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Charter schools present annual reports; Marion Charter, McIntosh, INA:Colman and Ocala Charter outline enrollment, programs and community ties
Summary
Charter schools sponsored by Marion County Public Schools presented required annual reports April 17, outlining enrollment, academic programs, finances and community partnerships; highlights included Marion Charter’s intervention block, McIntosh’s VPK feeder success and INA:Colman’s continued A rating.
Charter school leaders who contract with Marion County Public Schools presented annual reports at the April 17 work session as required by state statute (Fla. Stat. §1002.33). Presenters summarized enrollment, student demographics, staffing, finances and school programming.
Marion Charter School (principal Michelle Axum) reported 224 students, a student body with 56% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and a school-wide intervention block (8:00–8:30 a.m.) that assigns tier‑3 students to reading-endorsed teachers. The school said it had a consecutive daily planning hour for each grade level, eight reading-endorsed teachers and a goal of closing learning gaps by focusing on lowest-quartile learners.
McIntosh Area School (principal David Friedlander) described fiscal management strategies to maintain operations while keeping competitive staff compensation. Enrollment stood at 44 with a goal to return to pre‑COVID baseline (65). The school reported a successful second-year VPK program with 88% of VPK students already registered for kindergarten and described community partnerships, a nature trail and expanded aftercare and outreach to northern Marion County families.
INA:Colman Academy (principal Vanessa Baxley) described growth from 214 students at opening to 546 current enrollment (K–8) and an 785-student waiting list for 2025–26; the school received an A school grade for the second year and highlighted project-based learning, one-to-one devices for grades 1–8, STEAM activities, and many extracurricular offerings.
Ocala Charter Middle and High (executive director T.C. Matthews; principals at both schools presented) reported efforts to strengthen science instruction and student culture at the middle school and to build a second-year high school program. Ocala Charter High described early steps to create a future file for every student, strong ELA–reading collaboration, school‑wide test-taking strategies, and student post‑graduation placements (some seniors accepted to local colleges). Both schools highlighted partnerships with local organizations and community programming.
Board members praised the schools’ community ties, asked for minor corrections to one annual report, and thanked charter leaders for their presentations.
Ending: The board received the statutory annual reports and staff said they would follow up on a requested data correction and continue oversight as required by statute.
