New London charter school looks to expand to accommodate new students

New London ― A city-based charter school is requesting permission to build a multi-story addition at its downtown campus to accommodate up to 52 fourth and fifth graders.The Interdistrict School for Arts and Communication, or ISAAC, is seeking a special permit and site plan modification that would allow it to construct a three-story tower near the front entrance of its main building at 190 Governor Winthrop Blvd.The request, expected to be discussed Thursday by the Planning and Zoning Commission, comes a month after the state Board of Education approved a modification to the school's grade configuration allowing fourth graders to enroll this year and fifth graders in the 2025-26 school year.The school previously only enrolled students in grades 6 to 8.The approval by the state education board raised the school's enrollment cap from 276 students to 328. The extra slots were approved in 2024 by the state General Assembly.According to an Aug. 21 memo from state Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker, the grade modification would allow up to 32 incoming fourth graders this year with that number not climbing through at least 2029.The school would reduce the number of students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades to keep to the 328 enrollment cap as up to 32 fifth-grade students are enrolled beginning next year.Principal Nicholas Spera on Wednesday said the school, which opened in 2003, welcomed 28 fourth graders this year with many of them expected to become part of ISAAC's first fifth-grade class next year.He said the three new classrooms being built would supplement two existing spaces for the new students."By doing this, our goal is to limit class sizes to 16 students," Spera said, adding classes average 18 students. "If approved, we'd look to break ground immediately, and have the construction work completed by the summer of 2025."In a July 1 letter to Russell-Tucker, Spera said allowing younger students to enroll would aid the school's efforts to raise student achievement scores.At least 75% of students entering ISAAC were at least two grade levels below their peers nationwide, according to data from OLSTAR School Readiness Testing data released by the school. Only 7% of incoming students are achieving "goal or above" status in math and 15% in English arts."By receiving a group of incoming students earlier to provide the necessary interventions will improve these students' data results immensely," Spera wrote. The school in August 2023 completed a $2.5 million expansion project that added new science, music and computer spaces at the campus.The new work would be paid by securing a third mortgage on the school property with funding garnered from new enrollments used to pay off the debt over a period of years, Spera said.The proposed building addition would be sandwiched into existing school infrastructure at the front of the building, according to a development proposal that states the structure would add approximately 1,560 square feet of new classroom space. j.penney@theday.com