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Dayspring Academy — Pasco County’s oldest charter school — prepares to grow

An inactive civic association prepares to donate its civic center and land to the school.
 
Dayspring Academy charter school students between classes at Pasco-Hernando State College West Campus in New Port Richey in 2016, when the school began exploring its early college program. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Dayspring Academy charter school students between classes at Pasco-Hernando State College West Campus in New Port Richey in 2016, when the school began exploring its early college program. DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times
Published April 3, 2019

The New Lakes in Regency Park civic association hasn’t had members or activity in more than a year.

Its caretakers have offered the group’s civic center land and building to Dayspring Academy, Pasco County’s oldest charter school, which sits less than a mile north on Little Road.

“They wanted to keep it in the community for educational purposes,” Dayspring founder John Legg told the Gradebook. "Our early preference is really to expand our early college program there."

Legg revealed the school’s plan on Tuesday to the Pasco County School Board, which later approved Dayspring’s request to increase its enrollment by 75 students, to 900, in 2019-20. The board extended the school’s contract by 15 years, through 2033, in November.

Dayspring, which originally debuted as an arts-oriented elementary school, has grown in its nearly two decades to serve prekindergarten through high school students on two campuses in west Pasco. Unlike most charters in the county, it has an agreement to hand over all its property to the school district if it were to close.

That would hold true for this latest acquisition, which has yet to be closed, Legg said.

The 8,000-square-foot building on approximately three acres near the corner of Little Road and Embassy Boulevard initially would house the charter school’s administrative offices, while undergoing needed renovations. The previous administrative space would become classrooms for the increased number of students.

Dayspring officials frequently have spoken about expanding, especially as demand for seats has increased. The school recently had its annual lottery for new students, and nearly 2,000 children applied despite no formal advertising, Legg told the School Board.

Families are wanting more education “customization” in west Pasco, Legg said, and the school district has done little to offer alternatives in the area. The School Board recently resisted a plan to close and consolidate some area campuses, and use the money to create new magnets and offer other advanced programs.

Legg recently took a team of educators to south Texas, to learn how schools there are helping children in poverty find academic success, including into college. He said Dayspring intends to build upon its early college program with the new site as a base.

He has worked with state Rep. Ardian Zika to pursue legislative support for providing collegiate programs to high school students, via HB 189, which is still moving through the state House. A Senate version also remains in play.

Already, Dayspring enrolls about 200 high school students. In its current graduating class, Legg said, about 70 percent will finish high school with an associate’s degree, and all will have completed a minimum of 45 college credit hours.