IDEA opens in Tarrant County
IDEA Public Schools – a nationally-ranked public charter school network – entered Tarrant County last August. The four new schools, IDEA Rise Academy and College Preparatory at 3000 S. Cherry Lane in Fort Worth and IDEA Achieve Academy and College Preparatory at 1900 Thomas Road in Haltom City, will provide tuition-free education for more than 1,200 students. A campus in Edgecliff Village is planned to open this year. By 2026, IDEA plans to expand to 26 schools in Tarrant County, serving more than 15,000 students, according to a news release from the school.
“In the exploration of new regions for IDEA Public Schools, Tarrant County made a large impression due to its widening income achievement gap,” said Ana Martinez, executive director of IDEA Public Schools in Tarrant County. “With only one in five high school students graduating college-ready, Tarrant County offers tremendous opportunities for improvement.”
Over the last 19 years, IDEA has grown from a small school with 150 students to a fast-growing network of tuition-free, Pre-K-12 public charter schools in the United States.