampton, who noted that some students were not picked up on time.
School buses are provided by McGough Bus Co., based out of Sewell, to all charter school students who reside within Gloucester Township. There are three bus routes.
Out-of-district charter school students are responsible for securing their own transportation. According to McCall-Hampton, there are 10 students from other districts enrolled at the school. Tuition and other costs for those students to attend Kingdom are paid for by their home school district.
The delayed start date will not have any effect on the school calendar. Kingdom’s calendar has 189 days, which is more than the 180 required by law. The last day of classes is tentatively scheduled (precluding any snow days or other weather delays) for June 20.
The charter school’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. at the . The meeting is open to the public.
