The charter for the new Floyd County Schools College and Career Academy was officially approved by the Georgia Board of Education at Thursday’s State Board of Education Meeting.  The final approval from the state will allow the community partnership between Floyd County Schools, Coosa Valley Technical College and the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce to move forward with plans for the new charter school.  The three community partners along with parents and representatives from the business community have been working together for more than a year to develop a new type of school that will prepare students for the future and provide skilled graduates ready to contribute to the betterment of the community.  The school will replace the current Floyd County Technical High School and open as Floyd County Schools College and Career Academy in August.

The charter was not originally scheduled for approval until the February meeting of the State Board but the petition was moved to the January meeting to help the partnership proceed with preparation for a fall opening.  The partnership had received a grant for 3.2 million at the end of last year but could not begin to use the funds until the charter petition was formally approved by the state.  Frank Pinson, chief executive officer of Floyd County School College and Career Academy, was energized by the announcement.  “This will allow us to move forward with crucial facility and curriculum decisions for opening in the fall,” Pinson said.

The community steering committee will meet on Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the Floyd County Board of Education office to chart the course for the now officially chartered school.  The first order of business will be to develop the list of names to be submitted to the Floyd County Board of Education to serve as the schools board of directors.

Dr. Lynn Plunkett, interim superintendent of Floyd County Schools, praised the cooperative spirit of the community in making the new charter school a reality.  “From the beginning, Coosa Valley Technical College, the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce and Floyd County Schools have come together with the sole purpose of designing something special for the children of our community.  We could not have made this happen without everyone pulling together in the same direction.”

Plans for the school include a facelift for the existing facility over the summer along with beginning construction of a new wing that will be funded by the 3.2 million grant.  The new wing will house a Manufacturing Program featuring robotics.  The program is being designed in cooperation with Coosa Valley Technical College and Southern Polytechnic State University.