Kennedy Charter School, a school for at-risk K-12 students in Charlotte, N.C., has moved to the campus of Johnson C. Smith University.
Kennedy’s high school students began classes at the University last week, and kindergarten through eighth-grade classes will follow when a new building finishes construction nearby, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The move is a new approach for the charter school, which was created in 1998 to serve students in the foster care system, but is becoming increasing common both in Charlotte and the rest of the country. For example, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opened up a new school dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math this year at UNC Charlotte.
Kennedy and JCSU hope that their joint venture will serve as a model for preparing students who lag behind in academics.
About 360 students started school at Kennedy Charter this year. Students have access to laptops and receive lunch in a hot-box container from JCSU.
The relationship with JCSU goes beyond lunch and location, according to school administrators who have that pledged the Kennedy students will have access to all areas of campus.
