Pennsylvania: Low-Performing Charter School Demands Charter Takeover of Elementary Schools in Entire School District
One charter school in the Chester-Upland district in Pennsylvania enrolls 60% of the district’s elementary schools. It is owned by one of the richest men in the state, a lawyer who was Republican Tom Corbett’s biggest campaign donor. That charter school, the Chester Community Charter School, has asked the county to turn all of the district’s elementary students over to charters.
CCCS is not just any charter. It has received special treatment, despite its poor performance.
More than 4,300 students in kindergarten through eighth grade are already enrolled in Chester Community Charter, which is managed by CSMI. The for-profit education management company was founded by Vahan Gureghian, a Gladwyne lawyer and major Republican donor. It manages another charter school in Atlantic City that was placed on probation by the New Jersey Department of Education this year. A third charter in Camden was previously closed due to poor academic performance.
In an earlier post, I described how CCCS made a deal in 2017 to win authorization until 2026, which is an CONTINUE READING: Pennsylvania: Low-Performing Charter School Demands Charter Takeover of Elementary Schools in Entire School District | Diane Ravitch's blog
