A new public charter elementary school, Shekinah Radiance Academy, in Tomball is opening its doors for the first time Sept. 7, well after the start of classes at many other schools.

Charter schools were approved by the Texas legislature in 1995 in the hopes of improving the educational experience for parents who choose for their child to attend.

“Our style of teaching is considered constructivist and we use the 5-E model,” administrator Pamela Gonzales said.

Gonzales went on to explain that the 5-E’s consist of getting a student to engage on a topic allowing them to explore the topic, while the teacher explains it to them. Finally they extend the discussion and go into more detail and then evaluate their lessons.

The school is an extension of the main campus in San Antonio, Gonzales explained, and has the flexibility to use different methods of teaching and evaluation.

“We use non-traditional methods of evaluation,” said Gonzales.

The school has a goal to eventually reach around 140 students in grades K-6.

“For right now we are shooting for 50 students by the time schools starts,” she said.

The advantages of a charter school, according to Gonzales, include the ability to give students more face-time with teachers.

“It’s a small campus and with the small classes we are able to give more one-on-one time with students,” she said. “We also have the option of rejecting students who had disciplinary problems in other schools.”

Gonzales went on to say that the school is considered a public school and therefore no tuition is charged for students in the Tomball, Cypress-Fairbanks, Klein, Spring or Waller school districts.

State sponsored free and reduced lunches are also available for those who qualify.

The school is located at 612 Malone, in the former ComQuest school building.

For more information, visit shekinah-edu.com.

Photo by Caleb Harris

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