Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > June > 15 > Entry
Top charter DuBois saved
Word has it the leadership at the Fordham Foundation was pretty perturbed when one of their favorite charter schools — and a school they sponsor — suddenly decided to close without telling anyone, not even Fordham.
Well, Jen Mrozowski at the Cincinnati Enquirer reports today that the high performing school in the troubled Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati will remain open after all.
But to save the WEB DuBois school, the governing board had to cut its budget significantly, lay off 18 people and demote Wilson Willard, the founder and genius behind the school’s educational program. It will be interesting to see if the school can maintain its high level of performance under these conditions.
And that assumes the school can even survive, with the state auditor now combing through its records and the Cincinnati school district challenging its enrollment figures. The future suddenly looks quite uncertain for this one-time darling of the charter school movement.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Charter Schools and School Choice
Comments
By Oldprof
June 16, 2006 9:29 AM | Link to this
I believe the Fordham foundation never heard the phrase “cut your losses.” But when your primary contributors could build a dozen schools with all the taxes they don’t pay, I guess failure IS an option.