4c Academy Board gets update, tour of renovation work

ALBANY — The Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy (4C Academy) Board of Directors held a brief meeting Wednesday at Southside Middle School, during which they were given an update on renovation work at the 4C Academy’s future home and discussed administrative matters.

Board Chair Chandu Kuntawala informed the board they had to change the school’s opening date from January to August to comply with state rules.

“We’re making sure we are compliant with all state rules,” Kuntawala said, stressing that the date change is a formality.

4C Academy Principal Angie Gardner gave the board an update on marketing and staffing.

“Right now, we are trying to be very focused with our marketing aimed at our first cohort of ninth- and 10th-graders”, Gardner said. “Like I said, we’ve really been focused there.”

She told the board the academy had already gotten commitments from 256 rising ninth-graders.

“The parents have been very accepting of the school, and the word is really getting out now. We hope to start sending acceptance letters in April,” Gardner said.

She added that officials had set a goal of enrolling 450 ninth- and 10th-graders for the upcoming school year, and said she was confident the academy would reach that goal.

As far as staffing, Dougherty County Assistant Superintendent Ken Dyer said the district would begin posting advertisements for the new positions as early as today. The ads will run for 10 days before interviews begin.

After the meeting adjourned, several board members were given a brief tour of the west wing’s renovation work.

“It’s interesting to see the work before it’s complete so you can better appreciate the process,” Kuntawalla said. “This place is really going to be a showcase.”

Board member Tanjula Petty said she liked what she saw.

“I was excited by what I saw, and for our future students’ potential for growth and work force development here,” Petty said. “I am really impressed.”

Currently, the 4C is occupying half of Southside Middle School. Phase II will see the other half of the school renovated by the beginning of the 2018-19 school year. Dougherty County School System officials are still hashing out where to relocate Southside students.