Friendship Aspire Academy will opens it’s doors Monday August 13th on the corner of Hazel Street and 40th Avenue. It will become the first of what company officials hope to have five public charter schools in Arkansas in the next few years.
Charles Woods Jr., the principle of Friendship Aspire, spoke to the Pine Bluff Kiwanis Club last week and said that he had 16 years in education, but this was his first time being involved with a public charter school.
He said that Friendship Academy has nine campuses in the Washington DC area as well as in Baltimore and in Louisiana, and is the largest minority-owned charter school organization in the country.
Starting with kindergarten and first grade this year, the school will add one grade per year up to grade five, and Woods said he would not be surprised if a middle school is eventually added later.
Among the features Friendship Aspire Academy will offer will be two free school uniforms, free before and after school care, and a guaranteed computer in each classroom. “Your tax dollars are paying for it” he said.
An open house and parent orientation is set for August 11th, two days before school officially opens.
The mission of Friendship Aspire Academy-Pine Bluff is to provide a world-class education that motivates students to achieve high academic standards, enjoy learning and develop as ethical, literate, well-rounded and self-sufficient citizens. Friendship Aspire Academy-Pine Bluff seeks to fulfill this mission by providing students a high quality, liberal arts education focused on preparing students with the academic and life skills needed to be successful in college and beyond.
