Ricardo Flores Magon Academy

“Marcos Martinez, head of Ricardo Flores Magon Academy, resigns his post.” Denver Westword (CO), 3/8/2012

Marcos Martinez, the controversial founder of the Ricardo Flores Magon Academy and subject of our cover story "A Hard Line," has resigned. So, too, have two other employees whom the school's board of trustees asked to take a paid leave while they investigated complaints against them. The school is now searching for a new leader.

Meanwhile, it seems that Martinez is making moves in Wyoming.

Liberty's Torch, a monthly newspaper in Cheyenne, recently ran a story about Martinez's efforts to start a branch of the Ricardo Flores Magon Academy there.

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“Charter school chief rules with iron fist, say teachers.” Denver Westword (CO), 11/29/2011... 

Board minutes show that fifteen staff members — a good portion of whom were fired by [Marcos Martinez, the head of Ricardo Flores Magón Academy charter school in Westminster] for "not being a good fit" — left in the first four years of the school's existence.

Some of them say Martinez favored male staff members and those who were Hispanic. They say he also created an uncomfortable working environment.

Mitchell is suing Martinez and the school in U.S. District Court. She believes Martinez discriminated against her because she has a disability — asthma — that exacerbated her illness. Further, she believes Martinez treated her differently than other employees because although she herself is Latina, she's married to a white man.

Another former teacher filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming she'd been discriminated against because she was a woman, especially during and after her pregnancy. She settled with the school.

RFMA's problems don't end there, however. The school, which moved to a new location this fall, has also been criticized by state education officials for its high teacher turnover rate and its use of Che Guevara as a role model for young children. It has been slapped on the wrist by the county health department for not having hot water or a food-service license at its old facility and is embroiled in a lawsuit with its previous landlord...

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T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge

“Former ASCSU treasurer guilty of theft; Money allegedly stolen from Bas Bleu Theater and the T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge.” The Coloradoan (CO), 3/17/2012

A CSU student who held financial-management positions for the university's student government, a local theater company and a Fort Collins charter school pleaded guilty Friday to a single count of felony theft.

Matthew Shane Strauch, 24, of Fort Collins, was arrested late last year and accused of stealing money from the Bas Bleu Theater and the T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge...

According to police, Strauch was asked to resign due to mismanaging various financial accounts. Bas Bleu officials also told police that in 2008, Strauch took the personal information of someone associated with the theater company, opened two credit card accounts and accumulated substantial debt. Instead of filing criminal charges, a civil restitution was arranged.

From the Dec. 15 investigation, police said Strauch created a bank account at First Bank in the name of Bas Bleu Theatre, without the knowledge of company officials, where he is accused of depositing various checks stolen from the business...

In the second investigation on Dec. 17, police said Strauch made five unauthorized counter withdrawals from bank accounts owned by the charter school. Between the two investigations, TPAAK's losses total $41,881.93, officials said.

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KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy

“Charter school football coach fired for sex comments, DPS says.” FOX31 (CO), 10/11/2011

DENVER – An assistant football coach at KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy has been fired after being accused of making an online sexual advance toward a student, FOX31 News has learned.

The coach, whose name has not been released, allegedly made the remarks on a student’s Facebook page.

A Denver Public Schools spokesperson says the coach is a part-time employee of the charter school and not a DPS employee.

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The Classical Academy

“Special report by state levels criticisms at TCA.” The Gazette (CO); May 08, 2009

Complaints that The Classical Academy's insular community created an environment where racism and religious intolerance were allowed to go unchecked raises questions about whether the charter school is welcoming to all students, according to a report released Friday.

The report to the Colorado Department of Education, triggered by parents' complaints, also found fault with the school's accounting practices, noted possible conflicts of interest with administrators who run a charter-school consulting business on the side and said the school failed to properly respond to allegations of sexual and physical assaults and bullying.

It concluded that while the school has high academic achievement, the "investigation revealed major areas of concern about management, safety and security of students."...

The CDE paid independent consultant James Sauls, of Colorado Springs, $9,500 to look into allegations made against the TCA by parents who said they turned to the state because the school and Academy School District 20 ignored their issues. TCA is a D-20 charter school with about 2,900 students on three campuses...

Friday's report said TCA failed to follow procedures regarding reports of sexual and physical assaults. In the Reece case, the report said, there was no evidence that an in-house investigation had been conducted, as school officials claimed. The police investigation was inconclusive, the report said...

[TCA board President Matt Carpenter]  and [school principal] Hyatt said they both were aware that chief financial officer Doug Hering and high school principal Peter Hilts started a charter-school consulting business, Advantage Insights Consulting Network LLC, in December 2007.

