SUNY looks for new operator to take over failing charter school | GothamSchools

SUNY looks for new operator to take over failing charter school | GothamSchools

SUNY looks for new operator to take over failing charter school

by Maura Walz

For the first time, SUNY officials are looking to turn around a struggling charter school with new leadership rather than shutting it down immediately for poor performance.
Rather than closing Harlem Day Charter School for its low test scores, the SUNY Charter School Institute is trying to find a new operator to replace the school’s board, administration and staff.
“The key element here is that really the only thing that would remain would be students,” said Jonas Chartock, the institute’s executive director. The idea is that the school’s 240 students would experience less disruption if their school was restructured rather than closed.
The call for applications that SUNY released today does not explicitly name Harlem Day. But that school’s charter is up for renewal this year and its enrollment numbers match those described in SUNY’s document. Harlem Day’s progress report grade this year ranked the school as the 11th poorest-performing elementary or

Remainders: Did you vote? Go vote! Polls close at 9

by Anna Phillips

• EdWeek will be posting schools-focused election updates all night. Follow them here.
• If Dems lose a lot of seats tonight, how will that affect major education initiatives? (Eduflack)
• Mike Petrilli says more Republicans will means less money and less federal reform. (Flypaper)
• Races in CT and CO are among those worth watching for education reasons. (Politics K-12)
• A voter discovered “wacky hand-lettering” in the public school where he voted today. (Twitter)
• One mother’s charter school tour in “Waiting for Superman” was filmed after her son lost the lottery. (NYT)
• A teacher says the city isn’t following the timeline it set in its new rubber room agreement. (Chaz)
• A project meant to hold students’ attention ends with a third of them failing. (GothamSchools)
• Suspensions are the go-to response, but they don’t seem to do students any good. (NYC Educator)
• The idea of community schools has become popular, but in Baltimore they haven’t worked. (CityPaper)
• A look at who might be on the union-side of D.C.’s next year in school reform. (EdWeek)