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New requirement reveals struggles inside some Hillsborough charter schools

 
Published Oct. 16, 2014

TAMPA — Half the faculty at New Springs Elementary School are first-year teachers.

Not a single student tested proficient in math at King's Kids Academy of Health Sciences.

At Community Charter School of Excellence, a quarter of third-graders could not advance to fourth grade last year. The year before, it was closer to one-third.

"The numbers don't lie. They show us that the school is sick and it needs help," Community's new principal, Matthew Torano, said.

One by one, three charter schools laid bare their troubles and plans for improvement Wednesday before the Hillsborough County School Board.

State law requires a district to act if a school has two consecutive D grades followed by an F, which can mean closing or taking over the school. The district's charter office already works with the troubled schools to help them improve.

But because of a change in state law, a charter now must take the additional step of meeting with its sponsor — the School Board.

Wednesday's workshop, therefore, provided a rare public glimpse at the eclectic nature of these tax-supported, yet privately run institutions.

"Our students are learning and making gains," said Yunus Aksu, new principal at New Springs, a D school with 220 students.

But only 7 percent were proficient in writing this year, based on results from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. New Springs also faced behavior problems, especially in the fourth grade. "That was one of our weaknesses last year," he said. "There were extreme problems like every first-year teacher will have."

Hillsborough has 47 charter schools serving about 7 percent of the student population. Their markets vary widely, as does their performance. And their role, according to the state, is to be different from traditional public schools: to innovate.

Though some resemble any public school, others specialize with themes such as the environment, online learning or learning disabilities.

The schools discussed Wednesday all have large numbers of low-income students.

But that shouldn't matter, board member Candy Olson said. "Many of our traditional schools that have the same population you do have C's and B's," she told Aksu.

F-rated Community Charter opened in 2008 with a focus on visual arts. Board member Susan Valdes liked the concept. "I have a son that's an artist, and they're unique," she said.

But the school had problems with governance, finances and its management company.

Students often moved from a Level 1 on the FCAT to a Level 2, but not a passing score of Level 3, Torano said. "Teaching was the culprit. They just weren't taught at the level rigorous enough to get proficiency."

Math scores were "abysmally low," and when administrators showed teachers a tougher curriculum, they asked, "How are we supposed to get there?"

Board member Doretha Edgecomb questioned the administrators about the sales pitches they make to parents, seeking to find out why families keep their kids in schools with D and F grades.

Their answers spoke to a reality seldom revealed in the data: Some students and parents feel more comfortable in a smaller, more personal setting.

King's Kids, with an F, does not give kids their report cards, principal Maria Stroud said. "Our parents have to come into conference to get the report card," she said. "We also meet with parents monthly. We host parent homework workshops."

All parents have her cellphone number, she said. Her daughter goes to the school. "We are a family. We reinforce that family environment for our students and we have an open-door policy that our parents are welcome."

Despite his school's F, Torano said students benefit from a home-grown character development program. "Parents will tell us, 'My kid is totally different than he was two years ago,' " he said.

All three administrators described remedial steps that will place them more in line with district-run schools. These include Saturday and summer sessions, and walk-through inspections by the principals.

And they're taking greater advantage of curriculum and teacher training from the district. "We're trying to reforge our relationship with the district and reforge our relationship with the parents," Torano said.

Contact Marlene Sokol at msokol@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3356. Follow @marlenesokol.