To save her school from closure, the principal of a large Bronx high school took a drastic step and applied to become a charter school. But her application, along with nearly a dozen others, was rejected by the state today.
New York State’s Education Department announced today that of the 24 New York City charter school applications it received earlier this month, 12 schools have been green-lighted for the next step of the approval process.
Christopher Columbus High School, which applied to become a conversion charter, is not among them. Columbus is one of nearly two dozen low-performing schools selected to be “turned around” with federal money, meaning that in the next year it will be closed and replaced by a new school or it will lose half its staff and its principal.
A Columbus teacher who helped write the application said she was disappointed and felt the school’s application had been strong.
“We had hoped we could really focus on positive things this year,” said Christine Rowland. “We were looking forward to making plans, moving forward, having it be a positive start to the year. It makes that more difficult.”
The state also rejected applications from four Arrow Academy schools that might have tested the state’s new law barring for-profit charter school managers from running schools.
SUNY’s Charter School Institute has also seen its list of pending applications shorten as schools have withdrawn their applications. Superintendent of District 79 schools, Cami Anderson, applied to open three charter schools in 2011 for kids at-risk of not graduating. Anderson has withdrawn all of the applications, but intends to reapply in January, said Jonas Chartock, executive director of SUNY’s Charter School Institute.
Active applications for New York City:
State Education Department applicants:
- Bronx Charter School for Health and Wellness (Bronx)
- Democracy Preparatory 3 (Manhattan)
- Dr. Muriel Petioni Charter School for Scholarship, Health, and Leadership (Manhattan)
- The Joint Services Military and Maritime Charter High School (9-12; Brooklyn)
- Lamad Academy Charter School (Brooklyn)
- Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School (Brooklyn)
- Mott Hall Charter School (Bronx)
- Neighborhood Charter School of Harlem (Manhattan)
- New York Academy for Student Success Charter School (9-12; Brooklyn)
- New York City Montessori Charter School (Bronx)
- New York Flex Charter School (9-12; Manhattan)
- Urban Dove Charter School (Brooklyn)
SUNY applicants:
- Bronx Success Academy Charter School 3 (K-5; Bronx)
- Success Academy Charter School (K-5; Manhattan)
- Previously announced applicants:
- Broome Academy Charter High School (9-12; Manhattan)
- Our World Neighborhood Charter School II (K-5; Queens)
- Heketi Community Charter School (K-5; Bronx)
- New Visions Charter High School for the Humanities (9-12; Bronx)
- New Visions Charter High School for Science and Math (9-12; Bronx)
- KED Manhattan Charter School (6-8; Manhattan)