Derrick Thomas Academy

“UMKC will not renew charter for Derrick Thomas Academy.” KCTV 5 (Kansas City, MO), 11/21/2012

Derrick Thomas Academy has lost its charter.

The University of Missouri at Kansas City announced it is pulling its charter because of the school's poor academic performance over the past decade.

UMKC officials said classes will resume without interruption on Monday.

"Hopefully parents and students will notice no change when they arrive at school on Monday," said Phyllis Chase, director of the UMKC Charter School Center. "After reviewing their data, the decision has been made that we will not renew their charter again."

UMKC says the charter school has struggled with governance, organizational and academic performance issues since it first opened its doors...

The school is not necessarily closing at the end of the school year, but the university will no longer work with the school.

Chase said UMKC has been patient, perhaps too patient, with issues at the school. She said yanking the charter was a tough decision...

Several teachers at Derrick Thomas Academy say they were excited about the board change and direction of the school. Some parents said there have been problems at the school all year long...

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“Will low test scores, shaky financial situation spell the end for Derrick Thomas Academy?” KHSB (MO), 7/16/2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new Missouri law requiring more accountability from charter schools takes effect in August, but is it already too late for a school bearing the name of one of Kansas City’s most beloved athletes?

A 41 Action News investigation found that low academic scores and poorly-managed money have created an uncertain future for Derrick Thomas Academy.

Because of large staff turnover, the charter school has been working to hire teachers and administrators over the summer, but remains unsure if the upcoming school year will be its last...

But the school built in number 58’s honor is on shaky ground, an uncertain future all captured in a letter obtained by 41 Action News.

Click here to read the entire letter

In early April, Jerry Cooper sent a strongly-worded warning to administrators and board leaders at DTA. Cooper is the director of the UMKC Charter School Center, which sponsors DTA.

Every charter school needs a sponsor to operate. Cooper says UMKC’s role is to hold schools academically and financially accountable, along with providing resources and consultation.

The letter delivered a harsh wakeup call to DTA. It said the school was meeting the criteria for being “financially stressed” by operating with a deficit of more than $600,000.

Cooper listed several violations of Missouri charter school laws, including breaking a contract with the DTA’s management company ( EdisonLearning ) without sponsor approval...

The letter also said the school was on academic probation for low state assessment results and was out of compliance with several federal and state special education requirements.

Cooper issued a final warning to DTA leaders, who had not provided requested documentation to UMKC, despite repeated inquiries...

But the letter from UMKC did not just get the attention of school administrators. Copies of the letter also circulated through the building to teachers and other staff members.

People panicked. A number of them decided to leave the school in pursuit of other jobs.

According to Cooper, up to 45 employees left the school, including the elementary and secondary principals...

According to DESE, four other Kansas City charter schools have closed over the past five years: Academy of Kansas City, Don Bosco Education Center, Renaissance Academy of Environmental Science and Math, and Urban Community Leadership Academy...

It is too early to tell how some of the turmoil will affect enrollment when the school year begins...

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Pennsylvania charter schools (re difficulty with oversight and closing schools)

“Closing a charter school is a long, costly process"; Allentown board expected to start process against Vitalistic this week.” The Morning Call, 4/22/2012   

...Charter school revocation hearings are costly, rare and time-consuming in Pennsylvania, which has 167 charter schools. Only eight charters have been revoked and those decisions were appealed to the state Charter School Appeal Board, state Department of Education records show...

While the law's directions for how a charter can open are precise, its oversight provisions are not. The law states school districts are to oversee a charter's academic and financial performance while the state oversees cyber charter schools.

The law does not explain how school districts or the state are supposed to conduct the oversight since school districts have no authority over charters' day-to-day operations or annual budgets. Nor does the law spell out how districts are supposed to force charters to correct problems they may find...

Even the state Department of Education has had trouble overseeing charters.

For example, the Philadelphia Daily News recently reported that cyber school Frontier Virtual Charter High School has a mountain of unpaid bills and laid off its principal and all its full-time teachers despite receiving $435,000 in tax money this school year. The state Department of Education, however, has had little luck getting Frontier's administrators to turn over records so the state can investigate, according to the newspaper...

