New operator for proposed charter school
DANBURY — The head of a New Haven charter school has been selected as the new operator of the proposed Danbury charter school.
Subject to state approval, John Taylor and his charter management organization would run the Danbury charter school should it open.
“My vision for the Danbury charter school is that we provide families with a high-quality instruction and access to a vibrant learning environment where kids can maximize their potential,” said Taylor, who has served as the executive director of the Booker T. Washington Academy in New Haven since 2014.
He was announced Monday morning by the Danbury Charter School Planning Team, which opted to drop Brooklyn-based Prospect Charter School in favor of a Connecticut-based operator that could better push for the state funding the school has waited on since 2018.
Taylor was selected after a “wide-reaching and careful search” that included touring his charter school in New Haven, said Stephen Tracy, chairman of the Danbury Charter School Planning Team.
“I’m very confident in the strength and the commitment that he’s going to bring to Danbury,” he said. “I like his spirit. I like the climate that we saw in his school.”
The group is pushing the governor to include the charter school in his budget for next fiscal year.
“We’re working hard to get in there,” said Tracy, a former public schools superintendent.
Mayor Dean Esposito said he was pleased that Taylor has been brought on board.
“I commend the Danbury Charter School Planning Team on their selection of John Taylor as the managing partner,” he said in a statement. “John's experience and record of success make him a perfect fit for the prospective Danbury Charter School. I look forward to working with him, and I am strongly advocating approval by the Connecticut Department of Education.”
There appears to be no hard feelings between Prospect and local officials.
“We are thrilled for the students of Danbury,” a Prospect spokesperson said in a statement. “Under the guidance of the Danbury Charter School's new operator, we hope Danbury will soon be able to join other Connecticut cities and open its first-ever charter school, bringing much needed and deserved choice to the families of Danbury.”
School operations
Danbury’s legislative delegation, the teachers’ union and others have opposed the school, preventing the state funding from being approved.
The mayor and many in the Latino community support the school, in addition to the parents on the planning team who successfully sought state Board of Education approval for a charter school to open in Danbury. They argue the school will provide families with choice on where to send their children and help address overcrowding in the public schools.
“I’m a huge advocate for parent choice,” Taylor said. “Any time you can provide a parent with a variety of choices determining what’s the best fit school, best fit type of education for their child, that’s a value add, and that’s something that’s currently limited in Danbury.”
Taylor’s plans for the school are similar to what Prospect envisioned. The school would still serve 770 students in sixth through 12 grade, with 110 students in each grade. The school would open first to 110 sixth graders and add a grade in subsequent years. Students would be accepted into the school based on a lottery system.
The school would be built with help from a philanthropist’s $25 million donation on a property downtown at the corner of Main and Rose streets.
“We’re confident that there won’t be a ton of changes to what was originally designed,” Taylor said.
Taylor and the planning team are reviewing whether the school would offer an International Baccalaureate diploma, as Prospect envisioned.
Tracy said the planning team likes the International Baccalaureate curriculum.
“But we also want to make sure that whatever we do can be fully successful and supported by John’s organization,” he said. “We’re opened minded. We’re really interested to hear the extent to which John and his team can support it.”
The planning team considered how the new operator would represent Danbury’s diverse student population, said Jose Lucas Pimentel, a member of the planning team and head of Latinos for Educational Advocacy in Diversity, which has advocated heavily for the charter school.
“Some of the things we wanted to make sure is we have a very diverse school, so one of our major priorities is to ensure the school’s student population mirrors Danbury, so its very diverse,” he said.
He said he was impressed with the “great success” Taylor’s New Haven school has had in supporting English learners.
Those opposed to the charter school have said they’re worried it would take resources away from Danbury Public Schools.
“It’s not a freebie to the city,” said State Rep. Ken Gucker, D-Danbury.
Public schools are obligated to provide special education and transportation services to students. However, special education students may still attend the charter school, while busing costs would be worked out, Tracy said.
“We would work in collaboration with Danbury Public Schools and the superintendent to figure out how that happens,” he said.
What’s next
The state Department of Education and state Board of Education must approve Taylor as the new operator because the board previously approved Prospect specifically. Any curricular changes would need to be approved, too.
If the state approves the new operator, the planning team would sign a contract with Taylor’s organization that would specify financial arrangements, Tracy said. A name would be selected for the school, too.
State funding would cover the school’s budget, which would include the cost to run the school and hire Taylor’s organization as the operator. The planning team would become the Board of Trustees over the school.
Taylor, who led charter schools in Albany, N.Y. prior to coming to New Haven, is creating a charter management organization that would run the Danbury school and Booker T. Washington Academy in New Haven, he said. He plans to restructure leadership at Booker so that he’s no longer executive director, but the school would enter into a contractual agreement with his organization.
He holds an executive leadership certificate in strategic design for charter schools from Harvard University, in addition to his bachelor’s degree in education and his master’s degree in educational leadership from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Taylor said he was attracted to Danbury because he saw the “passion” of the planning team. “This is a group of folks that I think we will work well together with, and (I’m) always excited about making a difference for more families,” he said.