The charter school is in a building that once housed a Montessori School and a church. (David Boraks/CorneliusNews.net)
Thunderbird Preparatory Academy opened its doors this fall at three temporary sites in Huntersville, while it awaited the completion of construction on its building at Old Statesville Road/NC 115 and Will Knox Road, at the Huntersville line.
The new public charter school, which focuses on leadership and talent development, has about 370 students, Principal Patty Moreira said. That’s below the original target of 488, mainly because of the limited capacity of the temporary quarters.
“When we were scheduled to open, our building was not ready for occupancy, so we had to split our kids up into three temporary sites,” she said.
Those sites were the Christian Montessori School (kindergarten), Huntersville United Methodist Church (first and second graders) and Huntersville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (third and fourth graders).
Most students have already moved into the Statesville Road building, and the last group – third and fourth graders – could move in the next few weeks, she said.
Moreira said she’s pleased with the launch of the school, whose board includes teachers who helped found Lake Norman Charter School as well as other educators and experts. She said Thunderbird has hired experienced teachers from throughout the area,.
“I was able to hire the best of the best from private schools, charter schools and public schools,” Moreira said. “The curriculum is phenomenal. … The school culture and the high academics, it’s amazing.” She also praised the school’s parents for their involvement.
The Old Statesville Road site itself is only temporary. Thunderbird officials have said they hope to occupy the site for a couple of years, while they build a permanent school building at an unnamed site in Huntersville. Eventually, the school will add grades until it becomes a full K-12 school.
Moreira didn’t say where the school plans to build. “Our business partners and our board have narrowed it down to one particular place, but we’re not ready to announce it,” she said.
RELATED COVERAGE AND LINKS
See past coverage of Thunderbird Prep on CorneliusNews.net
Thunderbird Preparatory School website, thunderbirdprep.org
Nov. 19, 2014, “New charters open, but with fewer students than projected.”
