The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Let our school get funded’
Danbury, Middletown charter school advocates rally in Hartford
HARTFORD — Chanting “My child. My choice,” more than 100 advocates for proposed charter schools in Danbury and Middletown gathered at the state capitol and called on state lawmakers to fund schools whose applications have been approved in those communities.
The long-planned Danbury Charter School, intended to serve 770 students in grades 6-12, was approved by the state in 2018, but since then lawmakers have repeatedly denied state funding to allow the school to open.
Jose Lucas Pimentel, CEO for Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity, said the purpose of the rally is to let state leaders know “that our voices matter. That we matter. That we’re no longer going to sit by and be ignored.
“Our school has been approved since 2018. It’s 2024. Enough is enough. We demand that our leadership let our school get funded. We are asking for the rule of law to be respected…. I never in a million years imagined I would have to be doing this for something that is a right of everyone. It is our God given right to have a good education for our child and no one should take that away from us,” Pimentel said.
The proposed Capital Preparatory Charter School in Middletown received state approval a year ago. The school, if it opens, would eventually serve students in kindergarten through second grade and grades 6-12. The applicants behind the proposal have described it as a social justice-oriented school. As has been the case for the Danbury Charter School, state lawmakers denied funding for that school as well.
Anita Ford Saunders, a founding member of Capital Preparatory Charter School, described a two-and-a-half year fight to get the school open
in Middletown. The charter school was unanimously approved by the State Board of Education, she said. But the funding was pulled in the “11th hour,” she said.
“The state Board of Education is the people who are supposed to say, ‘Is this a go or not?’ But at the 11th hour literally, just a couple of people moved some chess pieces on the board, changed the game and took some money out of the budget. We asked why. They didn’t give us a why ... They go down the hall. They say, ‘Sure we’re going to get you an appointment.’ And we don’t get an appointment,” Ford Saunders said.
Leaders and supporters from Parents for Excellent Schools, The Brazilian Community Center of Connecticut, the Dominican American Coalition of Connecticut, and Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity in Danbury or LEAD were among those who gathered.
They were joined by state Rep. Rachel Chaleski, R-Danbury, who formerly chaired the Danbury Board of Education and is a longtime supporter of the school. She introduced a bill this session in favor of funding the charter school.
Chaleski said the fight in opening a small charter school in Danbury has left the community “divided and bruised and yet here we are, here we are, still fighting to make a difference in the lives of our young people because they are worth it, yeah? Yes. I’m sure we all heard the same myths and misconceptions by the opposition multiple times. As if repeating them over and over somehow makes them true.
“But these are the facts, first and foremost, charter
schools are public schools period. They are public schools,” Chaleski said. “... Charters have been part of the state’s educational landscape for decades, permitted in only the lowest performing districts with the goal of raising student achievement, to achieve that goal a charter is granted autonomy in exchange for heightened accountability. Not no accountability, heightened accountability. Not less accountability, heightened, increased accountability.”
Advocates say the proposal has received support from families. However, many local lawmakers who oppose the school say the Danbury Public Schools district itself has been underfunded and needs more support, particularly from the city.
Chaleski said blaming city leaders for a lack of funds “is a poor excuse while the city has provided more than its local share to make up for the fact that the state has chronically underfunded our public schools. Further, no amount of funding to the district is going to solve the issue of a student who just needs something different.”
Advocates cited current Danbury student enrollment data, noting that Latino students now make up more than 60 percent of the district’s overall population, calling it the fastest growing demographic in the school district. Those advocates say the city’s growing population of students identified as English language learners face inequities. They cited state data, which shows that close to 50 percent of high school students who are identified as English language learners do not finish high school within four years.
“We are asking the state legislature to allo
cate $1.3 million for the Danbury International Academy Charter School. Nearly 100 parents voiced their concerns at the appropriations hearing on Feb. 15, calling for the funding of the Danbury Charter School. Join us as we demand an end to the legislative barriers that deny our children the quality education they deserve. This rally is not only a call for funding but a demand for dignity, respect, and the right to educational opportunities free from racial and socioeconomic discrimination,” said advocates said in a statement.
Proponents of the Danbury Charter School say the proposed school would help alleviate overcrowding issues, particularly at Danbury High School — the state’s largest high school — and provide families with more school options. They said that many students, if given the opportunity, would thrive in a smaller learning environment.
Opponents say the district’s ongoing initiative to open a new middle school and high school campus on the city’s west side will provide additional space to alleviate the current overcrowding issues. The new campus, slated to open in the fall of 2025, comes with the school district reshaping its entire high school programming into a new Career Academy model.