The Children’s Guild breaks ground on a new project in Anne Arundel County following other school constructions and re-purposed renovations in Maryland. 

The Children’s Guild currently operates Monarch Academy Public Charter Schools in Laurel, Glen Burnie, and Baltimore City, Maryland. These charters have been touted as examples of school construction and renovation techniques that save costs in the short-term.

In a study comparing costs of Anne Arundel County’s Rolling Knolls Elementary, and the Monarch Global Academy in Laurel, Maryland, the Public School construction program found major cost differences, many of which were attributable to the educational specifications required in traditional public schools, but not required in charter schools. The specifications for public schools lead to larger footprints for the schools.

From the report,

Rolling Knolls Elementary School was designed to be 21,261 gross square feet larger than the Monarch Academy, while serving a smaller number of students (598 vs. 757). At the cost-per-square foot attributed to the Monarch facility ($184.76/sf), the overall difference of building area would be equivalent to approximately $3.93 million, or about 41% of the total cost differential between the schools; at the cost of the RKES facility ($252.65/sf), the difference would equate to approximately $5.37 million, or 56% of the differential.

For more information, see Developer begins construction on Monarch Academy and The Cost of School Construction: A Comparison of the Monarch Global Academy and Conventional School Facilities, Report to Governor Larry Hogan and the Board of Public Works