This loan will have multiple closings. First close: July 30, 2026.
C.R. Neal Academy is a new tuition-free public charter school opening in southeast Columbia, South Carolina in Fall 2027 — the fourth school operated by Rooted School Foundation. Green Channel Development Corporation, a supporting nonprofit of Rooted School Foundation, is the facilities developer and will lease the campus to the school. Funds will go toward pre-development expenses related to the construction and acquisition of the future campus on Atlas Road. The loan will be repaid when the bond closes in Fall 2026.
*Interest is accrued until payoff.
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C.R. Neal Academy is a tuition-free public charter school opening in southeast Columbia, SC in Fall 2027, serving grades 6–12 and growing to roughly 910 students at full enrollment. Named for a Richland County educator and civil rights leader, the school will serve families along the Atlas Road corridor — communities where students have had fewer pathways to rigorous coursework, credentials, and professional networks. The Academy exists to help every student graduate with a job offer in one hand and a college acceptance in the other, with the preparation and agency to choose between them.
C.R. Neal runs on Rooted’s “Double Helix” model, which braids rigorous, standards-aligned academics with real-world, career-connected learning. Students earn stackable, industry-recognized credentials in high-demand fields — healthcare, STEM and technology, and advanced manufacturing — with access to dual enrollment and apprenticeships.
C.R. Neal Academy is operated by Rooted School Foundation under a formal Education Services and Management Agreement with a South Carolina charter board.
An Industry Advisory Council of regional employers keeps pathways aligned to the Midlands labor market, including Prisma Health, Lexington Medical Center, Scout Motors, Dominion Energy, Midlands Technical College, and the Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
The Academy will open in a purpose-built facility of approximately 41,500 square feet on an ~8-acre site on Atlas Road, designed to grow with the school from Year 1 through full build-out, with room for parking, circulation, and outdoor programming.
The campus is being developed by Green Channel Development Corporation, a supporting nonprofit corporation of Rooted School Foundation, which acquires, develops, and manages educational facilities so school leaders can focus entirely on students. Green Channel is the facilities developer and lessor for the C.R. Neal Academy campus.
Backed by Rooted School Foundation
C.R. Neal Academy is operated by Rooted School Foundation under a formal Education Services and Management Agreement with a South Carolina charter board. Outcomes from their network include:
100% of graduates entered a postsecondary pathway — college, credential-aligned employment, apprenticeship, or military
80% earned at least one industry-recognized credential; 1 in 4 earned four or more
43% of college-bound graduates were the first in their families to attend college
$1,000,000+ in merit-based scholarships and grants earned by graduates
Documented, community demand
Before the doors open, community demand is strong: more than 1,300 interest forms across grades, including 141 indications of interest in grade 6 and 131 in grade 9 — already exceeding first-year targets for both entry grades.
Shaped by local partnerships
The school’s formation was shaped by deep local partnership, including Midlands Community Development Corporation and Bible Way Church of Atlas Road.
Founding team that has done this before
Since 2017, the RSF has launched and improved career-connected public charter schools in New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Vancouver, building the systems, playbooks, and governance controls C.R. Neal inherits from day one.
Lalah Radney leads C.R. Neal Academy’s launch and daily operations. She most recently served as Executive Director of Special Populations at Louisiana State University, achieving a 97.2% retention rate for high-need students and scaling programs by more than 350%. Earlier, she directed the K–16 College Readiness division at Harlem Children’s Zone, managing a portfolio that facilitated more than $200 million in scholarships and lifted college matriculation by 10%. Since joining in October 2025, she has led more than 80 community engagements across the Columbia region.
Steven Carney oversees new-school growth and network-wide support, leading authorization, launch readiness, and continuous improvement through evidence-based practice. He has founded and led high-performing schools, including Rooted School Vancouver and Western Sierra Collegiate Academy, and has supported leadership teams nationally and internationally. He holds a B.A. in Education and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership.
Jonathan Johnson founded Rooted School as a 15-student pilot in New Orleans in 2017 and grew it into a multi-state network serving roughly 1,100 students at scale. He has secured more than $30 million in grants and private funding and built employer partnerships with organizations including Entergy and Ochsner Health. A first-generation college graduate and former award-winning classroom teacher, he was selected for the Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA program in 2024 and founded The $50 Study — the largest study of unconditional cash transfers to young people — now operated by Fifty, a supporting nonprofit corporation of Rooted School Foundation. He leads the Foundation’s mission to create personal pathways to financial freedom.
