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MCPSA’S STATEMENT REGARDING CITY ON A HILL CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Statement can be attributed to Tim Nicolette, Executive Director, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA).
Today is a difficult day for City on a Hill Charter Public Schools (CoaH). The Board made a number of hard decisions to relinquish its New Bedford charter and stabilize the organization’s finances and enrollment with the end goal of rapidly improving academic outcomes on behalf of students attending its Boston schools.
Our hearts go out to all of the affected students, families, and staff, and we stand by to support the CoaH community in the days ahead. But, we also believe the Board is acting in the best interest of children.
Massachusetts has one of the most stringent charter public school accountability laws in the country. While extremely difficult, this process is a reminder that the “charter” in “charter public schools” is at its core a promise of academic opportunity to families and students in our Commonwealth. If and when that promise is not being met, it is in the best interest of kids when adults acknowledge this fact. The CoaH Board’s difficult decision is not about protecting or preserving institutions; it is about putting kids and families first.
Accountability within our charter public school community means that when schools are chronically underperforming without a viable path for transformation, those schools may close. Accountability also requires responsible stewardship of precious public school dollars. The Board’s decisions related to its schools in New Bedford and Boston were guided by those principles.
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