#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
Sparks fly as struggling virtual charter school seeks new management, new name
In making its case to part ways with Pearson, the school’s board complained that the management firm hasn’t provided the school a curriculum that aligns with the state curriculum or is pliant enough to allow teachers to make changes to meet the needs of individual students.
The board also complained that Pearson doesn’t share information about how money is spent or allow school leaders to assume responsibilities agreed upon when the contract between the school and Pearson was amended in July 2017.
Proposed North Las Vegas charter school sues state of Nevada
A public charter school network, Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy of Nevada, has filed two lawsuits against the state after trying for two years to get approval to open a North Las Vegas campus.
The school and its Colorado-based charter operator, SSS Education Corp., filed the complaints Wednesday in District Court against the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority and Executive Director Rebecca Feiden.
Charter school group that has paid millions to founder’s companies expands to SC
An Arizona-based charter school group that has faced scrutiny over its founder’s business dealings is expanding to South Carolina.
American Leadership Academy plans to open in fall 2023 as a K-11 school in the town of Lexington. The 42-acre spot is located at the corner of South Lake Drive and Innovation Place, about a mile from downtown Lexington.
Mount Pleasant charter could face closure over questionable spending by for-profit manager
A high-performing charter school in Mount Pleasant faces potential closure over $1.8 million in questionable spending and its ties to side ventures by the for-profit business that runs it.
This could be Oceanside Collegiate Academy’s last academic year if its school board doesn’t sufficiently answer the questions, repay any taxpayer money found to be misspent, and take back its governing authority from the management company that controls its accounts and contracts, said the superintendent of Oceanside’s sponsoring school district, the Charter Institute at Erskine.
Plan for Oceanside includes training, no longer paying teachers through for-profit firm
The board of a Mount Pleasant charter school needs to undergo training, ensure its contracts follow conflict-of-interest policies and stop paying employees out of a company that provided visas to Chinese investors, according to its sponsoring school district.
Those are among the steps Oceanside Collegiate Academy must take to get back in good standing and avoid potential closure, outlined in a “corrective action plan” sent to the school’s board Aug. 20 by its sponsor, the Charter Institute at Erskine.
Valor Classical Academy sues Carmel Clay Schools over use of Orchard Park Elementary
Valor Classical Academy is suing Carmel Clay Schools regarding the use of Orchard Park Elementary in hopes the charter school, which has plans for Hamilton County, will be able to use the building.
Per the lawsuit filed Friday, Valor alleges that per state law, Carmel Clay Schools should notified the state about the closure of the elementary building, which would have made it available to Valor to lease or buy for $1.
Glendale charter school teachers accuse principal, vice principal of sexual harassment
Two former teachers at Heritage Elementary allege its two top administrators sexually harassed them repeatedly during the past year, creating a hostile environment that forced them to leave the Glendale charter school.
In a six-page demand letter to the school, the women say they are seeking the firing of Heritage Elementary Principal Justin Dye and Vice Principal Bradley Mitchell, along with $200,000 each in damages.
Glendale charter school reverses itself and will award merit bonuses earned by teachers
The board for Heritage Elementary, a Glendale charter school, reversed itself at a brief special meeting Tuesday and voted to award merit pay bonuses to teachers who earned them during the past school year but were not returning.
“It really shows that they knew what they were doing was not right,” said Sarah Jennings, one of the 20 teachers who demanded the bonuses. “We are the first group of people to stand up to them … All it takes is a group of people being organized and stepping out a little bit and make change.”
Sexual Harassment and Broken Salary Promises at Heritage Elementary Charter School
Two former teachers at Heritage Elementary Charter School in Glendale charged the school’s principal and vice principal with sexual harassment. If the charges are true, the incidents go far beyond provocative language and unwanted contact. One of the former teachers said the principal raped her.
In a separate issue, twenty or more teachers who left Heritage Elementary at the end of the year said the school refused to pay them their merit pay bonuses because they left. The school acknowledged the claim, then reversed itself and paid the teachers.
Parents upset children are dealing with cold classrooms, lunches at charter school
Parents say cold lunches and classrooms are some of the problems plaguing a Saginaw Charter School.
“It was brought to my attention by my daughter that they’ve been eating cold lunches all school year, that they don’t get hot lunch at all. And also, that they have not had heat in the school since school started,” Jones said.
Tallahassee Classical charter school splits with Leon Schools over COVID mask policy
The announcement came Friday in an email, in which it applauded a recent memo sent from Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to all school districts in the state saying districts should not require face coverings next school year.
Administrators said the charter school “will always err on the side of liberty and free will.”
Judge backs Osceola County in dispute with American Classical Charter Academy
An administrative law judge Friday upheld a decision by the Osceola County School Board to terminate a contract with a charter school, citing issues such as a large number of uncertified teachers and not properly providing exceptional-student education services.
Enrollment in W.Va.’s online charter schools is low
Few students so far have enrolled in West Virginia’s new online charter schools for the fall, though charter officials say they expect the numbers to significantly increase next month.
On Tuesday, Accel Schools official Shannon McElwain said 47 students have enrolled in the Virtual Preparatory Academy of West Virginia. Part of the private international firm Pansophic Learning, Accel is the company that will run the school daily.
“Certainly, your experience in other states is enlightening,” said Dan Casto, the school’s board chairman. “But, you know, when I see 47 total, that seems low. But you tell me.”
Failed Philly cyber charter application highlights weaknesses in state law, observer says
The state Department of Education has issued its first denial in years to a cyber charter school, thwarting a proposal for a new school that aimed to enroll 2,500 Pennsylvania students starting in 2021.
The Virtual Preparatory Academy of Philadelphia Cyber Charter School fell short on every standard Pennsylvania uses to evaluate cyber charter schools, including support among parents and students, long-term financial planning, and proof that its students would meet state educational standards, according to a Jan. 27 memo from the state Department of Education.
Charter school company defends its poor record in other states
West Virginia’s first charter schools are set to open next school year, and at least two of the schools will be run by for-profit company ACCEL Schools.
ACCEL will operate the only brick-and-mortar charter school in our region, the Nitro Preparatory Academy, that will be opened as a K-8 school in the former Nitro high school building.
A WSAZ investigation into the company’s operations in Ohio found that more than half of the 33 ACCEL run school in the state received a failing grade from the Ohio Department of Education School Report Card., according to the more recent data from 2018-2019. Grades were not published in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.