Three proposed charter schools that would serve Springfield students have advanced to the final stage of the state approval process. Yesterday, Gov. Deval Patrick announced that the three were among 25 applications, selected from an initial group of 42, to be invited to submit a final application.
The selected proposals have until Nov. 8 to submit a final application. Final decisions will be announced in February.
The Springfield-area schools to make the cut are:
• The Collegiate Charter School, a college-prep program affiliated with American International College. The school would serve kids from Springfield, West Springfield and Chicopee, in grades 6-12. The school would enroll a maximum of 700 kids and has a projected opening date of 2011.
• The Veritas Preparatory Charter School, whose proposal emphasizes high standards and a motivation philosophy based on a reward system. Veritas would serve up to 324 Springfield kids, grades 5 to 8, and would open in 2012.
• The Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School, which, according to its mission statement, would “provide a strong intellectual and ethical foundation, enhance self-esteem, increase community and global understanding and involvement, and inspire future leaders for our society.” The school would be based in Holyoke and would serve a maximum of 600 kids, grades 5 to 12, from throughout the Valley. The projected opening date is 2011.
Full prospectuses of all the schools are available at the Springfield Institute’s website, including those applicants that did not advance to the final round. Among those not selected as finalists were the Barbara Rivera Regional Community Action Charter School, which would have been affiliated with the New North Citizens’ Council, which the late Rivera ran for years; the Springfield Preparatory Charter School, which would have been affiliated with Springfield Technical Community College; and the Excellence Charter School, which planed to incorporate Tae Kwan Do into its curriculum.
Of the 25 charter proposals selected to proceed to a final application, the large majority are based in Boston. The new schools will be made possible by a law, signed by Patrick in January, that will increase the spending cap allowed for charter schools in the commonwealth’s lowest-performing school districts. Before the law, districts could spend 9 percent of funding on charter schools; under the gradual increases allowed by the new law, that will rise to 18 percent.
