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Friday, December 23, 2011

Charter schools group urges closure of four Sacramento-area campuses - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Charter schools group urges closure of four Sacramento-area campuses - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:


Charter schools group urges closure of four Sacramento-area campuses

dlambert@sacbee.com

PUBLISHED FRIDAY, DEC. 23, 2011


A list of 10 schools the California Charter Schools Association would like to see closed – including four in the Sacramento area – has caused an uproar within the charter school movement.

CCSA officials say closing low-performing schools demonstrates that charters are willing to be held accountable. The schools on the list do not meet the minimum criteria the organization has established for academic achievement, said Jed Wallace, president of CCSA.

"We thought it necessary for the well-being of the students attending the schools, as well as for the charter school movement," Wallace said of the recommendation.

But other charter school proponents say the association's criteria are flawed and that it is overstepping its authority.

"We already have laws on how this is supposed to work in California," said Eric Premack, president of the Charter School Development Center. "For a third-party group like CCSA to