TCC officially names its new charter high school, with Trustee Karen Moore as founder

Tallahassee Community College recently announced the name of its anticipated charter school opening in August — the Tallahassee Collegiate Academy, whose founder is TCC trustee and marketing firm CEO Karen Moore.

The official naming of the tuition-free charter high school — which will be located on campus with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields — was announced Thursday during a TCC press conference.

Moore, who owns the marketing company Moore Agency, is credited with creating the school's name and logo, but there are no contracts between her or her firm and the college.

She also chairs the school's Board of Governors and chose the board members.

“Tallahassee Collegiate Academy is a game-changer, offering a first-of-its-kind educational experience for students,” Moore said in a TCC release.

Since the charter school's Board of Governors is independent of TCC, Moore will not have to step down from her current trustee position. The board will, however, work closely with TCC since the college acts as its sponsor.

“We are so grateful that Gov. Ron DeSantis named us one of five colleges in the state of Florida to stand up a public charter high school,” TCC President Jim Murdaugh said in a prepared statement. “Our successful track record in career and technical education brought us this opportunity and we are thrilled to make this announcement.”

After TCC received $2 million from the state for a charter school on its campus — along with Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and Santa Fe College — Moore approached Murdaugh with the offer to help.

Moore has been working in education since 1980 and has been affiliated with TCC for more than 20 years — first as a member of the TCC Foundation Board of Directors and then later appointed to TCC's Board of Trustees in 2007, according to a TCC spokesperson.

The other founding members of the school’s board are WFSU Public Media’s Director of Content and Community Partnerships Kim Kelling, Senior Partner and CEO of Pittman Law Group Sean Pittman, Founder and CEO of Allegiant Strategies Group David Clark and Chief Operating Officer at Pople Investment Management Randy Pople, a former TCC trustee.

The high school will start with rising 9th and 10th grade students from Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla counties and expects to accept 100 students for the 2023-2024 academic school year before growing into the 11th and 12th grades.

Background:Tallahassee Community College gears up for STEM charter high school

While attending Tallahassee Collegiate Academy, students will have the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate in science degree by the time they graduate.

With the charter high school being tuition-free, this means students would also graduate with zero debt.

“There is no other place in the community that can offer the resources that we provide," Moore said in a release. "Our students will be ready to go directly into the workforce where they will be qualified for in-demand, high-paying jobs, or they can choose to continue their education."

Other TCC news:Here are the honorees featured in TCC's 23rd annual African-American history calendar

Backstory:Outdated Florida DOE policy forces TCC to postpone opening date of STEM charter school

Department of education official uses TCC charter school to blast Leon superintendent

In January, TCC was approved by the Florida Department of Education to be the first college charter school authorizer in the state.

As the charter school's recent naming brings it one step closer to becoming a reality, DOE Senior Chancellor Henry Mack injected politics into the announcement by criticizing Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna.

"@LeonSchools Superintendent cares so little about workforce education that @GoToTCC has decided to champion choice — providing access to high-skill/wage training," Mack tweeted Sunday morning.

The school district responded with a thinking emoji.

On Tuesday, Mack responded: "Where nearly every other school district in the state has witnessed historic increases in their CTE enrollments — either doubling or tripling pre-apprenticeships & work-based learning opportunities—since 2019, @LeonSchools is anemic, if not down by thousands of students."

Hanna responded in a statement saying the district is "extremely proud of our record over the last six years."

The district's career and technical education (CTE) programs include the Practical Nursing Program at Amos P. Godby High School, the Health Sciences Academy program at James S. Rickards High School, industrial arts at Raa Middle School — which is the only middle school construction class in north Florida — and Lively Technical College's training programs for adults and high school students.

"Our staff has done an outstanding job districtwide to increase career and technical programs in all of our schools," Hanna said. "The actual data shows we have made huge strides with student enrollment and have developed wonderful partnerships with all of our local chambers of commerce and the business community at large."

Hanna is under a "preliminary investigation" by the state education department for allegedly infusing "personal views" into his work as the head of the school district. Hanna maintains the investigation “has no merit whatsoever."

Applications open for prospective students

The TCC charter high school is currently accepting applications from prospective students, which can be found on its website.

With the Tallahassee Collegiate Academy's areas of studies adding on to the already-existing programs in the community, here is a list of the A.S. degree options it will offer students:

• Cyber Security

• Computer Programming and Web Development

• Engineering Technology

• Dental Hygiene

• Nursing (R.N.)

• Building Automation Systems

• Video Game Design

“TCA will provide strong rigor and real care at the same time in a safe, welcoming environment that is appropriate for high school students,” TCC Director of Charter Schools Jessica Chapman said in a prepared statement.

Chapman, a former Godby High School assistant principal, was named to the TCC position last year and reports to TCC's Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Calandra Stringer.

“It offers a powerful curriculum that will benefit both students and their future employers,” she added.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Jessica Chapman begins her new role at the helm of the TCC charter school in August. She began the role last August. The story also incorrectly stated the charter school would report to Leon County School District. It is independent and will instead work closely with its sponsor, TCC.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: TCC charter school named Tallahassee Collegiate Academy