Fletcher charter school FernLeaf adds 11th grade, will add 12th grade next year
FLETCHER - Beginning in August, FernLeaf Community Charter School will once again be adding another grade.
According to a news release, the school, which was founded in 2017 and has two campuses at 58 Howard Gap Road, just completed its eighth annual enrollment lottery and will be enrolling 80 new students for the 2024-25 school year. It will also be adding the 11th grade for students, the release said.
“We are humbled by the lottery every year,” said Michael Luplow, the school’s executive director, in the release. “The trust families place in us as an organization and the excitement students bring with them is inspiring.”
The school has added a grade level each year since its inception in 2017, the release said.
"The school is adding a grade a year until it has the 12th grade. So, by 2025 FernLeaf will be a K-12th grade school, and 2026 will be our first graduating class," Nicole Rule, FernLeaf's communications, marketing and events coordinator, told the Times-News on March 22.
Since its inception, the school has utilized project-based learning, fieldwork, overnight experiences, travel opportunities, traditional sports and mindfulness activities to achieve its mission to help students “achieve academic fluency and become thoughtful, compassionate and engaged,” the release said.
“The school’s mission, which hinges on the incredible teachers who work tirelessly every day to bring it to life, is filling a need in the community,” Luplow said in the release. “It provides an education that develops students’ curiosity, creativity, empathy, excellence and determination.”
The school's open enrollment period began Jan. 1 and ran through March 15. Students who did not receive a slot in the initial lottery are placed on a waitlist, according to the release.
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“Every year is a little different,” Luplow said of the waitlist, “and every grade is as well. It’s not uncommon for students’ and families’ circumstances to change between March and August, which provides an opportunity for students on the waitlist to enroll.”
According to the release, the school will continue to accept enrollment applications through Sept. 11, andstudents will be automatically placed on the waitlist in the order their applications are received. For more information or to submit an enrollment application, go to https:\\www.fernleafccs.org or contact the school by sending an email to info@fernleafccs.org or by calling 828-630-1150.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Another grade added for growing Fletcher charter school FernLeaf
