Three state charter schools given tighter leashes

HARTFORD — Four southwestern charter schools were granted charter extensions on Thursday, but only one for the maximum five-year period.

The message for the other three — which were put on probation — was that good student results don’t trump following state rules.

“The outcomes are great,” Robert Trefry, a ex-officio member of the state Board of Education told charter school operator Dacia Toll. “But you are not a private school ... You are a public school that is getting public money. There are the rules that everyone else has to follow.”

Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona concurred, saying despite impressive student achievement, charter school operators need to work with his department to correct deficiencies.

“We want to support you,” Cardona said.

The action comes as the state Board of Education continues efforts to get the state-funded schools that run independent of local school board control to be innovative yet live by state rules. Several of state’s 20 charter schools have been put on probation in recent years.

The meeting room for Thursday’s board meeting held in Hartford was packed and more than 30 people, including parents, spoke on behalf of the charter approvals.

The Stamford Charter School for Excellence, which opened in 2015 and pulls high test scores, was granted a five-year renewal extending it to June 2025. It did not yet get what some parents want however, which was permission to expand from a school that ends at fifth grade to one that goes through eighth grade.

Achievement First Bridgeport, which also had high marks on the state’s last school accountability index, was placed on probation and given a two-year renewal. It continues to have problems with teacher certification requirements, providing required bilingual services to students within the school day and suspending students at a higher rate than the state average.

Amistad Academy and Elm City College Prep, both New Haven charter schools, and like Achievement First part of the Achievement

First network of charter schools, also got probation and two-year renewals for the same three reasons: teacher certification, student suspensions and bilingual services.

Amistad Academy, one of the state’s oldest charter schools, opening in 1999, has also weathered other issues including having a principal who resigned in 2019 after a video surfaced of him accosting a student. And this month, students at the school dispute the school’s new lower suspension rates, according to a report in the New Haven Independent. Students told the school’s oversight board last week that the school is recording some suspensions as absences.

Toll, a founder of Amistad, said it was something the school will aggressively look into and take appropriate action if necessary.

“I would say generally I feel good about our data integrity,” she told the state board.

Deputy Commissioner of Education Desi Nesmith said while Amistad is making an effort to improve, its issues have existed for several years. He called the probation and two-year extension fair.

He said when some teachers leave Achievement First schools not having completed the required new teacher mentorship programs, it puts an unnecessary burden on other districts.

“We have numerous examples of that,” Nesmith said.

Board member Erin D. Benham asked what happens if the school continues to be non-compliant.

“We will cross that bridge when we get to it,” Nesmith responded. “I have to believe the next time we are sitting here, they will be compliant.”