The Board of Trustees at the University of West Alabama have received the go-ahead from 
education officials in Montgomery to continue the process of starting a 
kindergarten through 12th grade 
charter school on the University of West Alabama’s campus.

The Tuscaloosa News reports that there is currently a group, led by the UWA’s President Ken Tucker, which meets weekly to design all aspects of creating the new 
charter school.

“It is extremely ambitious. But the thinking of the committee is we want to do everything we can,” Tucker told The Tuscaloosa News.

As of now, the next step will be in March, when the Board of Trustees for UWA will decide whether or not to give Tucker access to the university’s
resources to further progress in 
finishing the charter school 
application. While the application is due in May, those invested in the 
potential charter school will not hear 
back until July.

If the application is approved, the charter school, while being associated with UWA, would not be run by the university. All money for the school would go through a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Tucker told The Tuscaloosa News that the charter school would be there to primarily serve Sumter County. The 
purpose, Tucker said, is to provide another option to students who are 
currently traveling out of the county for their education.