Mass. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education OKs Worcester charter school
WORCESTER — Members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to award a charter to the Worcester Cultural Academy during a meeting Tuesday morning.
The 7-4 vote came after members of the board listened to public comment, during which speakers urged the board to either vote in favor or against awarding the charter.
“Our children, our families of Worcester Public Schools do deserve opportunities, and they should be open to everybody. And we do that,” said Superintendent Rachel H. Monárrez. “I'm disappointed that the Board of Education ruling went the way it did. It's disheartening.”
Monárrez was one of nearly 20 who spoke to the board Tuesday morning. Along with the superintendent, nearly the majority of speakers urged the board to vote the proposed school down.
She said that it felt “very dismissive” for the board to continue forward with the board approving the charter, despite such heavy pushback from the community, and city and state elected officials.
This included Mayor Joseph M. Petty, school committee members Tracy O’Connell Novick, Sue Mailman and Jermoh Kamara, as well as state elected officials such as Rep. David LeBoeuf and state Sens. Michael Moore, Robyn Kennedy and Anne Gobi.
“It feels very dismissive to what the Worcester Community was sharing,” Monárrez said. “As if things are being done to the community, rather than being done with them.”
She pointed to Vice Chair Matt Hills’s comments towards the end of the meeting, when he said, “There are certain topics that are just treated as if they are existential crises,” including charter schools.
Hill was one of the seven “yes” votes among the board. His comments, Monárrez said, were also “dismissive” and “placating.
“It may not feel like a big deal to you and the fact that you don't think it's a big deal is troublesome to me because you represent the state on some really big issues,” she said. “But those are 350 of the children that I have promised to serve and that statement felt very dismissive.”
She also said that the board should consider looking into the charter school process overall.
"If indeed, their job is to uphold the law, isn't it also to advocate for things that are not working?” she asked. “And so if they know that the charter school process has trouble, because they did say that they had not approved quite a few charters, if they know that, what are they doing about it?”
What are the concerns?
Board members also heard from leaders of community organizations, the state and city’s educator’s unions and parents who all echoed concerns that have been raised in the past.
Concerns included nearly $7 million that would be taken from the Worcester Public School district’s budget; that the school would act as a revenue stream for Old Sturbridge Village; and that it would not provide anything new that the Worcester Public School district does not already offer to its students.
Ties to Diocese of Worcester
Mailman raised concerns over the school’s ties to the Diocese of Worcester, with which it has a lease agreement at 81 Plantation St., where the school would be located upon opening, and how that could impact things like sex education curriculum and treatment of LGBTQ+ students.
Concerns had been raised previously about the lease agreement and that it would not allow the school to teach material that is “inconsistent with the doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, '' in the building.
Louise Burrell, a parent from Worcester who said she was speaking on behalf of other parents, said she was concerned that the organization behind the proposed school has not had any contact with families in the district.
She also had concerns about how the budget drain would exacerbate increased class sizes and staffing shortages, and have a negative impact on vulnerable students, particularly those who are Black, Indigenous or other persons of color.
'Plan for the worst'
Monárrez said she doesn’t have the answers yet to how the drain to the budget will impact the public school system, but that they have to “plan for the worst.”
The superintendent also said that the district will do “everything possible” to meet the needs of the city’s children.
She said that they will not let the formation of the school “derail” the district’s future.
“We're going to use this as an opportunity to deepen our partnerships with our union, partners, with our families, with our community-based organizations and with our local legislators,” Monárrez.
Money missing for arts
Concerns over the charter school’s budget being too low were also raised during the meeting, a point that has come up previously, as well as things missing from the budget, such as money for things like the arts.
Marie Morse, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, said the arts were mentioned in the proposal several times, but missing from the actual budget.
Opportunities
The few who spoke in favor of the school included founding members of the proposed school, leadership from another charter school and a speaker from the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association who pointed to the educational model the school would adopt — similar to that at Old Sturbridge Academy.
