New charter school offers specialized learning paths for Kanawha Valley students

The MPLA is housed in the former Marmet Elementary School building, located at 408 94th St. in Marmet. The school closed in 2024 and was given to the town by the Kanawha County Board of Education that same year.

Operated by the Phalen Leadership Academies nonprofit education organization, which has about 20 schools across five states, the MPLA is the first of its kind in West Virginia, according to MPLA Principal Kristen Bowles.

“They saw that there was a need, that there’s not a lot of opportunities for parents’ choice in West Virginia, so they wanted us to be another choice that parents could have,� Bowles said. “We’re held to the same standards, the same tests, like all other schools. But we get to do a little bit different with our curriculum.�

When thinking about opening a charter school in the state, representatives of the organization wanted proximity to ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä and have been working closely with the town of Marmet and greater community ever since, Bowles said.

“They wanted a place close to ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä where there wasn’t a school but the community was strong and that we could build on,â€� she said.

How is MPLA funded?

Founded in 2013 by Earl Phalen, all charter schools under the Phalen Leadership Academies organization are named after Phalen’s family members, with the MPLA named after his sister. As a nonprofit, Phalen Leadership Academies receives grant funding, including federal Small Business Administration grants and Charter School Programs grants through the U.S. Department of Education.

All West Virginia charter schools are free public schools and are not Hope Scholarship applicable, according to Barry Holstein, executive director of the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board.

West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship program allows K-12 students to receive financial assistance to be used for qualifying expenses like tuition and homeschool curriculum.

“Charter schools do not charge tuition and they do not take the Hope scholarship in any way that a non-charter public school would take it,� he said. “The Hope can be used at a public school for a very specific item, and they could make those same arrangements with the public charter schools as well as they can with the non-charters.�

In West Virginia, like other public schools, charter schools receive a per-student allocation from the state but do not have access to additional tax money raised from excess levies.

Curriculum

The MPLA accepts students with individualized education programs and Section 504 plans for students with disabilities.

During an open house at the school on Aug. 13, some parents and guardians said they enrolled students in the MPLA after learning teachers they know had been hired at the school. Others said they like the IEP curriculum for their children with learning disabilities.

Amanda Ray, of Glasgow, said her eight-year-old granddaughter Mckenzie Qualls Campbells Creek, needs more individualized attention in school, and the family liked the idea of smaller class sizes and the opportunity for a more hands-on approach.

“I think a bigger class doesn’t get their one-on-one attention like they should,� Ray said.

Staff members include state certified teachers, a cook, custodian, office manager and bus driver. MPLA special education teacher Deanna Hiles has worked in special education for 16 years, and this is her first school year at the elementary level. She said she was drawn to working at MPLA for the provided curriculum and structured classroom organization.

“It’s laid out for me,� Hiles said. “It’s step A, B and C, whereas in public schools we had to kind of come up with our own supplements and things like that. But looking at what they have purchased here for us for our curriculum, it’s going to be amazing. So far I’ve been highly impressed with them.�

MPLA testing, vax rules and misconceptions

With nearly 65 students enrolled at MPLA, the school will follow guidelines set by the state; charter schools are subject to the same statewide general assessment testing as other public schools. MPLA stays up to date on all statewide trainings, according to Bowles, who has previously worked as an educator in West Virginia and an assistant principal in Ohio.

“We’ve taken our curriculum and our pacing guides with the West Virginia content standards and made sure that everything’s aligned and whatever gaps that we need in our curriculum, we made sure that’s already filled,� she said. “We make sure that we meet the requirements of the state.�

The school is on the West Virginia Education Information System, the statewide student information system administered by the West Virginia Department of Education.

The MPLA allows for religious and philosophical vaccine exemptions for students, but Bowles said they strongly encourage vaccines.

While allowing for medical exemptions, the WVDE does not accept religious exemptions to compulsory vaccination laws and has asked the state Supreme Court to reverse a circuit court ruling from last year that allows families with religious or philosophical objection to state vaccine requirements to attend school.

