Name: Dr. Cynthia Knight
Business Name: Choice Charter School
Location: Union, USA
Establishment (Year): 2022
Category: Education
Profession/ Specialty: Education
Website: www.choicecharterschool.org
Social Media: Linkedin
Company Detail:
Dr. Cynthia Knight has created the first founding group charter school in Iowa, offering grades 9-12 to age 21 for young people in Iowa to earn a high school diploma.
Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage:
Choice Charter School is the first in Iowa founding group charter school. It is also the first in the nation to use the metaverse to provide education to students in America. The school stands out in its approach of individualized education and career pathways for its students. Additionally, providing mentors to all students is unique in Iowa.
Challenges Faced During the Journey:
This has been 13 years in the making. Dr. Cynthia Knight started with creating a program called Iowa Net High Academy. Then, she created a nonpublic school called Jordahl Academy. There has been a lot of resistance from the Iowa Department of Education to allow these entities to provide a quality educational experience for the youth in Iowa. Now in year 2 of the charter school, Choice Charter School, the first year of running the school was extremely difficult because being the first, there were many unknowns from the Iowa Department of Education. They required many reports, constant meetings/questions/demands, which in the second year are almost non-existent. Dr. Knight did not give up nor give in because the youth of Iowa need an alternative.
Advice for Women Entrepreneurs:
Keep moving forward and persevere. Do not ever give up, but find the things that work and keep moving forward.
