Two startup charter schools looking to open on Oahu will have to wait two more weeks to learn their fates; a third appears headed for rejection.
A committee for the state agency that regulates public charter schools voted Thursday in favor of a recommendation to deny one school’s application but could not agree on whether to advance two others. The full Public Charter School Commission, which has a statutory mission “to authorize high-quality public charter schools throughout the state,” is scheduled to make a final decision on the three applications at its meeting next month.
An evaluation panel consisting of commission staff and volunteer experts had deemed all three of this year’s applications insufficient and recommended they be denied. The commission’s Applications Committee took up the recommendations Thursday during a public hearing, where the applicants answered questions and testified in support of their proposals.
The evaluation panel said the applicants failed to meet benchmarks in one or more of the following core areas: academic, financial, organizational and evidence of capacity.
The committee voted to accept the recommendation to deny North Shore Charter School’s proposal to open a Haleiwa campus to serve students in grades 7 and 8.
The evaluators’ report said the application did not meet the standards in any of the four areas. “The application lacked clear, detailed, comprehensive responses in key areas throughout the entire application,” the report said.
The school’s supporters said they plan to use the feedback to improve their application and try again next year.
The applications committee could not reach consensus on the other two applications: IMAG Academy, which has unsuccessfully applied to the commission three times to open a Waipahu school, and DreamHouse Ewa Beach, which unsuccessfully applied last year.
The evaluation team said IMAG Academy’s academic plan met the benchmarks, but its financial plan, organizational plan and evidence of capacity did not. “The
academic plan meets the standard since it is well-researched, grounded in best practices and provides a comprehensive framework for rigorous, high-quality instructional design that is aligned to academic standards,” the report said.
But, it added, “opening and maintaining a successful, high-performing charter school depends on having a complete, coherent plan and identifying highly capable individuals to execute that plan. It is not an endeavor for which strengths in some areas can compensate for material weakness in others.”
Some commissioners expressed concerns about the school’s ability to handle simultaneously launching multiple grade levels. The school’s plans call for enrolling students in grades kindergarten and 1 as well as 6 through 9 in the first year, before eventually expanding to serve all grade levels.
“With an approval decision, you would allow us to really take the privilege of helping make a change in the Waipahu community,” Sheila Buyukacar, IMAG’s proposed school director, told commissioners. “We do not want to leave this wa‘a (canoe) in the dock any longer.”
Meanwhile the evaluation team said DreamHouse’s academic and organizational plans met the benchmarks but its financial and capacity plans were lacking. The evaluators praised the school’s academic plan, saying “the curriculum and academic program are thoughtfully designed with core educational competencies identified. Courses have clear outcomes that are tied to standards and the applicant’s mission and vision.”
But commissioners appeared worried about the school’s financial plan, which evaluators said relies too heavily on unsecured donations and grants during its first few years. The school plans to start out with students in grade 6, and add grades each year through high school.
School supporters said they were able to raise $100,000 in one month from families and friends.
“If we can show this commission that we have the capacity as individuals to raise funds, then surely this application — which is strong academically, organizationally — will appeal to the foundations we’ve been talking to for two or three years. Everyone’s been saying, ‘Get your charter and come back to us,’” said Zach DiIonno, a former teacher who serves on the proposed school’s governing board.