The report questioned whether TCA should have paid for their travel to charter school conferences that might have benefited their business.

Hyatt said he sent them to conferences for the benefit of TCA and it was appropriate for the school to pay. He said sometimes he and other staff attend such conferences as well.

The report also said the two had used school equipment to print business cards, but spokeswoman Susan Tillotson said TCA was reimbursed within the last month for those costs. She didn't know when the cards were printed.

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Read more: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2009/05/dirty-and-dangerous-secrets-of.html

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Guffey Community Charter School

"Former Guffey Community Charter School volunteer arrested.” Fairplay Flume (CO), 08/19/2011

A former volunteer at the Guffey Community Charter School turned himself in to the Teller County Sheriff's Office on Aug. 15 on a Park County warrant stemming from allegations that he abused a child in connection with a school trip.

Robert Alfieri, 55, of Florissant, has arrest charges against him for crimes against at-risk juveniles, a class 6 felony, and child abuse and third degree assault, both class 1 misdemeanors...

Becky Minnis, the Fairplay-based Re-2 School District superintendent, who has some degree of authority over the charter school, which is within Re-2, said Alfieri has been a volunteer and his wife taught at the charter school in Guffey.

"His wife was a teacher there, and she has since resigned," Minnis said. "She resigned at the end of the school year."

Alfieri didn't return a phone message seeking comment on the case...

According to the arrest warrant, Alfieri was a volunteer snowboard instructor teaching Guffey Community Charter School students how to snowboard at Ski Cooper...

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Choice Scholarship Pilot Program

“Judge halts Dougco voucher pilot.” Education News Colorado, 08/13/2011

A Denver judge has granted a motion to halt the Douglas County voucher pilot pending further court action, a ruling that could send hundreds of students back to district schools.

In a 68-page ruling issued late Friday afternoon, District Court Judge Michael Martinez finds merit in six of eight legal challenges raised by attorneys representing a handful of Dougco parents and groups including the American Civil Liberties Union.

“This court is not prepared to mandate that Colorado taxpayers fund private religious education,” the judge wrote, noting the voucher plan “violates both financial and religious provisions” of the Colorado Constitution...

Some of the students already have started classes at their private schools and about $300,000 in voucher payments have gone out, Barber said. It was not immediately clear whether the judge’s ruling means the private schools will have to return those dollars.

If so, some private school leaders have lamented the impact on their schools. Terry Martin, academic director of Woodlands Academy, said she may have to lay off teachers. Kurt Unruh, head of Valor Christian School, said in an affidavit filed in court last week that as many as 40 students would not be able to attend without vouchers.

So Valor, which charges $13,950 in annual tuition, “stands to lose $558,000 in annual revenue, which would be a substantial financial hardship,” he said...

Douglas County school board members voted 7-0 on March 15 to launch the pilot, the first serious effort in Colorado to create a voucher plan since the Colorado Supreme Court struck down a 2003 effort by state lawmakers.

The state’s highest court did not address religion in its ruling, deciding the 2003 plan was unconstitutional because it stripped locally elected school boards of their constitutional control over instruction.

But Martinez tackles religion head-on in his decision, finding a clear violation of the constitutional prohibition against using public money “in aid of any church” or “for any sectarian purpose.” This provision is known as the Blaine amendment.

At least 16 of the 21 private schools participating in the voucher plan are religious and the pilot places no limits on the schools’ use of public money to support or promote religion.

“In fact, because of the interplay between the participating private school partners’ curriculum and religious teachings, any funding of the private schools, even for the purpose of providing education, would further the sectarian purpose of religious indoctrination,” the judge wrote...

Dougco’s voucher pilot has drawn national attention, in part because it involves an affluent district with high-performing schools. Most voucher programs nationally target students with special needs or those from low-income families...

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"Douglas County School District to create faux charter school.” 9News (CO), 7/13/11

CASTLE ROCK - There will be no classrooms full of students. There will be no staff of teachers. The sign outside indicates that the location is the school district headquarters. Yet, this will be the location of Douglas County's newest charter school.

"We had to find a way to do this," Randy Barber, media and events director for the Douglas County School District, said.

The district is trying to establish the first widespread school voucher system in Colorado history. Dubbed the Choice Scholarship Pilot Program, 500 students have been selected to receive 75 percent of their per-pupil funding to pay for private school tuition. The remaining 25 percent will be kept by the district.

Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and Taxpayers for Public Education have sued Douglas County. Out of the 19 private schools eligible to receive students, 14 of them are religious schools. The lawsuits allege diverting public money to religious schools is against Colorado law...