The Legislature and state Department of Education have known since 2002 that oversight of charters was lacking. That year, research from Western Michigan University found some Pennsylvania districts make "compliance visits" while others visit for "ceremonial purposes." Researchers found oversight picks up when charters come up for renewal...

Charter oversight is also the responsibility of the state auditor general's office, which is having trouble conducting cyclical audits or special investigations to make sure tax money is spent appropriately in the state's charter schools.

"There's no doubt … it creates challenges for us," Auditor General Jack Wagner said.

That means there are few eyes on the $4 billion taxpayers have spent toward charter schools in the last decade. That total, according to Department of Education data, includes per pupil expenditures, salaries, building and rental costs, and grants...

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Triad Math and Science Academy

“Questions loom about group proposing Raleigh charter school.” Independent Weekly (NC), 1/25/2012,

An accomplished charter school in Greensboro is eyeing the former Exploris Middle School in Raleigh for a new campus that could open this fall. But parents have raised questions about the quality of some of its teachers, many of whom are from Turkey. Those Turkish ties have also led to speculation that Triad Math and Science Academy (TMSA) could be part of a larger network of schools affiliated with the Islamic Gülen movement, an allegation that school officials and supporters vehemently deny...

But parents and former employees have concerns they hope state decision makers and the school will address before the charter is approved. They include the school's use of international teachers and staff visiting on visas, some of whom lack the English skills to adequately teach their classes; and classroom management, particularly for some international faculty. And then there's what a former TMSA employee called the "elephant in the corner."

Several times since TMSA opened in 2008, parents and former employees have speculated that TMSA is linked to Fethullah Gülen, a controversial Islamic preacher whom religious scholars regard as promoting a moderate form of Islam...

Charter schools suspected of Gülen ties are cookie-cutter K–12 academies focused on math, science and engineering, founded by highly educated Turkish scientists and businessmen. Many of the founders have advanced degrees but often limited experience in education. In addition to being founded by Turkish nationals, the schools often spend thousands of dollars to sponsor H1B visas for international faculty and staff, mostly from Turkey.

TMSA fits the model. The board that founded the school in 2008 had five members, three from Turkey, according to their résumés. A fourth board member had a Turkish spouse, and was also the lone member of the board who had a background in education. The board now has seven members, the majority of them from Turkey, according to their résumés...

TMSA also has eight international teachers on visas, including five from Turkey. All together, TMSA has 10 Turkish or Turkish-American employees, of 57 total, including the principal and assistant principal. Since it opened, TMSA has sponsored 17 visas for teachers, at a cumulative cost of $25,500, Orak said. For the past two years, the school has had an annual operating budget of about $4 million, he said...

State Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, toured TMSA last week, and questioned Orak about the availability of local teachers. Since 2008, more than 2,100 public school teachers have been laid off and the state has eliminated more than 6,100 teaching jobs, including 187 in Guilford County.

"I have a neighbor whose wife is going to China to teach physics," Harrison said after the tour. "It seemed odd to me that you wouldn't be able to hire a qualified teacher to teach math and science when we have qualified math and science teachers here going abroad because they can't find a job."

Many international teachers who have arrived at TMSA have such poor English skills that they can't do their jobs effectively, parents said...

But despite the concerns of some community members, TMSA's administration has never held a meeting with parents or teachers to openly address the concerns, Orak said...

Even if the allegations are untrue, the school—at the very least—is facing a major public relations problem. [Joel] Medley, the state director of charter schools, said he visited the school last week and asked again about the issue. "I just asked if they were going to respond to the allegations," Medley said. "It's out there." School officials need to be more proactive in addressing it, he said.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, please read “Triad Math and Science Academy: Evidence of affiliation with Gulen Movement” @

http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/triad-math-and-science-academy.html

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Believe Southside Charter High School

“Williamsburg Charter School Officially Closed By Board Of Regents.” NY 1 News (NY), 3/20/2012

The Board of Regents officially decided to close Believe Southside Charter High School on Tuesday.

