Board approves Daring Park charter for southeast Volusia after lengthy review of special-education and safety plans

The Volusia County School Board voted June 9 to approve a K–12 charter application for Daring Park, a proposed purpose-built STEAM school for southeast Volusia, over questions about special-education capacity, student safety measures and curriculum delivery.

The application team, led by governing-board member Mary Alice Meyers and Jonah Powers, presented renderings and a detailed packet that included responses to district staff queries. Meyers, a retired district psychologist who said she helped review the plan, described the proposal as “carefully planned” and called it “a state-of-the-art educational environment” intended to meet rapid population growth in the Edgewater area.

District staff had asked for clarifications on several items, including assessment calendars, English learner testing timelines, monitoring tools for MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) and how the school would serve students with disabilities. Rose Roland, speaking for Volusia County Schools, said district reviewers sought assurance that the charter would protect tier‑one literacy and mathematics instructional time and correctly include required middle-school testing such as the civics EOC. Roland also flagged the need for clear language on how the charter would support students with complex ESSE (Exceptional Student Education) needs.

Daring Park representatives replied that their instructional model would be rooted in MTSS and grade‑level PLCs, that they would adopt the district mental‑health plan, and that individualized education‑plan (IEP) teams would convene to determine appropriate services after students enroll. “A team will sit down and it will be appropriately constituted IEP team to look at the needs of the student and involve the parent,” said Lindsey Granger, one of the school’s special-education consultants.

Board members pressed for practical safeguards. Vice Chair Christa Goodrich asked whether the school would accept all students and how outlier cases — pupils with extreme behavioral or clinical needs that cannot be met on site — would be handled. Daring Park staff acknowledged there are rare outliers and said they would collaborate with the district’s continuum-of-placement options, noting that direct placement to an intensive program may sometimes be required. “We want to make it clear that we acknowledge there are outliers because we've all experienced those in practice,” one Daring Park speaker said.

Safety and site concerns were also discussed. Applicants said the building would have a single secure entry, classroom door locks, panic buttons and other measures used on recently constructed schools. Jonah Powers noted the project’s partnerships and community support, and Edgewater Mayor Diesel Dew and Southeast Volusia Chamber CEO Stephanie Ford urged the board to approve the application, citing local growth and capacity needs.

After a 15‑minute presentation, rebuttal and extended Q&A, Board Member Donna Bromer moved to approve the charter application; Jesse Thompson seconded. The board approved the motion by voice vote.

What happens next: applicants will proceed with planning for the purpose‑built facility and the district and school will coordinate operational details related to ESSE services, assessment baselines and required testing calendars before the charter’s first enrollment.

Key context: Daring Park’s backers said the school would be the first purpose-built charter facility of its type in Volusia County in decades and would emphasize project‑based, STEAM‑focused learning linked to regional workforce pathways.