Most charter schools pass through the renewal process with ease, but for Opportunity Charter School, news that the city wants to give it a new lease on life is not something it took for granted.
Department of Education officials are recommending that the state renew Opportunity’s charter for three years, a time period it says will allow the school to produce several years of graduation data before its success comes in for more questioning. OCS had a rocky start and has since had a difficult time proving to the city and state that its students, especially its highest achieving ones, are making enough progress to earn renewal.
The school’s student body is roughly half general education students and half students with learning disabilities and it serves students with some of the lowest test scores in the city. Last year, I profiled theschool’s struggle to get off of probation.