By Paul Tuthill
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Springfield, MA – Massachusetts is significantly increasing the number of charter schools. This is part of an education reform strategy to close achievement gaps that are particularly acute in urban school districts WAMC"s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports
The state Board of Education has voted to add 16 charter schools. The board approved all but one of the 17 charter school recommendations from Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester. There were 42 applications for charter schools in this latest round..the highest number since the mid 1990s..when charter schools were first permitted in Massachusetts.
Marc Kenan, the executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, called the expansion exciting .
Last year the legislature passed and Gov Patrick signed an education reform bill that's objective is to close the achievement gap most prevalent between poorer, mostly urban school districts, and wealthier, mostly suburban schools The bill doubled the number of charter school seats available in the lowest performing districts. Seventy percent of the seven thousand new charter school seats that are being added statewide will be in Boston
Charter schools are publically financed, but privately run. Kenan says the schools can introduce innovations and are free to experiment
One new charter school has been approved for the city of Springfield. The Veritas Preparatory Charter School has been approved to open in September 2012 Rachel Romano is the lead founder of the grade 5 through 8 school, which will have 324 students when it reaches full enrollment..
Romano , who is a fellow at a Boston based charter school development foundation..called..Building Excellent Schools says there is critical need in Springfield for this new charter school
The superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools, Dr.Alan Ingram says he embraces the new charter school because he supports school choice options for low income parents whose children are in under performing schools .
Springfield has ten of the worst performing schools in the state. There are 35 so-called level four schools that rank in the bottom four percent of student test scores. Springfield has been awarded 11 million dollars in federal grant money to implement turn around plans at 8 of its level four schools.