A misconception surrounding charter schools, Bowles said, is that once a student is enrolled, they cannot transfer back to another public school. Those per-student funds would follow a student to whichever school they transferred to.

“There’s no reason why you can’t transfer back,� she said.

At last count, there were approximately 4,200 students in both virtual and brick-and mortar charter schools in the state, but this does not include any new students attending the Phalen Academy, Holstein said.

No residency requirements; bus 'hubs' established

There are no specific residential requirements for MPLA; students can live anywhere in West Virginia. The school will provide a bus from Kanawha City in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä to Chelyan, near Cabin Creek, Bowles said. Instead of traditional bus stops, there will be bus hubs for students to be picked up. Enrolled students live in areas like Glasgow, Chesapeake, Montgomery, Campbells Creek and more.

“We’re going to set certain hubs, and we’re going to daycares around here to drop off and pick up, and that way, if you can get to a hub, then you can come to school here or your parents could drive you,� Bowles said.

MPLA bus driver Nicholas O’Bryant has been a professional driver since 2006 and a school bus operator since 2014, first with the Kanawha County Schools system.

“I’m going to be bringing in kids from all over the county and meeting new parents,� O’Bryant said. “The kids are in good hands with me. I have a perfect driving record, no accidents, no tickets, nothing like that.�

The school day is slightly longer, from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. MPLA also offers before and after school care. Before care begins at 6:30 a.m. and lasts for an hour, and after school is from 3-5:30 p.m.

“It’s all completely free to the parents,� Bowles said. “We’re calling it the Falcons Nest because we’re the Phalen Falcons.�

This year, the school will follow the calendar set by Kanawha County Schools, though that may change going forward, Bowles said.

Due to flooding impacting the area, MPLA, following KCS’s decision to postpone the start date for Riverside High School and its feeder schools, pushed back its first day of school from Wednesday to next Monday.

‘Student centered’

What makes a charter school like MPLA different from other public schools, Bowles said, is its small group instruction and intervention, with instructors teaching students on their individual levels.

“We are going a little bit longer in the day, but it’s just very student centered, very focused, very individualized for their kids,� Bowles said. “We can get the gaps filled or we can keep excelling the student. They can get exactly what they need to be learning to catch them up or to let them soar.�

MPLA will also teach science and social studies curriculum for all its grade levels.

While tuition free, students at MPLA are required to wear uniforms. Parents and families purchase them, but if absolutely necessary, the Phalen Leadership Academies organization can help out if needed, Bowles said. Uniforms consist of closed-toed shoes; polo shirts in red, gray, black or white; and pants, shorts or skirts in khaki, black or gray.

“It’s very lax,� Bowles said. “That way, they have plenty of options. If we did have a scholar that couldn’t get them, we would not ever leave them out.� A "scholar," Bowles said, is what the staff calls MPLA students.

Public school administrators react

A KCS spokesman said because MPLA is not affiliated with KCS, he declined to comment.

Susan Lee Collins, executive director of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators, the organization behind the recently formed “I Love WV Public Schools� campaign, also declined comment.

What’s next

Bowles said while MPLA is enrolling K-5 now, the goal is to eventually have pre-K through eighth grade, adding at least one grade each year, with pre-K and sixth added first, then seventh and finally eighth. Additionally, sports and separate music and art programs will be offered in the future.

Once sixth grade opens at the school next year, sports programs will be added, Bowles said.

Other things still in the works as renovations are completed at the school include a library and STEM lab and new additions to the playground, like a swing set.

The goal of Phalen Leadership Academies is to eventually establish four charter schools in the state — three pre-K through eighth grade schools and one high school — Bowles said.

Those interested in more information may visit plawv.org.

“For the staff and me to be part of something new in West Virginia is exciting,� Bowles said. “It’s made me excited about education again.