By Tracy Sanders, Publisher
Tracy@thewoodrufftimes.com
WOODRUFF — Less than a month before students were scheduled to arrive, the new Libertas Academy campus was already beginning to feel like a school.
Classroom furniture had been delivered. Teachers were arranging bookshelves, decorating walls and turning newly constructed rooms into welcoming learning spaces. Playground equipment was scheduled for installation, while staff members continued working through the details of transportation, meals, security and the first week of school.
During a July 15 walkthrough, School Director Celina Patton and Principal Samantha Wood offered The Woodruff Times a behind-the-scenes look at the campus as it prepared to open Aug. 6.
(Photo Provided by Libertas Academy)
(Photo Provided by Libertas Academy)
(Photo Provided by Libertas Academy)
Patton, who also serves as school director of the Libertas Academy campus in Boiling Springs, said the Woodruff facility was designed using lessons learned from operating the first location.
“It’s really nice that we were able to start from a position of strength, knowing that this is what already worked,” Patton said.
The new school is a public charter school, meaning students do not pay tuition and enrollment is open to children with a South Carolina address. Patton said the uniforms sometimes lead people to mistakenly believe Libertas is a private school.
The Woodruff campus will begin its first year serving students in 4K through sixth grade. Seventh grade will be added the following year as the first class of sixth-graders advances, followed by eighth grade the next year.
Younger students in 4K through third grade will be located primarily on the first floor, while fourth through eighth-grade classrooms are upstairs. Several upstairs classrooms will remain available for the future seventh- and eighth-grade classes.
Patton said the building’s columns and architectural details were intended to reflect the school’s classical education model. The original design concept drew inspiration from the White House and other traditional American architecture.
Teachers Turn Empty Rooms Into Classrooms
Although some classrooms still contained stacked furniture during the tour, others had already been transformed by teachers who were spending part of their summer preparing.
“If you come every day, you see something completely different than you saw the day before,” Patton said. “By the time these children show up, these teachers have worked really hard to make this as welcoming of a place as they can for our students.”
Patton said the school was fully staffed at the time of the walkthrough, with no remaining teacher vacancies.
She said Libertas seeks to provide teachers with the same salary levels and certification expectations found in traditional public schools, while giving educators another choice in where and how they teach.
Teachers will receive two planning periods each day. Patton said the school day, which runs from 8 a.m. until 3:20 p.m., is slightly longer, but the additional planning time is intended to help teachers complete more of their work during the day and spend less time preparing lessons after hours.
Classical Education and Character Development
Libertas uses a classical education model built around history, literature, core academic knowledge and character development.
The curriculum includes Eureka Math and Core Virtues, a character education program focused on qualities such as responsibility, courage and perseverance.
Patton said the school’s goal is to teach students not only academic content, but also how to become responsible citizens who care about their neighbors and community.
“Every day students are doing lessons based on being a good citizen,” she said.
Patton described Libertas as Woodruff’s first public school of choice and said families should not be limited to one educational model simply because of where they live.
“Your zip code should not define where you go to school,” she said.
She said the school is intended to offer an option for children who may thrive under a different teaching approach.
“We know that not all children thrive under one specific type of model,” Patton said. “It’s not one-size-fits-all in education.”
Art, Music and Daily Physical Education
Students will attend physical education every day. Art and music classes will alternate throughout the week, and the school will employ separate art and music teachers for younger and older grade levels.
The art program will include pottery projects, and the campus includes a kiln that students will be able to use.
Teachers will also be encouraged to create immersive classroom displays tied to what students are studying. At the Boiling Springs campus, Patton said teachers have transformed classroom entrances into environments such as rainforests and igloos while students study habitats.
“You’re immersing kids into what it is that they’re going to learn,” she said. “The kids get so excited when they show up and it’s something new.”
Students will have recess each day in addition to physical education. The campus includes separate playground areas for younger and older students, along with a field where middle school students can spend time outside after lunch.
Strong Demand for 4K
The Woodruff facility was designed with five 4K classrooms after families at the Boiling Springs campus repeatedly asked Libertas to add an early childhood program.
Patton said the school planned to enroll approximately 100 4K students during its first year and had about 70 children on the 4K waiting list at the time of the walkthrough.
Libertas has partnered with South Carolina First Steps, which provides furniture, classroom materials and other resources for the program.
