Sussex County could see its second public charter school by 2021 if one educator has her way.
Alonna Berry is the founder and chairwoman of the board of the Bryan Stevenson School of Excellence.
She says the school is named after Milton native and lawyer and justice advocate Bryan Stevenson.
“Essentially this kind of concept started a little more than a year ago. And it really just kind of stemmed from my family - so I’m related to Bryan Stevenson. And this actually happened after the passing of Bryan’s father,” Berry said.
Berry says Bryan’s family initially had the idea for the “service-style learning” high school, which matches students’ curriculum to community service partners, like community centers and doctors’ offices. The goal is to have graduates stay in the area and help grow their Sussex County communities rather than leave.
“Because we think that by putting kids in the community - and we can texturalize those experiences through their curriculum, through what they’re doing in the classroom, but actually having kids get proximate with what’s happening in their own community that, that is where we’ll actually see that transformation happen for kids,” said Berry.
Berry says she and the other board members plan to begin a capital campaign later this year for the school. It will launch with grades 9 and 10 and then add grades 11 and 12 as those initial students move up.
You can read more about the Bryan Stevenson School of Excellence here.
