A $17m charter school built on Plank Road in NBR is officially closing after just 3 years

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IDEA charter group building third Baton Rouge school near Metro Airport to open in August

A Texas-based charter school group is readying to open its fourth school in Louisiana and third in Baton Rouge this fall on 15 acres of vacant land just south of the Baton Rouge Metro Airport.

The $17 million facility, which is under construction, will be known as IDEA University Prep. The name a nod to Baton Rouge University Prep, or UP Elementary, a school IDEA took over last summer. The newly constructed facility at 7701 Plank Road will absorb UP Elementary and continue on into the upper grades.

While the new 75,000 square-foot, two-story facility can house 1,000-plus students, IDEA University Prep is aiming for about 450 students next year, with more students enrolling over time

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After barely three years in operation, citing declining enrollment, IDEA University Prep charter school, located on Plank Road, is closing soon and directing its students and staff instead to two other schools in Baton Rouge run by the same charter group.

The closure takes effect when the current school year ends in May. The school currently has about 620 students in grades kindergarten to eight, down about 30 from a year ago, who will need to change schools.

In 2021, IDEA University Prep opened up its 7701 Plank Road campus, south of Baton Rouge Metro Airport, in a new $17 million facility completed the following January. It has struggled academically, earning low F letter grades from the state after its first year in operation and improving slightly after its second year.

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