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Renaissance/Charter Schools USA present Wild Oaks charter plan; board asks about ESE, ELL and finances
Summary
Applicants from Renaissance and Charter Schools USA presented a K-12 charter application for Wild Oaks Preparatory Academy (targeting Apopka, opening 2027 with projected 1,535 students). Board members focused questions on ESE/ELL staffing, parent volunteer requirements, facility financing by private developer Red Apple, and whether the applicant would become a Schools of Hope operator.
Renaissance Charter School governing board and Charter Schools USA presented a charter application for Wild Oaks Preparatory Academy at a Nov. 18 Orange County School Board work session, outlining a proposed K-12, college-preparatory campus in Apopka with a target opening in 2027 and projected full enrollment of 1,535 students by year five.
Applicants described the CSUSA education model (personalized learning plans, project-based learning and college-acceleration pathways) and presented demographic projections for a 15-minute drive-time enrollment zone that they said would include a high share of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. Jody Evans and other members of the application team told the board the applicant plans to use ESRI demographic tools and FLDOE data to model recruitment.
Board members pressed the applicants on operational details. Staff and board members raised concerns about year-one staffing for ESE and ELL students, noting application tables that projected relatively small initial dedicated positions for estimated ESE and ELL cohorts. The applicant team said staffing would be reassessed after enrollment and during the school's first 20 days of testing and that the budget can be adjusted to support additional hires; applicants said they contract with providers for related services (speech, occupational therapy) as needed and participate in district-level partnerships (e.g., the district's multilingual services).
Members also questioned fundraising and building-finance arrangements. The applicants named Red Apple Development as the developer who would build and own the facility and said financing will be supported by a bond and capital outlay/operating payments; the team said Charter Schools USA would cover start-up marketing and some seed costs (applicants cited a marketing/startup budget in the hundreds of thousands). General counsel clarified that statutory "clawback" protections apply if public funds are used but noted developers use private structures that have been approved in comparable projects.
Other board concerns included parent volunteer-hour expectations (applicants said they "strongly encourage" and typically list suggested hours in parent handbooks but work individually with families who cannot meet a numeric target) and whether Renaissance or CSUSA might seek HOPE-operator status in the future; applicants did not commit to not seeking HOPE designation.
Staff told the board they will circulate a model-application evaluation instrument and present a staff recommendation (expected in December or January). The board did not take action at the work session; staff will return with further analysis, including confirmation of some application figures and any recommended contractual requirements.
