SPRINGFIELD – The city’s newest proposed charter school will have a public hearing on Dec. 1 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Brightwood branch of the Springfield Public Library.

According to a statement released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), “The final applications will undergo a rigorous review process over the next three months, including a review of the written final application by a review team, an interview of the applicant group, public hearings in the areas where schools are proposed to be located and a review of public comments submitted to DESE. Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester will then review all of the materials and make final recommendations to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which will consider the recommendations and potentially vote to grant charters in February 2016.”

According to the application for the new school, Libertas Academy Charter School, if approved, would open in August 2017 to 90 sixth grade students and reach its capacity of 630 students in grades 6 through 12 in the 2023 to 2024 school year.

The school’s primary geographic service area would be the North End neighborhood.

Modesto Montero is listed as the lead founder and the head of school. Montero, the application reads, “taught middle school English as a Second Language (ESL), was a Common Core coach for the state of Tennessee, as well as a professional learning Community leader-ESL and a manager of Teacher Leadership Development with Teach For America (TFA). During his tenure as an educator in Memphis, Mr. Montero led his students to dramatic gains in reading. As a TFA staff member, Mr. Montero created the Vision of Excellence for ESL instruction for TFA-Memphis, which was based on sound research and best practices. As a TFA alum and having worked as a teacher coach, Mr. Montero brings an extensive network of educators from which to recruit and with whom to work as he oversees the program’s implementation.”

The application reports the school has the support of the Davis Foundation, as well as having Davis Foundation President Mary Walachy as a board member. Other board members include Dora Robinson, president and CEO of United Way of Pioneer Valley, Kwame Webster, managing director of Teach For America in Western Massachusetts, and Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center David Silva.

The school’s educational philosophy relies “on the synergy of the three key elements of extended time, frequent assessments and robust, targeted interventions to continuously support, monitor and grow the achievement and success of all subgroups. Students will be assessed in all core subjects on a weekly basis to determine their level of mastery and where intervention and enrichment opportunities are needed. Extended instructional time built into the school day will provide additional learning opportunities for students. Daily planning periods, weekly professional development sessions and five annual Data Days will allow that information to be incorporated into teacher lesson plans as well as through designated ‘re-teach’ weeks, and will allow us to provide targeted interventions through double English classes in grades 6 to 12, double math classes in the middle school, Focus (tutoring) periods in the middle school, and Office Hours in the high school, all of which best ensure that every student achieves mastery of the standards.”

The application noted the school views parents as a “key lever to fulfilling our mission” and that regular home visits and other communication with parents are planned.

The organizers believe there is a need for the school in Springfield and wrote, “With over 4,200 families on waiting lists to one of the five charter schools in Springfield, we know that the demand is very high.”