PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As an independent investigation continues into whether Black-led charter schools are being closed unfairly, Philadelphia City Council’s education committee Wednesday examined the issue.
The African American Charter School Coalition alleges the city school board has closed or non-renewed a disproportionate number of Black-led charters because of systemic bias.
“When it comes to accountability, we are finding that Black charter schools specifically are being judged far more harshly and with less grace and opportunities,” testified Janel “Jay” Artis-Wright, executive director of the National Freedom Coalition for Charter Schools.
Philadelphia charter school consultant Dawn Chavous testified that Black-led schools represented 20% of Philadelphia charters but more than 80% of the charter closures. She says she blames systemic bias.
“We believe it is in the best interests of children and working-class families not to be subjected to additional stress and trauma by making decisions to close Black-founded-and-led institutions based on a renewal process that is grossly flawed,” Chavous said. “Our right to exist must be protected.”
Related
In 2021, the Philadelphia Board of Education commissioned the law firm of Ballard Spahr to independently investigate the Coalition’s allegation that Philadelphia’s charter oversight was biased. Chavous criticized the school board for continuing to close Black-led charters while the investigation continues.
“I’ve never known or seen an entity continue to use a process that they are currently investigating to cause further harm to the people who called for the investigation,” she said.
Chavous added that the board has a financial incentive to close charters, an assertion that board president Reginald Streater says he denied.
“We never talk about, ‘Oh, wow, this could put money back into the district coffers,” he said. “That’s not something that we even talk about.”
Streater said he didn’t want to jeopardize the investigation by commenting directly. But he testified that during his two years on the board, he saw no discrimination.
“I don’t see an implicit or explicit bias as it relates to charter authorizing by the board at all,” Streater said. “What I see is the board trying to have a laser focus on student achievement.”
Chavous said the board needs to hear from charters directly, instead of relying on evaluations from the district’s Charter Schools Office.