With Aug. 2024 Targeted for Opening, Schoolhouse Academy Starts Sharing Educational Team and School’s New Look with Families

Almost exactly one year ago, Wilton learned that a group of charter school developers had leased the building that previously was home to Our Lady of Fatima School, and that they planned to open Schoolhouse Academy, a K-to-6th grade private school, at the Danbury Rd. location in August 2024. (The school will add a grade each year for the next two years to eventually include 7th and 8th grades.)

That plan is still on track, and co-founders Carlo Schiattarella and Andrew McLaughlin have already moved into high gear to make that target open date a reality. They’ve been holding open houses on Saturday mornings — the next two are scheduled for this Saturday, May 11 and next Saturday, May, 18 — and have hired an experienced principal, Dr. John Kalaboukas to lead their educators.

The team has completed construction on a model classroom where they hold their open house gatherings to show off the technology that will be used in the classroom and share details on the curriculum that will be implemented.

The existing OLF classrooms look markedly different from what is planned for the new school. With an emphasis on project-based learning, the one model classroom is equipped with tables for group seating rather than individual desks. Schiattarella said there will never be more than 20 students in a class, with the average target being 10-12 children per classroom.

Construction on the remaining classrooms and all the other interior and exterior spaces in the school will switch into high gear once summer begins.

The founders know that initially the size of the school will likely be smaller, and they’re aiming for 40-50 students spread through multi-age classrooms that combine two grade levels per class — likely grades 5-and-6, 3-and-4, and 1-and-2 with kindergarten as a standalone, depending on how enrollment fills in. But in that structure, Schiattarella says there’s flexibility to provide a much more individualized program for each student, especially with two teachers per classroom and a target ratio of 10 students to each teacher.

“We’re looking at where kids are, and then where they’re going to be. And then working on that to either advance them if they are accelerated or catch them up,” he said, adding that what they believe they offer is something families can’t find in public schools.

Kalaboukas gave an example of how the learning will be structured around level rather than age.

“If [kids] are at a certain grade level, let’s say in mathematics. We had a first grader who was doing very high level — almost near fifth grade, when we assessed him with our math chair, and he was doing it all in his head, it was amazing to watch. Why would I have that student in first grade math when they’re capable of doing fifth grade math,” he said.

The founders stress that the school’s curriculum will be steeped in research, and teaching will be project-based learning by doing. STEAM will be emphasized (science experiments, technology immersion, engineering projects, art experiences and math problem-solving) and classrooms will feature an advanced technology-rich environment, with interactive teaching walls, iPads and 3-D computers and printers.

The Saturday morning open houses have attracted Wilton families as well as people from further afield. They get to hear about the curriculum as well as see renderings of just how different the new school will look. Everything from the classrooms, to the gym will get a makeover, and there will be a new dining hall.

Introducing prospective families to Kalaboukas is something the founders are very excited about as well. He brings with him a 35-year career that spans almost every level of education, across public, private and charter schools.

“I’ve been an elementary, middle and high school principal. I’ve also worked as a Dean of Academic Affairs at a college. Now I’m a graduate professor at St. John’s University, actually mentoring teachers who want to become administrators and also teachers who are thinking about becoming administrators. But I’ve also was a teacher and I’ve worked anywhere from a very small school to very large organizations with 4,000 employees and $350 million budgets,” Kalaboukas said.

He added that he was a central office administrator in Nassau County, Long Island overseeing technical education and literacy before deciding to move into the world of charter schools and working with Schiattarella and McLaughlin at their previous charter school in the South Bronx.

“The reason why is I fell in love with the board, it was such nice people and professionals who wanted to help out this very underserved community [in the South Bronx] — actually the poorest congressional district in the country, 97% below the poverty line. So it was a real challenge and I ended up turning around that school with my team,” he said, adding, “It’s always a team, it’s not just me.”

Kalaboukas is looking forward to the prospect of building the Schoolhouse Academy program from the beginning.

“It’s really exciting to do something from scratch and in this format of project-based learning,” he said, especially with an emphasis on both technology and socialization.

Kalaboukas said the school will be a unique alternative for families that haven’t been satisfied with what they’ve experienced in public school districts.

“I’m hearing feedback from people that are coming out of the school districts that they’re very dissatisfied. They don’t believe that there’s enough communication between the parents and teachers or administration. They’re a little bit slow in adjusting their teaching. If a student is doing well, don’t you want to really push them? [Public school districts] are set in their ways, and we’re not going to be set in our ways,” he said.

He also said that relationships between school administration and families will be much closer, especially due to the size of the school.

“They’re going to be able to speak to me at any time. It’s not going to be, wait until a couple of months go by and then you meet with the teacher. They’re going to be able to meet with the teacher at anytime. Because it’s so small we’re going to be able to have a very strong relationship between ourselves and the families,” he said.

To find out more about Schoolhouse Academy or attend an open house, visit the Schoolhouse Academy website. Open houses will be held on Saturday, May 11 and Saturday, May 18 starting at 10 a.m. at 225 Danbury Rd.

Editor’s note: the article was updated to clarify that while Schoolhouse Academy is opening this year with grades K-6, it will eventually grow one grade per year to include a 7th and 8th grade classes.