Students at Worcester Cultural Academy would spend part of their classroom time at museums and other cultural institutions throughout the city, making the museum “their classroom too,” said Lisa DeTora, principal of Old Sturbridge Academy who urged the board to vote in favor.
Other speakers, including Stacey Luster, general counsel at Worcester State University and future board member at the recently approved charter school, also pointed to the opportunities it will bring to parents.
One such parent is Kiara Davis, a parent applicant who spoke with the Telegram & Gazette shortly after the board vote.
Davis said she was excited that the new school would mean her kids, and other families around the city, would have more opportunities to access a higher quality of education.
“I really love their connection and ties to the community, and their out-of-classroom learning experience,” she said. “In particular, we love Old Sturbridge Village and so when I learned that they were opening a school in Worcester I was just ecstatic.”
She said that, “as a minority,” she feels the school will be able to meet the diverse learning needs of her kids and that they will also receive important opportunities like learning multiple languages.
“What's really most important for me, being a low-income, single mother, is that this school will meet our needs,” Davis said. “It will meet us where we're at and it will really catapult my children in the future, which is just phenomenal.”
Reasons for votes
Following public comments, the board took their vote, with the four members who voted “no” sharing their reasoning behind their vote.
Student member Eric Plankey, said he was “uncomfortable” approving a school that would use public schools' funds to generate revenue for Old Sturbridge Village.
Another member, Mary Ann Stewart, said she was also voting “no” because of previous issues Worcester schools experienced with being underfunded in the past.
She also said that, in the past, she has supported charter schools in communities where the overwhelming majority wanted the school to open. But in the case of Worcester Cultural Academy, because of the many concerns and objections raised, she was convinced to vote “no.”
But for Pamela Boisvert, the incoming chair of the board at Worcester Cultural Academy, despite the pushback from people in Worcester, as well as some board members, she is confident that the school will be successful and families will recognize that.
“You're never surprised that there is going to be pushback. I mean, sometimes change is difficult to accept,” Boisvert said. “We were expecting, certainly, some opposition to this, this charter application…but we feel very comfortable with where we stand and we are very happy with our model.”
Boisvert said she was “very pleased” with the board’s decision to approve the charter and that it will be a “phenomenal” opportunity for parents when the school opens in fall.
When asked about the request for investigation launched by the Worcester School Committee Monday, Boisvert said she was “confident” that the group would be cleared of any accusations.
Boisvert also said that there has been “absolutely no issues” at Old Sturbridge Academy, where she has been involved for the last seven years, when asked about the request to launch an investigation into the financial agreements between the schools and the museum by the Worcester School Committee Monday.
“I know the due diligence that is taken. I know the credibility and the professionalism of the financial services department of Old Sturbridge Village,” Boisvert said. “I know the full firewalls that are in place, so I have absolutely no concerns about that particular issue.”
When it comes to the concern of public schools' funds being used to fund the private museum, Boisvert said that the schools are getting services from the museum that are used by the schools.
“We are getting services that we need as an educational institution. We are getting the services that we contracted for. We are actually also getting it at a very low rate,” she said. “We understand our fiduciary responsibility and we are getting the services that we need to very cost effectively operate an excellent school at Old Sturbridge Academy.”
She said they expect the same results at Worcester Cultural Academy, which is why they will go with the same educational management organization — Old Sturbridge Village — with “no qualms.”
Although the proposed school has also advertised that it would form partnerships with institutions like the EcoTarium, Worcester Arts Museum and, among others, the Hanover Theatre, no formal partnerships have been locked down yet, Boisvert said.
She said that the group has been in contact with the institutions, but that many were waiting for approval from the board before forming the partnership.
“We are thrilled that we are able to bring those institutions and their resources and their staff and their expertise to bear on the education of Worcester Public School students and to give the parents the option to educate their children in that manner,” Boisvert said. “We're looking forward to working with Worcester Public Schools as well, in terms of making this a very viable option for Worcester students.”
The school will open at 81 Plantation St. this fall starting with about 360 students in kindergarten through fourth grade, but will eventually add grades up to eighth in the future.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Mass. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) awards charter to the Worcester Cultural Academy
