Southern Wake Academy, the area’s only charter school, has been approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) to begin a middle school and to grow by 40 percent for the 2012-2013 school year. Heretofore a high school only, Southern Wake Academy (SWA) will add approximately 30 6th Grade students in the fall of 2012 and add Grades 7 and 8 over the next two-year period. Additionally, the school will add seats in Grades 9-12 next year.

To accommodate growth, SWA will need to expand both its facilities and staff prior to opening day in August 2012. The school’s independent board will be working with local town officials on a site plan for additional classrooms for students and staff for the new year which opens in about six months. Even with the approved growth, the school will maintain the small class size and small school environment characteristic of the school’s program and history.

School Director Carroll Reed reported that the growth and expansion plan presented to the SBE includes data for the next five years that would increase the school’s population to 300 students in grades 6-12. “This approval by the state board comes just after our recent news that 100 percent of our students tested for first semester passed their End-of-Course Tests. The addition of a middle school is a goal the board and staff have had for several years, as we make Southern Wake Academy a viable alternative to the traditional public schools for students and parents in the Fuquay-Varina/Holly Springs areas.”

The school will host an Open House on Thursday, Feb. 16, 6:45 – 8 p.m., and especially invites parents of rising 6th and 9th grade students to bring their students for a tour and to meet the current staff. Parents may obtain an application online at the school’s website: www.southernwakeacademy.org or may call the school at 567-9955 to inquire about the school’s application process. As in other charter schools, SWA officials anticipate that there will be a waiting list for both the middle school and high school grades for the fall. The application process will run through the month of February or until seats are filled.