New Peoria Charter School

Peoria will be home to Central Illinois's first charter high school.

by Collin Hitt

Last night, the Peoria District 150 school board approved a charter school proposal that has been years in the making. Now, if all goes as planned, the district will this fall be home to the new Peoria Math, Science and Technology Charter School – a middle and high school that will focus on, you guessed it, math, science and technology.

The push to open the charter school was driven by community organizations and local businesses: Caterpillar, the Tri-County Urban League, local realtors and the Peoria Housing Authority all enthusiastically supported the proposal.

Charter schools have been slow in coming to Central Illinois. The Illinois Policy Institute – while merely an observer of the process in Peoria – has written some about that district’s need to embrace a different educational philosophy that includes charter schools (see here and here). Now, here’s hoping Springfield and other nearby cities will build on this momentum and begin creating new and better choices for area families.