During the August 8 Newburgh City Council Meeting, Dr. Willie K. Carley, Pastor of The Tabernacle of Faith Christian Fellowship, introduced his vision for creating a charter school in the City of Newburgh.

The Newburgh Charter School will be a “public school with a private school feeling,” Carley said. “Discovering each person’s talents, learning within a small learning environment, developing the personal skills that support success, and broadening exposure to career options are a part of many private schools I’ve seen.”

Carley said he has already met with Dr. Roberto Padilla, Superintendent of Schools for the Newburgh Enlarged City School District, and stresses that he doesn’t view his endeavor as competition.

“I see the charter school as part of a triangulation: the city, and the school district and the charter school,” Carley said. “It has been my goal to inform and work with the City of Newburgh and the school district right from the beginning because I want them to know, I want all residents to know, my vision for this charter school is to work in partnership with all stakeholders. We are not competitors. We are partners.”

As far back as fifth or sixth grade, Carley had a thought that has guided him throughout life, “How can I help people make the decisions that will steer them to do good for themselves and for their community?” This thought guides his mission for the school, “We want to help grow our children to success. We also want these children to develop a respect for the city and foster a desire to stay here to work for the greater good of the community.” Planned as a K-12 school, students will be receiving this message early on.

Leaning heavily on Community Based Organizations, CBOs will provide students with exposure to new career opportunities such as hotel management, varied business opportunities, the law and medical professions. Part of Dr. Carley’s vision is to teach students the soft skills of success.

“Collaboration, networking, keeping a steady head under pressure, learning to agree to disagree, and how to resolve conflict will be incorporated into the state’s mandated academic curriculum,” he said.
Also driving the direction of the school’s curriculum will be a focus on having students discover their own talent.

“Each student needs to find what they are good at. They need to find a way to make a living from it. They need to find a way to serve their community with it. Anything they are good at and willing to put their effort into can be used for the betterment of the community. Usually, we think of professions like educators, lawyers, doctors, serving the community but even professions like photography and developing YouTube videos can serve the community.”

While the school’s plans are still in its infancy stages, Carley’s plan is to cap student enrollment at 15 students per class. He added, “Smaller classrooms allow for a closer relationship between teacher and student.” The application for state authorization is expected to meet a February 2022 deadline but may take as long as September 2022. An opening date can be as early as 2023 or 2024.

The development of a charter school is one more milestone in Carley’s list of accomplishments. Shortly after graduating from high school, he served as a medic in the U.S. Army. Before retiring, he served in Desert Storm and Iraq and completed both his Baccalaureate and Master’s Degrees. Upon retirement from the army, he earned a doctorate in Public Health and Emergency Management. He is an ordained minister. After serving at several churches, he became the pastor of the Tabernacle of Faith, a church he founded in Walden. His first church meeting was held on the second floor at the Walden Village community room with 20 people in attendance. As the congregation grew, it needed more space. In 2020, the Tabernacle was able to purchase property located at 540 Gidney Ave, Newburgh.

Carley and his wife TroyLynn Carley still reside in Walden, where he also serves as the Deputy Mayor.