Finn Academy: An Elmira Charter School is the collaboration of a group of parents, community members, and educators who are passionately committed to providing an excellent public education for the students of Elmira and its surrounding areas.

For the benefit of our community, the Founding Board of Trustees of Finn Academy plans to submit an application on March 12, 2014 to bring the first charter school to Elmira. We will be submitting this application to the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Institute. If approved, the school will open for grades K-3 in August 2015, and ultimately will serve grades K-8.

Charter schools are free, public schools. To encourage innovation and outside-the-box thinking, the state funds excellent charter school proposals to improve learning outcomes for students. The mission of Finn Academy will be to provide:

Extended School Day, Extended School Year, & required Summer Learning Experience totaling more than 500 required hours of additional instruction each year, as compared to the traditional public school setting

Commitment to STrEaM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics)

College Preparation

Wellness Program, which includes daily physical fitness classes

Advisory Program to provide each scholar with a mentor to ensure their academic success and emotional well-being

Professional Learning and Teacher Support

By signing this petition, you declare that you support the creation of Finn Academy: An Elmira Charter School as an additional public education option for the children in our community.

Thank you for your support of this important effort.