Melissa Bailey File Photo
The president of the teachers union sent a letter urging union teachers not to support a proposed Board of Education financial partnership with Achievement First (AF) charter on an experimental new school.
The union president, Dave Cicarella (pictured), a critic of the proposal, wrote and published the letter on the union’s website last week. It calls on teachers and district leaders to hold AF accountable for transfer policies that send students with behavioral problems into neighborhood schools mid-year.
AF CEO Dacia Toll said in an earlier interview that she hopes to get the school — Elm City Imagine — approved by the district before the lottery application process ends March 13. AF approved signing a three-year lease for a temporary school building at its January board meeting and held a informational session for parents.
Superintendent Garth Harries told the Independent earlier that the Board of Education had planned to vote on the proposal at the Feb. 9 full board meeting, but the vote has been postponed. “From my board’s perspective, it’s more important that we make the right decision,” he said.
Cicarella has been clear he thinks the “right decision” means leaving any partnership with AF behind.
“We remain at the center of the School Reform movement nationwide and charter schools are under fire. So they now want to attach themselves to us to gain acceptance and legitimacy,” Cicarella wrote in the letter.
“Instead, the NHFT, New Haven BOE, and NHPS should insist that Achievement First adopt all enrollment and transfer policies identical to those of the NHPS in all schools across their network so we can then review the student achievement data at the end of the next school year and succeeding years. This will provide hard data for our analysis and allow transparency for informed decisions.”
Click here to read the whole letter.
AF spokesperson Amanda Pinto sent a statement in response to the letter: “For years Achievement First has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, a positive and productive working relationship with New Haven Public Schools. AF schools participate in the district lottery, we have a joint principal training and residency program, and our staffs enjoy strong working relationships and a shared mission.
“Achievement First is committed to providing all children — regardless of race, economic status or ZIP code — with a high-quality education. That said, we’re committed to doing even more, and to further aligning our enrollment practices with NHPS. In fact, AF has supported changes to the enrollment policy for years, but we simply cannot make all these changes unilaterally. These changes require cooperation with NHPS and we applaud Superintendent Harries’ leadership to create more uniformity across the district. It’s the right policy for kids whether they go to traditional public schools or public charter schools.”
The school’s proponents say it will test new ideas for running schools better, while also addressing the mid-year transfer problem and helping the Board of Ed deal with overflows at some of its school. Click here for a story about a detailed presentation AF recently made to parents about the school.
For previous coverage:
•Charter Plans Detailed; Parents Weigh In
•Elm City Imagine Sparks Debate
•NHPS, AF Team Up On Experimental School
•Elm City Charter Eyed For Futuristic “Conversion”
Alex Johnson and Che Dawson are pro charter schools.They should not be voting on this.