#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
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.
WSAZ Investigates | Charter school concerns
The West Virginia Professional Charter School Board could approve the state’s first charter schools during a meeting Wednesday morning.
The Board is currently considering seven applications from companies looking to open new virtual and in-person education choices.
Three of the proposals have been submitted by for-profit company ACCEL Schools, which said it currently operates more than 50 schools across the country with more than 23,000 students, according to the company’s website.
However, our WSAZ Investigation found many of the company’s schools receive failing grades and spend a lot less each year per student than their public school counterparts, according to the Ohio School Report Card.
School board members quit, students transfer over reports of teacher bullying at Pansophia
All but one member of a West Michigan school board has resigned amid allegations that two teachers used foul language at school and called students names at Pansophia Academy, a charter school in Coldwater, Michigan.
“You shouldn’t be called skank by anybody,” Amy Short said. Her daughter told her a teacher and coach used the term to refer to a group of high school girls. It was a joke, the teacher later told Short’s daughter, Amy Short said.
Leaders mum on reasons behind Nevada charter school change
A North Las Vegas charter school is rebranding and ending its relationship with its Arizona-based management company, but the motivation behind the changes is unclear.
American Leadership Academy opened the doors of its North Las Vegas campus near Ann Road and 5th Street for the 2017-18 school year. When the new school year begins next week, the K-8 school will be known as Freedom Classical Academy. Beyond the aesthetics of its new name, sentinel logo and uniforms, the management companies running the school are also changing.
New rules will aim to make charter schools more inclusive
Last year, the charter school board approved American Leadership Academy – Summerlin, only to have the school come back with an amendment to change their name to Signature Preparatory Academy and open in Henderson instead. Guinasso noted the school came to the board only after they’d already purchased property in Henderson. The relocation altered expansion plans being researched and set by Clark County School District, which expected the new school to be built in Summerlin.
Guinasso characterized the change as the school “asking for forgiveness rather than permission.”
East Valley charter gives teachers raise; refuses to let public comment on budget
A growing East Valley charter school chain will give its teachers a 13 percent raise for the coming school year, but their pay still lags traditional public schools.
American Leadership Academy’s five-member board on Thursday unanimously approved the pay increase, but refused to allow the public to comment on its $71 million budget.
At least three people had planned to address the board on its spending plan.
WECT Investigates: Culture of retaliation, mismanagement alleged at troubled charter school
A lawsuit filed in New Hanover County Superior Court alleges a charter school has not only skirted federal law, but retaliated against those who pushed back against school leadership.
In recent weeks, the board at Coastal Preparatory Academy (CPA) parted ways with the leader of its lower school, Jamie Getz, who figures prominently in the lawsuit and other complaints from parents and teachers to state agencies.
Wilmington charter school suspends use of seclusion room after illegal usage
The Cape Fear Center for Inquiry suspended use of its seclusion room last fall after the family of a seven-year-old student filed a grievance against the public charter school. The school admitted that the room — and its policies for the room — did not meet minimum state standards.
IDEA Public Schools had pilot on the payroll
IDEA Public Schools had a pilot on the payroll in 2019 and 2020.
The pilot — Flyder DeCastro, 49, of McAllen — worked for IPS Enterprises, a nonprofit organization created and controlled by IDEA.
More public schools are on the chopping block in Granville County
A former school board member said last November that the district is in a “death spiral” because of the strong presence of charters such as Oxford Preparatory School and Falls Lake Academy, which account for most of the district’s enrollment losses. But in addition to losing students to charters in Granville County, the district also loses them to charters in neighboring Durham, Franklin, Vance and Wake counties. There are 37 charters in the region.