More than 100 new students have enrolled in Maine charter schools this year.
Lana Ewing, executive director of the Maine Charter School Commission, said most of that increase comes from the expansion of Maine Arts Academy, which added 7th and 8th grades to its four year high school program last year.
"Every year we're getting requests from families. Can you please start in younger grades? We have kids coming up through middle school who really want to get into the arts. This would be such a great option for them," she said.
Ewing said the schools offer education that's tailored to technology, agriculture, the outdoors, the arts, and other core disciplines.
"I'm really happy to see charter public schools contributing to keeping more of Maine's kids in our public education system. And you know primarily that it's happening by the schools providing specialized programming that meets students and families needs," she said.
Over 700 students are on the Maine's charter public school waitlist. That's 200 more than last year, and Ewing said most of those students are hoping to join one of the state's two fully virtual schools.
