PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia School Board has done an about-face and voted to renew a charter school that it decided wasn't worthy of renewing nearly a year ago.
It's a reversal of fortune for Southwest Leadership Academy (SLA), a K-8 charter in the city's Elmwood section.
In June, the School Board voted not to renew the school's charter because of lagging academic performance and financial troubles. SLA stayed open while it appealed to the state's Charter School Appeals Board.
Thursday night, the board voted unanimously to renew the charter because new data from last spring’s PSSA tests showed an academic rebound — specifically, in science, said Peng Chao, head of the district's Charter Schools Office.
"This is a school that has been improving tremendously,” Chao said. “ Fifteen percentage points in the prior four years and then an additional five percentage points last year."
The renewal is contingent on SLA meeting a list of 19 organizational requirements and financial and academic goals.
SLA CEO Leigh Purnell told KYW Newsradio she is confident they will.
“I believe that we have the systems and the structures in place to be able to meet the expectations and the conditions that the district has set for us.”
Purnell said the renewal takes away uncertainty for her school's 600 students.
“People who were considering bringing their children to Southwest Leadership can feel confident that we’re going to be here with our doors open in September.”