Last week, the Scholar Academies charter network announced that it would be pulling out of a Philadelphia elementary school that it had been operating since 2013:
At an emergency meeting, Scholar Academies informed parents Wednesday afternoon that it is planning to cease control of operations at Kenderton elementary at the end of the school year due to fiscal constraints.
The charter management organization had taken over the North Philadelphia school in 2013 through the Renaissance process, signing a contract that lasts through 2018.
During a 90 minute meeting with CEO Lars Beck, parents were livid.
They deserved to be livid. And no, not all charters are guilty of this kind of practice But it happens far too often. The explanation?
"Kenderton is facing significant financial challenges due to a number of factors including the school's rising special education costs. As a result, Scholar Academies has concluded that, next school year, it is no longer able to manage the school in the best interest of kids," said CEO Lars Beck in an emailed statement. "We shared with our staff and the School Advisory Council today that we are working on a plan for the school's future that is in the best interest of the students, and also of the families, staff and extended school community."
This is the all-too-common charter school life cycle—or at least one version of it.
- Stage 1: Prospective charter operator proposes new school(s), promises to educate more efficiently and more effectively than traditional public schools. "Trust us," they say.
- Stage 2: Operator says, "Wow, it's expensive and challenging to provide appropriate special education services" (i.e., faces the reality of the actual costs and demands of running a complex school).
- Stage 3: "Oops. We out."
Every community deserves to have a school for its children that doesn’t “go out of business” when the profit margin becomes too narrow.
A version of this diary appeared on justicecrusadeblog.com.