FRANCISCO — If a local group is successful with plans to establish an independent elementary school in Stokes County, the Francisco Elementary School building could be utilized once again for its original purpose — a school.
The idea for a charter or private school was presented Sunday at a community meeting at the Francisco Community Building.
Mark Black, who owns the currently vacant Fransisco school property, had encouraged community members to bring ideas for ways to use the building that would have a positive impact.
Other suggestions included a bakery co-op and using a portion of the school building as a rest area for law enforcement officers and mail carriers.
Kendall Yarboro, of Pilot Mountain, served as a spokesperson for the charter school group.
Yarboro is a teacher for Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools who previously taught at Lawsonville Elementary School.
He’s working with a group of about 10 parents who want to start a K-5 charter school to help families impacted by the closing of Francisco Elementary School and Lawsonville Elementary School.
The group started meeting in December 2023, before the Stokes County Schools Board of Education voted officially to close Lawsonville but when the closing seemed immanent.
A survey was sent out to parents to gauge interest. Yarboro said about 80 responded, with 94% to 97% in favor of the group moving forward with an independent school.
The group, which will eventually serve as a board of directors, aims to open the school in the fall for the 2024-2025 school year.
To do that, they will have to open the school as a private school and later transition to a state-funded charter school.
“We are currently needing to find a way to get funds because we would like to start the school as early as this coming fall, and in order to do that we would have to start off in a private entity,” he said.
Outside funding would take the burden off families otherwise facing private school tuition.
“We want to still try to make it as available as possible to the low income families in our area,” Yarboro said.
Funding would allow the group to lease the school facility from Black, pay the utilities and staff.
Yarboro was optimistic about staffing the school and enrolling students by the fall.
“I think people are interested in sending their children to a school with more traditional values and they’re wanting to try to make a positive impact for their children and for their families,” he said. “We want to give the students stability. Especially if they were at Francisco at one point or if they were at Lawsonville at one point and they’ve seen that get taken away.”
Yarboro said the group is drafting a letter and preparing for phone calls seeking funding from organizations and individuals who would be able to pledge money toward the endeavor or sponsor students. Grant funding is also being explored, he said.
Black said he’s supportive of the school idea.
“I think that’d be excellent,” he said in an interview. “I think the area needs [a school] because I don’t think the kids should have to be on the bus that long....I know that the school would be a good foundation for the community.”
At the meeting, Black also noted that the school may help bring back students who travel to other counties for school which might ultimately help improve enrollment at Piney Grove Middle School and North Stokes High School.
Black said he has interest from other entities wishing to lease the building but is waiting to give the independent school (or other local businesses) a chance.
“I’m very careful right now about what I put in there, because I don’t want to put in something that doesn’t sit in the community like it should,” he said. “I’m being a little picky right now.”
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