MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Despite no decision from the Morgantown Planning Commission, the Wisdom Academy is moving forward with plans to open the second brick and mortar charter school in Monongalia County- the Wisdom Academy. The proposed location for the school is the former headquarters of the Monongalia County Schools District on South High Street in August of 2025.
Chairman of the Wisdom Academy, Javaid Syed said over the first five years of operations they hope to provide as many as 375 students and families with academic options he said are not available here.
“We think there should be different options available to parents should be able to make a choice on where they send their children and we don’t have many options up here,” Syed said.
A centerpiece of the learning program there is the Individual Performance Plan for Success (IPPS). In the application to West Virginia Professional Charter Schools Board the IPPS is described as a portfolio, or electronic data base that highlights student needs determined by the student, family and Wisdom Academy, and tracks the progress.
“We need to pay attention to the needs of the student because not every student has the same needs and that’s where we run into problems,” Syed said.
Initial enrollment is expected to be 100 pre-k through 6th grade students with the published motto of,” Our Children, Our Future.” All students begin the required subjects and content to meet the ESEA Every Student Success Act and Syed said they’ll be working with students and using the IPPS as a road map along the way.
“We know where the student is and then we see there are weaknesses that need to be addressed, ok hold on we need to see what we need to do,” Syed said. ” Then make sure the next time time we meet these things are addressed.”
The application states they’ll recruit teachers that are licensed/endorsed by the state, with a minimum of three years of experience, three letters of reference, and all candidates must pass a background check. Syed said aids all also be in classrooms as well.
“Teachers should be given enough time on a daily basis to update the child’s progress, you don’t go home until you do that,” Syed said. “So, it is not how big of the staff you need, it is how you administer the program and make sure the teacher has taken ownership of what we are doing.”
In addition to their selected path of study, all students are required to participate in character education and a technology pathway. Character education addresses community service, positive behaviors, and creating a positive school culture. The technology pathway prepares students to learn software to create documents, spreadsheets, charts, and graphs while helping them learn about digital safety, safeguarding personal information, and recognizing cyber crimes.
“Education is much more than a grade,” Syed said. “We want to make sure we’re using our value based system with each child and the value-based system in the child and the character education is extremely, extremely important.”