The State Department of Education announced in January it intended to revoke the charter of the school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn because of what it called "significant management and financial improprieties."...

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“With Controversial Leader Gone, Charter Makes Bid to Stay Alive.” SchoolBook, New York Times, 3/13/2012

The lawyer for a troubled Brooklyn charter school that the city’s Department of Education has flagged for closing made a forceful case at a hearing on Tuesday for keeping the school open.

The city announced in January that it planned to close the school, Williamsburg Charter High School. It had been placed on probation in September after an investigation by Eric T. Schneiderman, the state attorney general, raised questions about its management and finances.

The decision to revoke the school’s charter came less than a week after Williamburg Charter’s board of trustees voted to rehire the school’s controversial founder, Eddie Calderon-Melendez.

In a notice, Recy Dunn, the director of the city’s charter school office, wrote that Mr. Calderon-Melendez had run up the school’s debts while giving himself a hefty salary and consultant fees — $378,000 in 2010 — as well as $40,000 over two years in payroll advances...

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“Two More Believe Network Charters Are Put on Probation.” New York Times, SchoolBook blog (NY), 9/26/2011

Two Brooklyn charter high schools have been placed on probation by state education officials, putting them on a path that could lead to their being closed.

The two schools, Believe Northside Charter High School and Believe Southside Charter High School, which opened in 2009, are both managed by the Believe High School Network.

A third high school operated by the network, Williamsburg Charter, which opened in 2004, was placed on probation on Sept. 16 by city education officials.

All three schools, which were founded by Edward Calderon-Melendez, the network’s chief executive, have been under investigation by the office of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York for several months because of questions about their financial management. They face possible closing if they do not follow the city and state’s recommendations in the next year.

Cliff Chuang, director of the state’s charter school office, sent probation orders to Northside and Southside on Wednesday, charging that trustees at both schools had little knowledge of their own finances and appeared to have surrendered financial and operational control to the Believe network, which has left both schools in debt and almost unable to act independently.

Believe has also kept city education officials in the dark and has not shown them its annual budget for the 2010-11 school year or its projections for 2011-12, according to the probation orders.

According to the state, although the Northside and Southside schools share a city-owned building in Williamsburg and do not pay rent, they are $161,779 and $117,213 in debt, respectively. Yet the probation orders state that when the chairwomen of the schools’ boards of trustees, Candace Cobo of Northside and Marcenia Johnson of Southside, spoke with state officials, both demonstrated an “alarming lack of familiarity” with the fiscal issues facing their schools, including the schools’ current financial conditions.

“Given the negative working capital position of the school, and a networkwide pattern of significant expense-side budget variances, the long-term viability of this school” remains in question, Mr. Chuang wrote in both schools’ probation orders.

A lawyer for the Believe network schools, Sharon McCarthy, said the schools would work to correct their mistakes.

“Everyone is disappointed this has happened, but we are making a concerted effort to work directly with the State Department of Education to address the issues raised in the probation reports,” Ms. McCarthy said. “I think this is fixable, and they’re committed to fixing it.”

Mr. Chuang’s notices charge the schools with overstating their enrollments, saying each billed the city for 300 students. Southside has an enrollment of 246 this year and Northside has 267.

In addition, both schools have violated state law by having fewer than five voting board members, according to the state. The skeletal boards that do exist have met only four times in the last year, and several of their members have conflicts of interest that they have not disclosed, according to the state.

Information on the Believe network’s Web site suggests that its schools’ board members are, in some cases, also network employees. Jonna Caramico, for example, is listed as both a special education consultant to Williamsburg Charter and a board member for Southside.

The probation notices also said both schools were open for 180 days last year, instead of the required 186.

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Believe Northside Charter High School

“Two More Believe Network Charters Are Put on Probation.” New York Times, SchoolBook blog (NY), 9/26/2011

Two Brooklyn charter high schools have been placed on probation by state education officials, putting them on a path that could lead to their being closed.

