Charter school board approves 2 more schools for Jackson
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s Charter School Authorizer Board has approved two additional charter schools to open in Jackson next year. Both will be located on the same campus and operated by RePublic Schools, the group that last month opened Reimagine Prep, one of Mississippi’s first two charter schools.
Tennessee-based RePublic plans next fall to open Joel E. Smilow Collegiate, which will eventually serve grades K-8 and Joel E. Smilow Prep, which will eventually serve grades 5-8. They will be named after the former chairman and CEO of Playtex Products. Ravi Gupta, RePublic’s founding director, says Smilow has pledged $1 million in support.
The schools would be the third and fourth charter schools in Mississippi. They would both be located at the site of the former Broadmoor Baptist Church, more recently Wesley Biblical Seminary.
