News Article - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Contact:	Jacqueline Reis 781-338-3115

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Approves 1,000+ New Seats in Existing Charter Schools and Conversion of Two Schools to Charters

Malden - The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Tuesday to grant two new Horace Mann charters to groups seeking to restart schools in Salem and Springfield. Those approvals came after votes Monday evening to expand enrollment at four existing charter schools by a combined total of more than 1,000 high-quality seats. "By these votes, the Board has expanded enrollment at four high-quality charter schools that have demonstrated strong performance, providing more educational options for students in Lynn, Salem, Boston, Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield, and West Springfield," said Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester. "The new charter schools that the Board has approved in Salem and Springfield are a credit to local leaders who are using charters as a way to improve schools in their districts." "The Board's action reaffirms the Commonwealth's commitment to a thorough and fair charter approval process," said Secretary of Education James A. Peyser. "Equally important, the Board and Department have demonstrated their continuing support for increasing the size and number of high-quality charter schools, which I hope will encourage more qualified applicants to come forward." The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education received four final applications for new charter schools and considered whether the applicants had clearly detailed how the schools would deliver what they were promising. Commissioner Chester recommended the two Horace Mann proposals based on their demonstrated ability to found and operate a high-quality charter school, and he declined to recommend two Commonwealth charter school proposals for Brockton and Fitchburg. Those applicants have received feedback on their applications. The Bentley Academy Charter School intends to serve 350 students in grades K-5 in Salem, and the UP Academy Charter School of Springfield will serve up to 800 students in grades 6-8 in Springfield. The Bentley Academy Charter School proposes to open in 2015 in the current Bentley Elementary School as an option for current Bentley students as well as other Salem students. The UP Academy Charter School of Springfield proposes to open in 2016 in a Springfield public middle school that will be identified by November 2015. The schools that will expand their enrollment are the KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School in Lynn, which will add up to 736 new students as it adds kindergarten through fourth grade to its existing grades 5-12 school; Hampden Charter School of Science in Chicopee, which serves grades 6-12 and will add up to 210 students; Salem Academy Charter School in Salem, which serves grades 6-12 and will add up to 108 students; and UP Academy Charter School of Boston, which serves grades 6-8 and will add up to 40 students. For more information on the new charter schools, go to Charter Schools: Recommendations for New Charter Schools. For more information on the expansions, go to Charter Schools - Charter Amendment Requests for Changes to Maximum Enrollment or Grades Served of UP Academy Charter School of Boston, Salem Academy Charter School, Hampden Charter School of Science, and KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School. For more information on charter schools in general, see Massachusetts Charter Schools.

Last Updated: February 25, 2015