Properly vet charter school

Ascent Classical Academy is asking the Durango 9-R School Board to review its charter application outside the state-dictated window for charter applications. There are two concerning issues raised by Ascent’s request: 1. The timing of the request, which seeks special treatment for Ascent prior to established dates, which places a burden on the Board to complete the review at a time when it has other important, previously scheduled work on its calendar; and 2. Ascent’s apparent attempt to avoid 9-R’s local chartering authority by asking the Board to relinquish its chartering responsibility and allow it to go straight to CSI, the state’s Chartering School Institute, which regulates Ascent’s two other Colorado charter schools in Douglas and Weld counties.  

The Colorado Charter Schools Act provides that the date for filing a charter’s application “shall not be earlier than August 1 or later than October 1” of the year preceding its intended opening date. Thereafter, the law requires the local school board to hold publicly noticed community meetings to obtain information to assist in its decision-making process and, further, requires the board to rule on the charter application within 90 days of receipt. The application must be reviewed both by the Board and the district’s accountability committee and may also require review by other district departments.

The Board has maintained that Ascent’s application is welcome in August and will be given the appropriate attention at that time, but Ascent is insisting it will be unable to meet the 2023 opening it has proposed unless it is considered now. 

The application requirements of the Colorado Charter Schools Act are complex, and any application requires an intensive review by the Board and the District Accountability Advisory Committee (DAAC), and perhaps other departments.

Among numerous factors to be considered are: the charter’s proposed enrollment policy; its curriculum and student performance standards; its plan for evaluating student performance; the criteria for enrollment decisions; any requested waivers of state requirements or district policies; the plan for serving students with special needs; and policies regarding student discipline, expulsion and suspension.

In addition, the Board and DAAC must review performance data for each of the other schools the proposed charter is managing at the time of the application, including documentation of academic achievement and school management success. Further, a determination must be made as to whether the charter’s plan is economically sound, including its proposed budget for at least five years. All of this will take considerable time of the Board away from other responsibilities.

In addition to seeking early review, Ascent is asking the 9-R Board to allow it to be chartered through CSI, instead of 9-R’s local chartering authority. As background, 9-R only obtained chartering authority in 2013, which is why Mountain Middle and Animas High are chartered through CSI. Thereafter, 9-R chartered Juniper as its first 9-R charter. There are several advantages to local chartering, among which are ensuring that the district and community have some say over charters within their district and can assure they are held to the same standards as other local schools, as well as confirming that they align with Durango’s and 9-R’s values. This creates a stronger working relationship and guarantees that people outside our community are not the ones making decisions about what schools here in Durango can and should look like, what they teach and who should be allowed to teach, e.g., state-certified vs. non-certified teachers. 

Another issue to be considered is that charter schools, as good as some may be, take money from our Durango public schools. Durango already has charter schools serving grades K-12 in Juniper, Mountain Middle and Animas High. Do we really need another charter school? 

Also important, what is Ascent’s record in its two existing Colorado charters, as the Board is required to look at Ascent’s record elsewhere in reviewing its application here. In its 2021 rankings, U.S. News reported that 32% of Ascent’s Douglas County students scored at or above the proficiency level for math, and 57% scored at or above that level for reading. U.S. News reported that Ascent did worse in math and worse in reading when compared with the Douglas County School District. This is certainly something the Board will need to study.

Bottom line: Ascent should apply in August, pursuant to the requirements of the Charter Schools Act, when the Board and the DAAC will have the time to thoroughly and fairly review its application.

- Carol Cure, Durango