9 Renaissance Schools, 5 Promise Academies announced
by Dale Mezzacappa on Mar 30 2010
Moving on a lightning-fast timeline, the School District plans to turn over nine low-performing schools to outside managers in September – the majority probably as charter schools – while trying to jump-start educational improvement at another five under a model overseen by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.
The District announced that all 14 schools designated as Renaissance Eligible will go through some kind of turnaround process this year. Officials had said that some might be able to avoid it if a February school review process found progress. In a press release, the District described Renaissance Schools as "a major reform program created to turn around low-performing schools" that "is a key component of the District’s five-year strategic plan, Imagine 2014."
The decision means that the entire faculty of the 14 schools will be force transferred and if they want to stay on, will have to reapply for their jobs. Under the union contract, at Renaissance Schools that continue to operate within the District, including Ackerman’s Promise Academies and so-called “Innovation” schools, no