Barber says the charter school will be used as a mechanism to administer the voucher program...

The students in the Choice Scholarship Program will technically be enrolled in this charter school even though they will really be attending classes at the private school of their choice...

"They are setting up a sham charter school, which is a public school, and they are using this sham charter as a flow through of funds from the state to the private schools," Kleinkopf said.

Barber says the Choice Scholarship Program will not provide money directly to the private schools which, he says, makes their program different - and legal.

"If the money is given to a parent, and then they make the choice, that money can go to any private school including those that are religious," Barber said...

"We want to be a model for other school districts throughout the country, not just here in Colorado," Barber said...

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Gulen charter schools in Colorado

STATE	# ACTIVE	# PENDING	# INACTIVE*	TOTAL
CO	1	0	2	3

* Denied, withdrawn, closed, or unknown status

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TOTAL ENROLLMENT IN 2010-2011 = 607 STUDENTS

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SCHOOLS

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LOTUS SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE
Status	ACTIVE, opened 2006-2007
Management	Lotus School for Excellence, Inc.
Authorizer	Aurora Public Schools Board of Education (AKA Adams-Arapahoe 28J)
Location/District	11001 East Alameda Avenue, Aurora / Aurora Public Schools
Website	http://www.lotusschool.org/
Enrollment	Grades K-11; 607 students in 2010-2011
Notes	The first application was denied by Aurora Public Schools in December 2004. Lotus filed an appeal with the state board, but withdrew. APS eventually approved the application. In 2007, LSE was placed on corrective action. LSE’s charter was conditionally renewed in 2009, primarily because of ongoing financial problems.

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LOTUS SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE II
Status	INACTIVE, denied in 2010
Management	Lotus School for Excellence, Inc.
Website	http://www.lakewood.lotusschool.org/
Notes	The first application submitted to Jefferson County School District was denied in 2008. The second application submitted in 2009 was also rejected. Lotus appealed to Colorado State Board of Education but lost in February 2010 over concerns about academic performance, lack of parent involvement in Lotus operations, and high student attrition.

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LOTUS SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE – LONGMONT
Status	INACTIVE, denied in 2011
Management	Lotus School for Excellence, Inc.
Website	http://www.longmont.lotusschool.org/
Notes	The first application submitted to St. Vrain Valley School District in 2009 was unanimously rejected (“The application was denied, in part due to their founders -- and proposed board members -- being from outside the school district.”). The second application submitted was also denied. Lotus appealed to the Colorado State Board of Education who upheld the decision of the SVVSD school board in March 2011.

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MANAGEMENT

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LOTUS SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE, INC.
Federal Tax ID	EIN 200419295
History	“The founding team, being a blend of educators, scientists, engineers and businessmen, brings their experiences from different parts of the world where students are encouraged and pursue rigorous math, science and technology education and careers.” (from website)
Individuals involved	Adnan Doyuran, Alptekin Kavi, Bill [Bilal] Temel, Dennis Duffy, Elif Trujillo (Elif is a Turkish name), Hakan Batan, Ike Yuksel Kocak, Jeanne Fontenot, Lisa Constenze, Mustafa Arisoylu, Nurzhan [sometimes Nurjan] Ustemirov, Umit [AKA Matt] Yapanel, Varol Gurler, Yuksel Kocak, Zeynep Karaoglu, and Zhandos Utegulov,  (source: IRS Form 990s for 2006 to 2009); also Rinat Ibrayev and Emra Turgut involved w/LSE II attempt.

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SERVICE PROVIDER

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ACCORD INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH
Federal Tax ID	EIN 260658913
Website	http//www.accordeducation.org/
Location	13950 Milton Ave. Suite 200A, Westminster, CA (same address as the Magnolia Educational and Research Foundation, operator of Magnolia Public Schools in CA).
Services	The schools purchase program development, curriculum, professional development, and financial services from AIER. The fee is not known.
Individuals involved	Adem Oksuz, Ali Korkmaz, Ertan Salik, Faruk Taban, Hasan Deniz, Murat Arbas, Osman Sen, Suat Utku Ay, Carol Barkley, Suleyman Bahceci, and Yasin Cetindilin (source: IRS Form 990s for 2007 and 2008, and website accessed May 2011)

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NOTE: Learn more about the Lotus School for Excellence HERE.

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/lotus-school-for-excellence.html

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Eagle Ridge Academy

Eagle Ridge Academy was established after the closure of Brighton Collegiate High School (formerly Brighton Charter School) which was plagued by a series of sexual scandals involving teachers and students. Read about that HERE. 

