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Future School Of Fort Smith Prepares For First Group Of Students

FORT SMITH (KFSM) — A new charter school in the area is getting ready for its first group of students to move into the building. The renovations will brea...

FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- A new charter school in the area is getting ready for its first group of students to move into the building. The renovations will breathe life into a space that hasn't been used in years.

Monica Waltman just recently signed her 15-year-old daughter up for Future School of Fort Smith.

“What I like about Future School is that it`s gonna be a different model than what normal classrooms are, so I think it`s going to be a great opportunity for Ava,” Waltman said.

“Students, they do internships all throughout their high school education based on what they`re interested in,” Trish Flanagan, Future School founder said.

The Future School is leasing the former Girls Inc. building on North Seventh Street in the historic Belle Grove District.

“For the first year, we will have actually renovated the gymnasium and then a few offices for our staff and sort of to greet parents and those sort of things,” Flanagan said.

Future School will open in August 2016. It will begin with 150 tenth graders and add a grade each year. By the fall of 2018, Flanagan said it will be at the maximum capacity of 450 students in the tenth through twelfth grades.

“We have actually a school building that`s a modular building that`s in great condition that`s going to house our classrooms,” Flanagan said.

She said renovating the inside of the building could take about five years.

“We`re looking at things like slides for stairs and different kinds of things that we`re seeing in different places that are really innovating what a school building looks like,” she said.

As for Waltman, she believes Future School will excite, motivate and challenge her daughter.

“I think it`s going to help her with her confidence,” Waltman said.

Flanagan said around 30 students are enrolled so far. If the school have more students signed up than seats available, they will hold a public lottery in April. The deadline to register is April 1.

To learn more about Future School, click here. You can also email Flanagan at trish@fsfuture.org with any questions.

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