The two schools, Believe Northside Charter High School and Believe Southside Charter High School, which opened in 2009, are both managed by the Believe High School Network.

A third high school operated by the network, Williamsburg Charter, which opened in 2004, was placed on probation on Sept. 16 by city education officials.

All three schools, which were founded by Edward Calderon-Melendez, the network’s chief executive, have been under investigation by the office of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York for several months because of questions about their financial management. They face possible closing if they do not follow the city and state’s recommendations in the next year.

Cliff Chuang, director of the state’s charter school office, sent probation orders to Northside and Southside on Wednesday, charging that trustees at both schools had little knowledge of their own finances and appeared to have surrendered financial and operational control to the Believe network, which has left both schools in debt and almost unable to act independently.

Believe has also kept city education officials in the dark and has not shown them its annual budget for the 2010-11 school year or its projections for 2011-12, according to the probation orders.

According to the state, although the Northside and Southside schools share a city-owned building in Williamsburg and do not pay rent, they are $161,779 and $117,213 in debt, respectively. Yet the probation orders state that when the chairwomen of the schools’ boards of trustees, Candace Cobo of Northside and Marcenia Johnson of Southside, spoke with state officials, both demonstrated an “alarming lack of familiarity” with the fiscal issues facing their schools, including the schools’ current financial conditions.

“Given the negative working capital position of the school, and a networkwide pattern of significant expense-side budget variances, the long-term viability of this school” remains in question, Mr. Chuang wrote in both schools’ probation orders.

A lawyer for the Believe network schools, Sharon McCarthy, said the schools would work to correct their mistakes.

“Everyone is disappointed this has happened, but we are making a concerted effort to work directly with the State Department of Education to address the issues raised in the probation reports,” Ms. McCarthy said. “I think this is fixable, and they’re committed to fixing it.”

Mr. Chuang’s notices charge the schools with overstating their enrollments, saying each billed the city for 300 students. Southside has an enrollment of 246 this year and Northside has 267.

In addition, both schools have violated state law by having fewer than five voting board members, according to the state. The skeletal boards that do exist have met only four times in the last year, and several of their members have conflicts of interest that they have not disclosed, according to the state.

Information on the Believe network’s Web site suggests that its schools’ board members are, in some cases, also network employees. Jonna Caramico, for example, is listed as both a special education consultant to Williamsburg Charter and a board member for Southside.

The probation notices also said both schools were open for 180 days last year, instead of the required 186.

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Bridgewater Academy

“Behind the doors of Bridgewater Academy.” WMBF News (SC), 8/10/2011

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) A WMBF News investigation into salaries and expenses at public schools in Horry County has finally led to a charter school opening-up its books.

Bridgewater Academy, which gets more than $1 million of residents' tax dollars through Horry County Schools, failed to turn-over documents to WMBF News for months. On March 8, WMBF News sent a letter to Bridgewater's acting principal, Steve Wilson, requesting the documents. State law requires publicly-funded organizations to reply within 15 business days. But no one from the school responded until we let them know in late April that they were violating the law...

WMBF News informed the board they were not complying with South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act and again requested specific dollar amounts.

The board promised us they were working on it, but again after not getting the documents for weeks, we decided to show-up at one of their board meetings the night of July 20.

We asked Ms. Walters, who serves as the secretary on the board, if we could speak outside of their meeting during a break.

We pointed out that we were trying to find out how much Bridgewater spends on administrator and teacher salaries.

"And we've been slow in getting that to you because we've never been asked that question before. And we actually had to create those documents," Walters replied.

Walters mentioned that they have a small staff, which made the situation more difficult. But we pointed out that another charter school in Myrtle Beach, the Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success, had complied with the law and turned-over the information to us. They also have a small staff.

"I can't speak for them," Walters told us. "And I don't know how their staffing or their organization is. We did go through a little upheaval this year with the administrator [Craig Crawford] leaving and then temporarily filling it. And that was a challenge that maybe they didn't have to undergo."