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HIGH-FLYING EAGLE RIDGE GROUNDS SOME STUDENTS; STUDENT, PARENT ALLEGE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS, RACE PLAYS FACTOR; Brighton Standard Blade (CO) 29 Dec 2010

BRIGHTON — When Eagle Ridge Academy opened last fall, in place of the defunct Brighton Collegiate High School, the school’s new leadership promised a high-flying curriculum designed to give students a jumpstart on their college careers.

But the school’s new focus isn’t for everyone and at least one former student said he believes students of the former Brighton Collegiate are being pushed out to make room for new, smarter students.

“It’s like they are trying to get rid of us and get new kids to replace us,” sophomore Evin Cook said.

Cook, 16, said he was brought into the office of principal Brian Spinnato, shortly before students adjourned for winter break earlier this month and told he was “no longer a good fit for the school.”…

But [Evin’s mother Margaret Cook] said they were first informed, after the October enrollment count, that Evin wasn’t a good fit for the school and they should examine different options for him…

Spinnato said they expected there would be some difficulties in making the transition, especially for former Brighton Collegiate students, to the new curriculum.

While he was reluctant to comment specifically on Evin’s academic performance at the school, he said he understands some of Margaret and Evin’s frustration.

“I did tell her that the kids that were at Brighton Collegiate do have a rough transition,” he said. “It is tough and it is unfair that, halfway through the game, the rules changed. Unfortunately, it is the scenario that it is…

Cook further alleges there were racial undertones to the students who were spoken to about their academic futures before the holiday break. She said the majority of students were minorities, either Hispanic or African American, and based on their academic standards, Eagle Ridge will end up a “predominantly-white school.”

“They’re trying to have an all-white school over there,” she said.

Spinnato disputes that any of it was based on race. He pointed out that 45 percent of the school’s population meets the minority status and that only a small percentage of the school’s more than 200 students were presented with different options for their academic futures…

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Lake Havasu Charter School

LAKE HAVASU CHARTER SCHOOL TO CLOSE / Officials failed to meet state deadline for renewal papers; April 27, 2011; News-Herald (CO) 

Lake Havasu Charter School is closing after 16 years because officials failed to submit paperwork by the deadline to continue operation.

Principal Patricia Hauchrog said the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools e-mailed the charter-renewal notification in February 2010, but the administration never received the notice.

“We did not get the e-mail,” Hauchrog said. “Nor did they pick up the phone and say, ‘Why didn’t you respond to the e-mail?’ I figured the state would contact us. (The e-mail’s) not there.”

School officials then received a certified letter in July 2010, stating they missed the May 2010 renewal deadline and their charter would expire this August.

“It’s disheartening,” Hauchrog said. “Kids are all over the board (emotionally).”…

Hauchrog wrote a letter dated Oct. 28, 2010, to the state board, explaining a part-time employee had monitored incoming e-mails. Once the employee retired, the e-mails were supposed to be forwarded to an administrative assistant’s e-mail account.

“Human error and the need to be financially conservative is the cause for this dilemma,” the letter states.

Hauchrog said she knew the deadline was approaching, but was waiting to receive the state notification.

She said the first meeting they could be placed on the state agenda was in January. At the meeting, board members did not vote to let the school still submit its application.

Richard Tatham, who is the charter school’s representative on file for the state, said he didn’t think there would be “too much of a problem” convincing the state board to allow the submission past deadline. Tatham also pastors the Stonebridge Christian Fellowship Church, which is located on the same property as the school off Jamaica Boulevard.

“We feel God is involved in the overall,” Tatham said. “And that some good things can happen.”…

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Horizons K-8 Charter School

HORIZONS CHARTER FOUNDER FACING THEFT, EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES; November 13, 2007; DailyCamera.com (Boulder, CO) 

A founder of Boulder's Horizons K-8 Charter School has been arrested on suspicion of theft, forgery and embezzlement based on alleged misrepresentations made to the state's retirement program.

Ann Leslie Kane turned herself in and was arrested Friday. She has bonded out of jail.

Boulder Valley spokesman Briggs Gamblin said Horizon's parent board brought financial concerns to the school district a couple of years ago. The district commissioned an independent audit, which uncovered red flags, he said, and the information was turned over to the Boulder County District Attorney's Office in late 2005…

The possible charges, all felonies,are one count of theft, one count of attempting to influence a public servant, two counts of forgery and one count of embezzlement of public property. All charges relate to allegations that Kane misrepresented her salary, which would allow her to collect more retirement money through the Public Employees Retirement Association, according to a school statement…

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Stone Creek Elementary

SCHOOL FOUNDER ARRESTED FOR THEFT; July 19, 2007; Vail Daily 

AVON — As Stone Creek Elementary opened its doors to Eagle County kids last fall, its founder was stealing money from the struggling charter school checking account, Avon police say.

