STEM Charter School Will Open In Bowie This Fall

BOWIE, MD — Friendship Academy, a STEM school, will open its newest charter school in Bowie this fall.

The Friendship Education Foundation was created in 2014 as a nonprofit charter management organization to expand Friendship Academy across the nation. There are schools located in Maryland, Louisiana, Arkansas and Washington, D.C. Other schools are slated for Colorado and Texas, according to its website. Friendship Academy currently operates 16 charter schools in Washington, D.C., including two STEM high schools, educating 7,000 students.

Prince George's County Public Schools noted that Friendship Academy will open for kindergarten and first grade for the 2024-2025 school year, followed by additional grades moving forward up to fifth grade. Parents or guardians of students can apply to enter the lottery online.

The Prince George's County Board of Education recently approved the charter for the academy to open after receiving feedback from parents, community members and school representatives during a two-hour special work session. The school board voted 11-0 to approve the charter.

“We are excited that the school board took the necessary action to approve the charter for the opening of a new school here in Bowie,” Bowie Mayor Tim Adams said at the board meeting. “The city has always championed the cause of having diverse and innovative educational opportunities for our students.”

Zipporah Miller, a school board member who represents Bowie and surrounding areas, hosted community meetings to gauge interest. She said at the board meeting that many students are leaving the area to participate in specialty programs in surrounding jurisdictions.

"STEM is my passion. Many of our students are leaving the area to participate in specialty programs in other jurisdictions," she said during the meeting.

Friendship CEO Joe Harris thanked the school board for their consideration while in attendance at the meeting. However, he said the county's application process could be improved. This was the program's third attempt to open a charter school in the county. He described Friendship Academy as "the largest minority-led charter school in the country."

Prince George's County Council Member Wala Blegay, who represents unincorporated Bowie and Mitchellville, spoke in favor of the charter school at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of STEM education for the next generation of workers.

"Many area residents work in STEM and want their kids to work in STEM," Blegay said.

Donald Hense, Friendship's founder and chairman, also said during the meeting that the program's commitment to being a good neighbor in the communities where their schools are located can be evidenced.

"There is no place where there is a Friendship School where the surrounding place has not been improved significantly," Hense said.

Friendship is considering two locations for the new academy, one at the old Bowie Montessori School on Rustic Hill Drive off of 197 and the other at the corner of 301 and 214.