Knowledge Cafe will have answers about charter school

Do you have questions for the people who are trying to start a new charter school in Abbeville?
You can get your answers at a “Knowledge Cafe” that will be held tonight and Saturday morning at the City Public Meeting Room. The meeting room is located in the building in front of the Sunbelt Lodge Motel on the La. 14 Bypass in Abbeville, which is also located across the street from New China.
The Knowledge Cafe tonight is from 6-8. Another one will be held on Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon.
Dr. Twlya Williams-Damond is the CEO of the Williams Scholar Academy, the proposed charter school looking to be built in Abbeville.
Dr. Williams-Damond said the Knowledge Cafe is a chance for the public to ask questions about the school. She added that people could drop in between the hours of six and eight for answers to their questions. They do not have to get there for 6 — the same for Saturday morning.
“It is an informal meeting,” said Dr. Williams-Damond. “People can go in, pick up a flier and ask questions over a cup of coffee.”
The school will be for grades sixth through 12, and there is no tuition.
Tiffany Spraggins would be the charter school’s principal.
The charter school is not competing against Vermilion Parish public schools, Dr. Williams-Damond said. She wants to work together with the Vermilion Parish School District.
The Vermilion Parish School Board will vote on May 8 to allow or not allow a charter school to be started in Abbeville. If the school board rejects the application for the charter school, the representatives of the charter school will have to go in front of the BESE board to seek approval.
Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau stated this about the charter school.
“We are waiting for the official recommendation from an independent consultant who is reviewing the charter application,” he said. “I will wait for the recommendation which will be presented at the next board meeting.”