The upheaval was still apparent at the board meeting WMBF News attended last month with teachers showing-up saying they still didn't have a contract and weren't sure where classes would be held this year...

The point throughout the WMBF News investigation has been for community members to know how schools in Horry County are spending tax payer money.

The law in South Carolina is clear. You have a right to know. All legal information can be found under the Freedom of Information Act guide: http://www.scpress.org/Documents/2011FOI.pdf

Jay Bender, an attorney in Columbia who's an expert on First Amendment cases, tells WMBF News that if Bridgewater's board members had never turned over the documents they could've been charged with a misdemeanor.

But, he says, unlike other criminal violations you can actually tell courts in South Carolina that you were unaware of the law and be found "not guilty."

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Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success

 “Horry County charter school board chairman turned down parent's records request.” The Sun News (SC), 6/11/2011

An Horry County charter school's board chairman declined to give the school's financial records to a parent, though the records are open to the public, according to state law.

Gail Baillargeon, parent of a fourth-grader at Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success charter school last year, said she was denied an opportunity to review the school's books when she requested a meeting with school financial officials to do so.

Bill Sammons, chairman of the school's board of directors, told Baillargeon in a letter that day-to-day financials of the school are not available for public review...

Bill Rogers, executive director of the S.C. Press Association, said the school's records are public.

Baillargeon said she twice requested in writing a time to meet with the school's financial committee to review financial records. The request was made at the school's Jan. 18 board meeting, as well as in an email sent to the board on the same day, according to copies she sent The Sun News.

She said in a telephone interview that she asked for a meeting because of concerns she had with financial management of the school.

Courtney Fancher, the school's principal and executive director, said she could not respond to an individual Freedom of Information Act request.

Baillargeon received a letter dated Jan. 26 from Sammons. In it, he said, "The day-to-day financials of Palmetto Academy are not available for public review; therefore, you will not be able to schedule a meeting with the Finance Committee to 'review the books' as you requested. One way that you may stay up-to-date on the PALS' financial happenings is by routinely attending Board meetings. Additionally, you may be reassured to learn that PALS uses an independent financial consulting firm, Kelley-Moser Consulting, for the management of all of the school's finances."

Rogers said the letter is "completely wrong." He said the school is a public entity and the financial records are open to the public.

Rogers said a written request to receive financial information does not have to say it is a FOIA request to be valid...

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New Roots Charter School

ITHACA CHARTER SCHOOL LEARNS COST OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH SUNSHINE LAWS - NEW ROOTS NOW WELL-VERSED IN FOIL; March 11, 2011; Ithaca Journal (NY) 

Two years ago Pat Ehrich knew virtually nothing about the state Freedom of Information Law and Open Meetings Law. But after nightly readings, research and a court case, she considers herself a bit more knowledgeable.

"I am not quite an expert, but I do understand how to write a FOIL, what agencies are required to provide, how long they have to provide it and what I can ask for," Ehrich said. "There is really a goldmine of information out there and once you read that, it is pretty simple."

Ehrich, co-founder of the Coalition for Sustainable Schools, said she was opposed to New Roots Charter School since it opened in fall 2009. She did not believe the school garnered as many students as was reported, Ehrich said, and she decided to get the data to prove it.

Her diligence and New Roots' initial unresponsiveness became an expensive lesson for the school. Over time, several requests were not delivered to Erich in the time required under FOIL and the cost of non-compliance became clear: a court ordered the school to attend training sessions conducted by the state Committee on Open Government and awarded Ehrich more than $20,000 in attorney's fees, she said.

"The message is it is very, very expensive to decide to violate FOIL if someone calls you out on it," Ehrich said. "I thought I had no other choice and I was right."

Ehrich's education on FOIL and open meetings law came from a variety of sources: the Committee on Open Government's website, Google searches on court cases, conversations with lawyers and opinions written by Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government.

In January 2010, Ehrich said, it became apparent to her that New Roots was not going to hand over information she believed she had a right to see under the law. Aware it would be expensive and she might not win the case, Ehrich filed a suit against the school in June…

Ehrich's case claimed the school did not grant proper access to public records and excluded the public from board meetings not permitted to be closed under the law.

