For immediate release
Friday, August 10, 2018
Contact: Jacqueline Reis 781-338-3115
Three Groups Seek to Open New Charter Schools In addition, five schools seek to expand
MALDEN — The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education received proposals this month from three groups seeking to open new charter schools. In addition, five existing charter schools submitted requests to expand enrollment.
The annual deadline to submit prospectuses for new charters schools and expansion requests for existing charter schools is August 1. The Department will decide by mid-September which applicant groups it will invite to submit full proposals for new schools. The final applications will be due by October 25, 2018, and Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley will then decide which finalists to recommend to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for consideration in February 2019. The Board will decide on the expansion requests between December 2018 and February 2019.
"I look forward to learning more about the opportunities that these proposed charter schools seek to provide in Haverhill, Lawrence and New Bedford," said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley. "Department staff and I will carefully review the prospectuses and expansion requests before deciding which should move to the next step in the process."
The state’s charter school cap limits the amount of net school spending that a school district can spend on charter school tuition. No more than 9 percent of a district's net school spending may be allocated to charter school tuition, except in the state's lowest performing districts, where the cap on charter tuition is 18 percent. The proposals announced today would create schools in communities that are still below their caps.
In districts subject to the higher cap, charter school founders and existing schools seeking seats above the 9 percent threshold must demonstrate that they are "proven providers" with a track record of strong performance, especially with regard to high-need students.
Nearly all of the groups that are proposing new schools or expansions this year will need to show that they are proven providers. The two exceptions are noted in the tables below by an asterisk (*). Exceptions include districts that are not subject to the higher 18 percent cap and districts where sufficient seats are available under the 9 percent cap to accommodate all current requests.
Prospectuses for New Charter Schools:
Proposals to Start a New Commonwealth Charter School
District or Region
Proposed Grade Span
Proposed Maximum Enrollment
Opening Year
Equity Lab Charter School
Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen
5-12
640
2019
Massachusetts Wildflower Montessori Public Charter School: Haverhill*
Haverhill
1-8
240
2019
New Bedford Cheironeum, A Commonwealth Charter School
New Bedford
6-12
1,008
2020
BOLD is proposed school location.
*Does not have to demonstrate proven provider status
Requests to Expand an Existing Charter School:
Existing Charter School
Current District or Region
Current Grade Span
Current Maximum Enrollment
Proposed Amendment to Charter
Alma del Mar Charter School
New Bedford
K-8
450
Increase enrollment by 1,188 seats to establish two additional K-8 campuses.
Excel Academy Charter School
(Boston), Chelsea
5-12
1,344
Increase enrollment by 56 seats
[Chelsea only].
Global Learning Charter Public School
New Bedford
5-12
500
Increase enrollment by 100 seats.
Pioneer Charter School of Science II*
Saugus, (Lynn), (Salem), Danvers, Peabody
7-12
360
Add grades K-6 and increase enrollment by 420 seats.
Districts in parentheses () are at or near their cap, and additional growth is either not possible or extremely limited.
*Does not have to demonstrate proven provider status
When deciding whether to allow a school to amend its charter to expand, the commissioner and Board consider evidence regarding the success of the school's academic program, its organizational viability, its faithfulness to the terms of its charter, and the availability of existing seats under current caps.
With respect to the expansion requests, the commissioner and Board will consider comments solicited from the superintendents within each charter school's proposed district or region. Members of the public may also submit written comments regarding expansion requests to: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, c/o Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign, 75 Pleasant St. Malden, MA 02148 or by email to charterschools@doe.mass.edu.
Comments on proposed new schools will be solicited during the final application stage.
There are currently 79 charter schools in Massachusetts serving over 45,000 students, which is almost 5 percent of all public school students in the Commonwealth. For more information on charter schools, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/.
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