Struggling Worcester charter school under review

WORCESTER — The Spirit of Knowledge Charter School, which was already on probation, will be the subject of discussion at the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's meeting on Tuesday.

The school has 158 students this year, according to JC Considine, a spokesman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. That's fewer than the more than 200 students the school told the state it was expecting, he said. The lower enrollment affects the school's funding.

The figure is also fewer than last year's 173, despite the school having added a 12th grade this year.

The school needed 185 students to fund its budget, according to an email Spirit of Knowledge Executive Director Paula Bailey sent to staff on Oct. 8, Lower enrollment translates to lower state funding, and the school has already made cuts.

The school has enough money to pay its employees, Ms. Bailey said in an interview. She hopes to make it through the school year.

"In our opinion, what's best for the children and the families is to remain open until June," she said.

If the school's fortunes improve, it could remain open past that, she said.

Ms. Bailey said the school will meet with parents Friday evening to tell them of the situation.

In addition to the lower-than-expected enrollment, the state also has concerns about the school's fiscal stability and its academic performance, Mr. Considine said.

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests scores released in September showed the school's scores in Grades 7 and 8 were worse than those in Worcester public schools, although the Grade 10 scores were the same or better. Eighth grade math was particularly bad for Spirit of Knowledge: Only 4 percent of students scored at grade level proficiency or above, while 67 percent scored warning or failing.

Ms. Bailey acknowledged that the eighth grade math scores were a problem, but she also noted that students sometimes arrive in seventh grade below grade level, and the school gets most of them to grade level in time for the Grade 10 MCAS graduation requirement.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in May to put the school on probation until its next charter renewal in 2015. The school opened in 2010.

State Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester will update the board on the school's status, but it is unlikely the board will take formal action Tuesday, Mr. Considine said.

The board has the ability to revoke the school's charter, but even if members were to decide that was the best course of action, they generally wait for a subsequent meeting to take action.

The school, which leases space in the former St. Paul's Elementary School at 19 Chatham St., has been looking for a permanent home for years.

Conditions of the school's probation included submitting a facilities plan to the state by July 1, and Ms. Bailey said it had done so.

"We're seriously working on the conditions that they set on us for probation," she said.

School leaders were also supposed to ensure that they have at least seven trustees by the end of 2013, and Ms. Bailey said they have eight. When asked whether longtime board chairman Richard Langevin was still chairman, she would only say "no comment." Mr. Langevin did not return calls for comment.

On Wednesday, students in the school uniform of khaki pants or skirts, white Oxford shirts and navy blue blazers left school as usual at 3:30 p.m., and two parents interviewed outside said that while their families are new to the school this year, they have been happy with it.

Contact Jacqueline Reis via email at jreis@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JackieReisTG.