Bill Hammer was arrested Thursday in Jefferson County, accused of stealing $68,539 from Stone Creek to help his two failing businesses and to pay off a lawsuit to the Vail Resorts Development Corporation, police say.

Police had issued an arrest warrant, but couldn’t find him locally. Soon after the news broke on the Vail Daily’s Web site, a reader called police with a tip on his whereabouts. Avon police then called the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, who found him in Evergreen.

The theft is a class three felony and could put Hammer in prison for four to 12 years if convicted. His bond is set at $75,000, and he’ll be given a court date to appear in Eagle County.

The news is upsetting — but not necessarily shocking — to the people still running Stone Creek. Earlier this year, the school board disclosed a series of financial problems that had gone unchecked since the school opened and put the school behind in bills. Expenses outpaced the money coming in, and the school board was soon looking a giant debt in the eye…

Police were approached by newly elected members of the Stone Creek Board of Directors in February who were concerned about discrepancies they discovered in the school’s financial records.

Treasurer Kevin Randel said he and other board members weren’t prepared for the mess they found in the books. The records were scattered, incomplete and didn’t quite add up.

They also found a slew of unaccounted for funds — checks written without matching receipts or invoices adding up to more than $68,000…

Checks written directly from Stone Creek’s account were found deposited in Hammer’s personal business accounts for Noel, a Christmas shop in Beaver Creek, and the Oregon Country Tree Farm, a business in Oregon, Arnold said.

Both those businesses were failing, Arnold said. “The books showed he had $182,000 in losses in his businesses. He was losing money in both.”

Hammer was also behind on rent at his shop in Beaver Creek, and Vail Resorts Development Corporation sued him. Hammer paid them off, but with Stone Creek money, Arnold said.

“He wrote a check to Wells Fargo, then they made it a cashier’s check, and when he paid off Vail Resorts, they never knew where the money was coming from,” Arnold said. “The school didn’t realize where the money went because the check was made to Wells Fargo.” …

The school overestimated its enrollment numbers, which means it received more state funding per student than it should have, according to Randy DeHoff, executive director for the Colorado Charter School Institute.

At first, Stone Creek received money for 250 kids, while only 151 were actually enrolled. Stone Creek was denied state funding for December and had its funding severely cut through May to make up the money…

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Jefferson Academy

JEFFERSON CHARTER SCHOOL MUST MEET CONDITIONS TO STAY OPEN; March 30, 2001; Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

A Jefferson County charter school must clean up its books, replace most of its governing board and notify parents of students' rights if it wants to remain open.

Those are among the conditions imposed on Jefferson Academy, a K-12 charter school in Broomfield serving 650 students, by the Jefferson County school board late Wednesday after a nearly five-hour hearing…

… Arrington and Mund, who served on the board during the past two years, are among four of seven Academy board members who would have to be replaced under the conditions imposed.

Reactions of Academy parents and staff to the school board's decision varied widely, Reynolds said. Some want to accept the conditions while others want ``to fight it to the death,'' he said.

The Academy could appeal the Jeffco board's decision to the state Board of Education.

Jeffco's board took its action after district officials and an independent auditor found evidence of sloppy accounting practices, conflict of interests by board members, improper disciplining of students and the espousing of Christian views by the school.

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P.S. 1 Charter School

P.S. 1 DIDN'T MAKE THE GRADE, BUT CAN ANYTHING REPLACE DENVER'S LONGEST-RUNNING CHARTER SCHOOL? January 14, 2010; Westword News (Denver, CO) 

…Founded in 1995, P.S. 1 serves 237 middle- or high-school students who have struggled elsewhere — academically, socially or both. One out of ten was pushed out of his or her old school, while one in seven dropped out. One out of every five kids at P.S. 1 has a history of repeated school suspensions, and one in three is involved with the courts. The academic challenges are just as daunting: 25 percent of students qualify for special education, and 75 percent are behind in reading and math.

"One hundred percent of our population comes because another school hasn't worked for them," says P.S. 1 principal Laura Laffoon.

But P.S. 1 hasn't worked, either, at least according to Denver Public Schools. In late November, the DPS board voted to shutter the school, where test scores have been dismal for years. The decision, which will take effect in the summer of 2011, was part of an effort to turn around low-performing schools; DPS is also closing other schools, including Skyland Community High School, another struggling charter serving at-risk kids. And it marks the first time DPS has rescinded a charter because of poor academic performance, a move experts say is important if the state wants a shot at winning millions of dollars in Obama-administration grants set aside for school reform…

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