#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
ISAAC charter school’s probationary period extended as investigations into school mount
The probationary period for a Connecticut charter school has been extended for at least seven months. This comes a year after the state found that the school was out of compliance with state laws and the school’s board was unable to provide effective leadership. Now our Accountability Project has found that the school’s accrediting agency is investigating the school’s climate and culture after former teachers complained of what they call a toxic work environment.
NC charter school will close after reporting ‘financial irregularities’ to police
One of the longest-operating North Carolina charter schools will close, after officials there found financial irregularities that they’ve since reported to law enforcement. The North Carolina State Board of Education approved the closure without opposition Thursday. The Learning Center, in Murphy in Cherokee County, had requested to voluntarily relinquish its charter.
State board members learned during closed session this week that school officials believed a new school director, who was not named, had misused public funds received by the school toward their own “private enterprise,” Board Member Amy White said before the vote.
A KUOW investigation shows area charter schools broke their promises to parents and students
For the last six months, KUOW reporter Ann Dornfeld has been investigating the largest chain of charter schools in the region: Impact Public Schools. What she’s found is that charter schools are frequently failing to live up to the promises they’ve made to students, leaving staff, students, and parents frustrated.
A Seattle-area charter school’s controversial approach to holding students back
Three teachers told KUOW that they’ve had up to one-third of their students on the “promotion in doubt” list.
Impact said that its grade-retention practice is meant to ensure students master the material. Parents make the ultimate decision about whether to hold a child back, they said, and ultimately, only nine returning students — fewer than 3% — “chose to repeat a grade” in 2021.
A charter school chain promised a world-class education. Instead they billed the state and let kids ‘sit there quietly’
Senait Ogubamichael, whose daughter was struggling without English language support, now receives daily English lessons at her new school in the Highline School District. Her child’s English and reading have improved more in one month than in the previous five months at Impact, Ogubamichael said.
Are cyber charters playing games with Pennsylvania tax dollars?
Education Voters of PA has obtained official emails and blank reimbursement forms along with screen shots from a Commonwealth Charter Academy Facebook page that reveal during the 2021-2022 school year, CCA, Pennsylvania’s largest cyber charter school with an enrollment of nearly 20,000 students, is using tax dollars to; Send every family a cash payment of $150, Provide a $250 “community class” cash reimbursement for each student enrolled, Provide a $200 “personal field trip” cash reimbursement for each student enrolled.
Titusville community leaders working to block new Memphis charter school from opening in neighborhood
Titusville neighborhood leaders and one Birmingham city councilor told WBRC they are against Freedom Prep Charter School from opening because they have concerns about what it will do to Birmingham City Schools and to the students. Officials with Freedom Prep said they are hoping to build a relationship with the neighborhood leaders moving forward.
In apparent first, district moves to withhold charter school’s state funding over facility conditions
The NOLA Public Schools district plans to withhold education funding from Lower 9th Ward charter school group Friends of King Schools over the network’s alleged failure to make repairs to facilities on its Fats Domino Avenue (formerly Caffin Avenue) property, which is owned by the district.
Lionheart Academy, a public charter school that received $1.5M grant, using curriculum developed by Christian school
The Charter School Grant Program was launched in 2021 and the largest awards so far – all over $1 million – are going to new start-up charter schools. Among them is Lionheart Classical Academy in Peterborough, which is using curriculum developed by a Christian school that “recognizes the central role of religious instruction in a liberal arts education.”
TEA official named lone superintendent finalist for charter network his office is investigating
IDEA Public Schools this week named as its lone finalist for superintendent a top Texas Education Agency official who oversaw an office that has been investigating the charter network over allegations former leaders had misused money and staff for personal gain.
Colorado Springs Charter Academy accused of financial, ethics violations
A Colorado Springs school is under investigation by the legislative body that governs the state’s charter schools, according to a letter from Senior Assistant Attorney General Joseph Peters.
North Las Vegas charter school principal placed on leave after accusations of discrimination
The allegations stem from Legacy Charter School’s North Valley campus in North Las Vegas. Legacy Traditional Schools – Nevada Superintendent Jennifer Emling sent a letter to families and staff saying that Principal Candida Wadsworth was placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.
FOX 13 Investigates: Public school run by polygamous Kingston group continues appointing family members
Vanguard Academy in West Valley City has been responding to concerns about its ties to the Kingston group, also known as the Davis County Cooperative Society, or “the Order,” since December 2020 — when a FOX 13 News investigation revealed a lack of diversity and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on Kingston-affiliated businesses.
Charter school, accused of faking grades, was renewed despite poor academics
A Fox45 News investigation is raising questions about the process to approve charter schools in Baltimore City, after a school that’s now caught up in a scandal was renewed just months ago. One former charter School operator says student success should be the School Board’s priority when renewing a charter, but it’s not.
Vallejo school board tells charter schools to fix issues or risk losing status
The Vallejo school board took its first steps toward potentially stripping Griffin Technology Academies (GTA) of its four school charters over concerns that the organization has mismanaged finances, failed to protect students from mold infestations, and violated state open meeting law.