CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More help is on the way for underserved communities as the non-profit Movement Foundation is set to open a new school working to combat poverty with quality education.
This new school now makes a total of four movement schools in Charlotte and could impact hundreds of families. The southwest location will open in August, and it will have room for 500 students bringing 80 new jobs.
The Movement Foundation said its goal is to create a new generation of leaders in disadvantaged communities.
"The mission is to bring really great schools and teachings to the families living in those areas so students have access to a strong education and access to opportunities," Ashley Baez, the principal of Southwest, said.
She said they're planning to start with kindergarten and first graders, and later they will expand through 5th grade.
"We provide breakfast, lunch, and we provide transportation if needed," Baez said. "It's both about building great students and supporting great students and great people."
Movement Foundation's executive director said the latest round of reading assessments shows students bounced back from the challenges of last year, and they are reading at even higher levels than they were before the pandemic.
They said their latest round of math assessments also shows improvement with students outperforming some of the highest-rated charter networks in the nation.
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"The opportunities that they have been able to provide for families have been transformational," Baez said.
Along with the new school set to open in August, Movement operates three other schools in Charlotte.
There are two off of Freedom Drive serving elementary and middle students and there is one off Central Avenue servicing kindergarten through second grade.
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WCNC Charlotte is part of seven major media companies and other local institutions producing I Can’t Afford to Live Here, a collaborative reporting project focused on solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Charlotte. It is a project of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems. See all of our reporting at charlottejournalism.org.