Anne Frank Inspire Academy

Anne Frank Inspire Academy (AFIA) is a public K-12 charter school in northwest San Antonio,[1] operated by Braination (John H. Wood Jr. Public Charter District). The school is in proximity to Helotes and was named after Anne Frank.[2]

History

It opened in 2014 with 150 middle school students.[2] 220 applications for admission were submitted to the school by April 2013.[3] It was the first non-disciplinary charter school operated by the district.[2] The school had a cost of $5.5 million; funds used to establish the school originated in savings amassed from government funds for the disciplinary schools, and the establishment used almost all of the district's savings. Braination closed one of its existing schools, located in a detention center in Post, Texas, and gave its state campus identification number to Frank because its charter limited it to operating six schools.[3] In 2014 the school had seven teachers, what it called "facilitators", with all but one having prior significant teaching experience.[4]

Its elementary school facility and 9th grade were scheduled to open in fall 2015.[5]

Student body

Admission is by lottery; As of 2014 the majority of the students resided in the Northside Independent School District (NISD), as the school is within the district's territory.[4] As of 2019 the school had 400 students.[2]

Campus

The facility, designed by RVK Architects, has 17,310 square feet (1,608 m2) of space.[6] The school was designed to have extracurricular activities and includes a coffeeshop,[2] a nature trail, a pond, and a treehouse. Pete Nelson, a treehouse builder from Portland, Oregon, built the treehouse.[4]

Curriculum and operations

Teachers are known as "facilitators" at this school. Learning is self-directed, with students meeting advisors and attending teacher-directed seminars each morning before starting work.[5] Students may engage in tutoring, work in small groups, or work by themselves. Therefore the school lacks a bell schedule,[3] as well as desks and hallways seen in traditional middle schools. Students described the movement throughout the school as "controlled chaos".[5]

The school planned to have art, computer, and robotics elective courses. As of 2014 the school had no plans to have athletics.[4]

See also
  • Education in San Antonio

References
  1. "Anne Frank Inspire Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. United States Department of Education. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  2. Teitz, Liz (2019-07-02). "New private school opening on San Antonio's North Side". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  3. Kastner, Lindsay (2013-04-21). "New school a major change for charter district". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  4. Simon, Joni (2014-08-12). "New charter school aims to be inspiration". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  5. Petty, Kathleen (August 2015). "Charter Choice: Charter School Growth in San Antonio". San Antonio Magazine. Open Sky Media, Inc. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  6. "Anne Frank Inspire Academy Middle School". Architect Magazine. American Institute of Architects. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-11-01.


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