Partnering with Girl Scouts, new charter school to open in Mableton

Jan. 27—MABLETON — Families in south Cobb will soon have another option when it comes to choosing a school for their children, with Amana Academy West Atlanta set to open its doors for kindergarten to third grade students in August.

Amana already operates a 700-student charter school in Alpharetta, which opened in 2005. The Mableton school will be its second campus.

Amana Academy's executive director, Ehab Jaleel, and Amy Dosik, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, hosted a Wednesday groundbreaking event in Mableton at the Girl Scouts' Camp Timber Ridge, off North Allen Road, to discuss the academy's opening, which will be constructed on the property.

Amana Academy West Atlanta is a public charter school authorized by the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia, so there is no tuition or criteria students must meet to attend.

"There's a need for school choice all over metro Atlanta," Jaleel said. "When you look at south Fulton, south Cobb and west Atlanta, in particular, a lot of the schools may not be serving all of the kids. Looking at our success in north Fulton, we've got kids from south Fulton that drive an hour and 15 minutes every day to get to our school. Those families are looking for other options for their kids."

Students with special needs, gifted students and students whose first language isn't English are all accepted at the school.

A family's location is not an issue either. The school has a statewide attendance zone, so students from anywhere in Georgia are welcome to attend.

A unique characteristic of the school is its location: under a canopy of trees, surrounded by trails, a lake and other parts of nature instead of concrete, roads and traffic.

"The idea is to offer families a choice that they would never have," Jaleel said. "This is such a beautiful setting, you know, you don't see schools that are in this kind of environment."

The academy has entered into a leasing arrangement with Girl Scouts wherein they will rent some little-used land at Camp Timber Ridge to set up the academy's location.

"We are going to be the landlord of the school," Dosik said. "We own this property, but we will enter into a long-term lease to lease premises to Amana Academy."

Not only will Girl Scouts act as the landlord for the school, but they will partner with the school to create new programs for students, invest in facilities that can be used by both organizations and engage with the community.

Construction on the new school, which will be made up of four cabin-style buildings spread out throughout the campground as opposed to one single building, will begin in the spring around March or April.

Aug. 8 will be Amana Academy West Atlanta's first day of school and Helené Brown has been named the school's inaugural principal.

According to Jaleel, the school intends to educate 220 students in grades K-3 during its first year, and a new grade will be added each year up to eighth grade. Once eighth grade is added, likely in 2028, the school will serve around 800 students.

Funding for the new school is provided by the state and the amount of funding the school receives depends on the number of students that enroll. Additional funding comes from the Charter School Growth Fund, the Walton Family Foundation, The Kendeda Fund and redefinED Atlanta.

The foundations' funding is being used as seed money to help with building costs, according to Jaleel, but once the school opens in August, it will be completely funded by the state.

The plan for the Mableton school, which will have a science, technology, engineering and math focus, is to collaborate with other schools in the area to promote equity and ensure that all students thrive as it has done in the past, according to Jaleel.

Amana Academy North Fulton has won grants for its work as a demonstration school, meaning that its practices in education have proven to be successful and have been demonstrated for educators at other schools in the area.

"We're not just a replacement for other schools," he said. "We want to collaborate with other schools because not all kids thrive at their existing schools."

The Mableton school expects to attract students primarily from Cobb and Fulton counties.