What happens when charter schools close? | NOLA.com

What happens when charter schools close? | NOLA.com:

What happens when charter schools close?

Published: Saturday, March 24, 2012, 9:57 AM     Updated: Saturday, March 24, 2012, 11:04 AM

 By Sarah Carr, The Times-Picayune 

Nearly four years ago, teenagers Lynntrell Westbrook and Damonika Stokes took a chance on an ambitious new charter school that promised a rigorous high school curriculum combined with regular community-service activities.

Michael Democker, Times-PicayuneStudents board buses to leave Sojourner Truth at the end of the school day Friday.

Leaders at Sojourner Truth Academy charter school visited their homes as part of a student recruiting drive in the summer of 2008 -- a personal touch that impressed the two girls.

"By the end of this conversation I was like, 'I want to go to this school,' " said Stokes, who started at Sojourner Truth as a freshman a few weeks later.

Now, as the final weeks of their senior year approach, the girls say the ambition and idealism that defined Sojourner Truth's founding have evaporated, at least partly because of a November decision to shut down at the end of this school year. The school's board of directors made the call because of persistently low test scores at the school. The Recovery School District, which oversees Sojourner Truth, had told the board it would not recommend renewing its charter. The school is located Uptown at 2437 Jena St. 

According to the accounts of three students, one of their parents and two staffers, nearly 20 staff members have left or been laid off since the summer, leaving several classrooms without qualified