Thursday, October 17, 2013

Spirit of Knowledge before the Board of Ed next week

Spirit of Knowledge Charter School, Worcester's most recently opened charter, is back before the Board of Ed next Tuesday. The school has been on probation since the spring due to lower than projected enrollment, low MCAS scores, and concerns about financial stability.
The closest parallel to this the state has seen thus far is probably Gloucester Community Arts Charter, where the state voted to revoke the charter effective the end of this past school year, but the trustees of the school closed it in January; since its closure, State Auditor Suzanne Bump has issued a report critical of the fiscal management there.
Generally, no one wants to close a school mid-year due to the utter turmoil it wrecks with (particularly) the students, not to mention the school district receiving them. That doesn't mean that it doesn't, or can't, happen.
While long-term a closure would be a good thing, both for the school and for the district--note that Moody's last week reported that charter schools pose the greatest credit threat to economically weak urban area school districts--short term, it is not a happy thing for anyone.
And while I hate to say I told you so...we did.


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