The 4K and 5K classrooms located along one side of the building have direct access to the outside and the younger children’s playground. Younger-grade classrooms also include bathrooms inside the rooms.
Special Education and Academic Support
Patton said one common misconception about charter schools is that they do not provide special education services.
“We do,” she said.
Patton, a former special education teacher, pointed out several academic support rooms throughout the building. The campus will have certified special education teachers and a speech therapist to provide services to eligible students.
The school will also provide pull-out instruction and other support for students with learning differences.
Uniforms Intended to Reduce Distractions
Students will wear Libertas uniform tops in red, navy or white, displaying the school emblem.
Patton said the purpose is to create uniformity and reduce attention on clothing brands or differences in what students can afford.
“We’re not worried about the brands we wear,” she said. “We’re focused on being good friends and good citizens and learning.”
Students may wear their choice of athletic shoes, but shoes must be closed-toed and closed-heeled because students participate in physical education and recess every day.
Transportation Through Community Stops
Unlike traditional school districts, Libertas does not operate buses that travel to individual neighborhoods and homes.
Because charter schools may enroll students from across geographical boundaries, Patton said it would not be practical for a school bus to reach every student’s residence.
Instead, the school will operate a bus using designated community stops. Families will meet the bus at agreed-upon locations, such as churches or areas near large neighborhoods. Students will be transported from those locations to the school and returned to the same stop in the afternoon.
Children will not be left unattended at the community stops.
Patton said the Boiling Springs campus operates five community stops and has experienced strong demand for the service.
Managing Traffic and Security
The campus includes separate traffic loops for younger and older students.
The 4K car line will move more slowly and will use a smaller loop along the side of the building. Older students will use a separate pickup and drop-off area.
During afternoon dismissal, parents will display numbered car tags connected to their children. Staff members will enter those numbers as vehicles arrive, allowing classroom teachers to prepare the students and escort them to the correct cars.
Patton said the same general system is used at the Boiling Springs campus, where staff members can dismiss approximately 900 students in about 20 minutes once families understand the process.
She cautioned that dismissal could take longer during the opening week while parents and students learn the new traffic pattern.
The school provided its traffic plan and an aerial view of the campus to the Woodruff Police Department. Patton said the department planned to help inform the public about how vehicles would enter and exit the property.
A school resource officer from the City of Woodruff will be assigned to the campus each day. Additional law enforcement assistance was also requested for the first week to help with traffic and provide reassurance to families.
Security cameras were installed throughout the newly constructed building, allowing the school to consider safety needs during the original design rather than retrofitting an older facility.
Breakfast, Lunch and After-School Care
Chartwells will provide breakfast and lunch service at the school.
Students will have three meal options each day, and families may also send lunches from home. Free and reduced-price meal assistance will be available to qualifying families under the same income guidelines used by other public schools.
The school will also operate an in-house after-school program until 6 p.m. Patton said the program was created in response to strong demand from working families.
Some of the future seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms may be used for after-school activities during the first year.
Enrollment Interest
Patton said the school had received approximately 1,200 applications by the time of the July walkthrough, although families still had to complete the registration process after applying.
The school was fully registered in 4K and 5K. First and second grades had only one or two spaces remaining, while sixth grade had the greatest availability, with approximately 20 openings at the time.
Enrollment generally operates on a first-come, first-served basis until a grade level reaches capacity. Siblings may receive preference under state charter school law.
Once enrolled, students retain their places as they advance through the grades. Openings in later years will generally depend on whether enrolled families move or withdraw.
Wood said one benefit of the 4K-through-eighth-grade structure is the opportunity for school employees to build long-term relationships with students and their families.
“You get to have that child from possibly 4K through eighth grade,” Wood said. “You build relationships and know these families so closely over years.”
Preparing to Open
All staff members were scheduled to report July 30. A meet-the-teacher event was planned for Aug. 4 from 4 to 7 p.m., followed by the first day of classes on Aug. 6.
Patton said the final days before opening would be used to complete playground installation, receive remaining furniture and supplies, finish classroom decorations and prepare families for the school’s routines.
She said the staff was eager to begin working with Woodruff-area families.
“We are so excited to love their kids,” Patton said. “To partner with these families to have the best possible outcome for their kids is what I’m really excited for.”
To learn more or enroll your student at Libertas Academy Woodruff, visit http://www.libertaswoodruff.education.
