Charter school with 'peace' message tries again to open

Taylor Peace Academy organizers had to shelve their dreams for a year after enrollment fizzled, but they hope to attract enough students to open in August.

The charter school, in a building behind Einstein Bagels on North Dale Mabry Highway, is nearly ready. Walls are painted with colorful murals of music notes and children holding hands. Dry-erase boards in each classroom welcome kindergarten through fifth grade with inspirational quotes.

Seven teachers, enough to start, and a support staff have been hired. What the school needs are children.

About 50 have signed up, said Executive Director and Principal Nathan Taylor. The school's goal is to hit 170 students and start a waiting list but 100 children would enable it to open. The academy held one open house last month and is offering another 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. June 20 to attract more families.

Last summer, Taylor Peace Academy held open houses and trained teachers but had seven students registered and 35 pending applications by the time the school year started. It had to turn the students away and tell the faculty and most staff to find other jobs.

The Hillsborough County school district approved Taylor Peace as a charter school, meaning it would receive public funding but would be run privately. The academy had a five-year charter when it was approved, which allowed it to delay its opening.

The school, 10512 N. Dale Mabry Highway, is building its curriculum around peace education and conflict resolution. It grew out of an after-school tutoring program Taylor developed in 2003 at the Prevailing Word Worship Center.

The nonprofit, nondenominational center has operated for about 20 years on Martin Luther King near Orient Road. Taylor founded it and still preaches there, continuing to offer the after-school program and, this summer, a camp for about 30 at-risk children.

Taylor said he wanted a charter school that would encourage children to work together on projects, mentor younger students and discuss differences instead of fight.

"I saw the need for more time with young people for them to learn character education along with the reading and math," Taylor said.

He hopes the peace message trickles from the school to the community and plans to offer "peace training" to parents on July 18. Teachers are getting trained on classroom management and peace education, such as how to adapt reading lessons to get students to work as a team. Desks are set up in clusters to promote cooperation.

If it is successful, Taylor wants to add a middle school one day.

He said he is encouraged by parents' interest and the community response. Local businesses have offered donations. The academy is conducting fundraisers to bring in $125,000 to offset costs accrued by not opening last year and to finish preparations for this year.

The money from the school district depends on the number of children the charter school enrolls.

Time worked against the academy last summer, Taylor said.

The school planned to open on Busch Boulevard and held an open house in Temple Terrace to recruit. But when the landlord put the building up for sale, Taylor Peace Academy switched locations to Carrollwood and could not retain its prospective students.