Madison County Supreme Court Justice Donald Cerio ruled that New Roots did not respond to FOIL requests in a timely fashion. Under FOIL, a written request for a public record must be acknowledged within five business days. The school failed to respond to the seven written requests from Ehrich dated April 29 within that time limit, according to court documents.

In addition, Cerio ruled that the school's board of trustees did not fully comply with open meetings law with respect to an executive session in April. As a result, the board of New Roots and its executive staff attended training sessions conducted by Freeman last week. It was the first such session ordered by a court in the state, Freeman said…

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Lawsuit against the N.J Department of Education for withholding information

N.J. BEING SUED OVER CHARTER SCHOOL SECRECY; March 6, 2011: New Jersey Newsroom

Seeking a glimpse into the increasingly secretive world of New Jersey education, the American Civil Liberties Union has sued the state Department of Education seeking the names of "volunteers" who reviewed 50 applications for new charter schools.

The ACLU filed suit on behalf of the Newark-based Education Law Center, a frequent legal opponent of the department. The dispute not only raises issues about public access to government records, but the department's unusual move of adding unidentified third parties to its regulatory process.

The suit and supporting documents are posted on-line here: http://www.aclu-nj.org/downloads/ELCvDOE030411.pdf

In response to an Open Public Records Act request from David Sciarra, the center's executive director, the department in December released the names of its own employees involved in the Christie Administration's push to open more charter schools.

But the department refused to release the names of volunteers and its correspondence with them, materials used in their training or a list of proposed charter schools whose applications were "prioritized for immediate review," according to the suit filed in Superior Court in Mercer County.

The department cited an OPRA exemption for advisory, consultative or deliberative material, according to the suit. Sciarra then asked for the materials under the common law right of access. The department released the list of schools, as well as heavily edited versions of the e-mails, but not the other material.

By not paying the unidentified "volunteers," the department has a potential defense that they are not "employees" under OPRA. But the ACLU suit said the department assigned them "substantive work performed on behalf of the State of New Jersey."…

The fight over the charter approval process follows the revelation that a company founded in May by Christopher Cerf, now the acting state education commissioner, received $500,000 for a report proposing massive changes in Newark schools.

The company, Global Education Advisors, received the money from private donations raised by Newark Mayor Cory Booker, whose prize so far has been $100 million for city schools from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The company's sweeping plan to close some district schools and consolidate others with charter schools followed a Zuckerberg-financed $1 million public outreach campaign, where it was not mentioned…

Meanwhile, tax documents filed by the Newark Charter School Fund showed that it spent more on consultants and internal compensation in 2008-9 than it gave out in direct grants to schools…

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ACLU FILES LAWSUIT SEEKING NAMES OF VOLUNTEERS WHO REVIEWED NJ CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS, March 4, 2011; The Star-Ledger (NJ) 

TRENTON — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education today seeking the names of volunteers who reviewed 50 charter school applications and information about the training they received.

The ACLU is acting on behalf of the Education Law Center, a organization based in Newark that advocates for equal and adequate public education. The lawsuit was filed in Superior Court in Mercer County.

The lawsuit claims the department violated the Open Public Records Act by illegally withholding the identities of the unpaid volunteers, who help to determine which schools receive a charter and public funding.

Volunteers evaluate and score the applications, which outline plans for operating a semi-autonomous public school, according to the complaint.

In November, the law center filed a request for public information with the Department of Education seeking the names of those who reviewed the applications for charter schools hoping to open in September 2012.

The department provided the names of employees but redacted the names of volunteers and denied access to its training materials.

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Promise Charter School

“San Diego Unified Closes Charter School Amid Violations.” 10News (CA), 8/3/2011

SAN DIEGO -- About 200 students will have to find a new school before the new school year begins after the San Diego Unified School District voted on Tuesday to close the Promise Charter School in Chollas View.

The school district said the Promise Charter School mismanaged its money, failed to comply with its charter and violated several state laws including laws requiring the school to report instances of child abuse.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the 10News I-Team exposed several reports of inappropriate behavior between former teacher Jose Valencia and his preteen female students...

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“District Takes Step Toward Closing School.” Voice of San Diego 8 Jun 2011

The San Diego Unified school board narrowly decided Tuesday night to take the first step toward shuttering Promise, a Chollas View charter school where a district investigation found a long list of violations, from keeping faulty financial statements to running afoul of open meeting laws.

The K-8 school has been bitterly split into two camps of parents and teachers — those who back the principal and those that don't. But one message rang out from everyone Tuesday night: Don't close our school.

Even parents who backed a school district investigation that found Promise had violated state laws on conflicts of interest, failed to follow rules on student suspensions, and a long list of other problems, said they didn't want to dissolve it. Despite turmoil, Promise ranks in the top 10 percent among schools with similar challenges statewide...

Attorney Paul Minney said Promise would gladly pay for an outside mediator to bring parents and teachers together to work through disputes. But the school district concluded that Promise had still done too little to remedy the problems, blaming some on past leaders and simply denying others.

The school board voted 3-2 to send a letter to Promise that would trigger a hearing where the school could make a case for why it should stay open...

The controversial step toward closing Promise comes as San Diego Unified has reassessed its relationship with its charter schools, tightening its oversight and offering charters-in-the-making less help. Promise has been ground zero for its debates over charter freedom and accountability. Such shutdowns are rare: The last time a charter school was shuttered by San Diego Unified was five years ago, though others have dissolved on their own after being warned of problems...

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CHARTER SCHOOL SHUTS OUT INVESTIGATOR; March 3, 2011; Voice of San Diego (CA) 

…San Diego Unified has been investigating Promise Charter, where a group of parents and teachers say Principal Jose Orozco has intimidated parents who disagree with him on school decisions by barring them from campus and harassing their children. Orozco and his supporters have denied the allegations and stood behind his choices.

The school district launched an investigation into the concerns last month, interviewing parents and staff and poring through documents. In a letter to the charter school board, Moises Aguirre wrote that when he came to the school in February, Orozco demanded that he leave and escorted him out.

Aguirre, who helps oversee charter schools for San Diego Unified and is assisting the investigation, wrote that keeping him out of the school was a violation of state law and grounds to revoke the charter.

"This conduct obstructs the District's ability to meet its oversight obligations and will not be tolerated," Aguirre wrote…

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PARENTS DEMAND INVESTIGATIONS AT TWO CHARTER SCHOOLS; February 2, 2011; Voice of San Diego (CA) 

Parents and teachers at a small charter school in Chollas View are demanding that San Diego Unified launch an investigation of their school after the principal and new board members made a string of controversial decisions.

The Promise Charter School board changed dramatically last summer after some of its existing members, including the principal, voted to eject members and later added new ones.

Parents and teachers upset with the leaders allege that Principal Jose Orozco has intimidated parents who disagreed with him on everything from scheduling to staffing by barring them from campus and telling them to leave the school, and harassed their children by questioning them about their parents.

Fourth grade teacher Vicky Toscano said after one teacher was fired and others were told to reapply for their jobs, teachers have been afraid to question irregularities at the school, such as allegedly enrolling students who are too young for kindergarten. Teachers at the school have petitioned to form a union…

The same demands were made by teachers and parents from Tubman, another charter that has been in turmoil. Tubman teachers recently joined the San Diego teachers union and have fought the firing of a teacher, alleging she was discriminated against as a labor leader.

"Charter schools cannot be mini-dictatorships that exist on the dime of the public taxpayer," Barrera said. "And we need to make sure that we guard against that."

Charter board members are often chosen by other board members, not elected like a school district board. While some charters opt to have representatives who are chosen by the parents or teachers, voluntarily putting it into their own rules, it is not required by law. That means that charter boards can sometimes veer from what parents or staff want, and it can be hard to say who speaks for the school…

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