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National Association of Charter School Authorizers

Education

Alabama Charter School Commission finally did its job

Finally, the Alabama Charter School Commission is doing its job.  On Monday, the Commission voted to revoke the charter for Woodland Prep, the beleaguered charter school in Washington County, and it took steps to force LEAD Academy, the steadily failing charter in Montgomery, to provide the Commission with necessary information to assure it is operating … Continued
February 4, 2020

An open letter to Senator Del Marsh

Senator: While you and I could not disagree much more on what we need to do to help Alabama schools and educators, I have never questioned that you are a successful politician and businessman. You could have tremendous impact on education in this state–if you would listen to real educators and teachers instead of latching … Continued
January 13, 2020

The colossal charter mess in Montgomery

It is nigh impossible to figure out what is going on with charter schools in Montgomery.  Whether it is by design, deception or a bushel of inaptitude, the situation is clearly defying sections of the charter law and thumbs its nose at what is legal and what is not. The charter law was passed in … Continued
January 6, 2020

Alabama Education Association files lawsuit against Soner Tarim

The Alabama Education Association has filed a lawsuit through its members and affiliate in Washington County against Soner Tarim, a Texas-based man seeking to open a charter school in rural southwest Alabama. Tarim is the CEO of Unity School Services and was the founder of Harmony Schools, a charter school network in Texas.  The lawsuit … Continued
August 2, 2019

The Alabama Charter School Commission does not care

Last year, the Alabama Charter School Commission gave approval to a Washington County charter school known as Woodland Prep. It gave that approval despite the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which was contracted by the Alabama State Department of Education to review charter school applications, writing in its review of Woodland that the school’s … Continued
June 10, 2019

Evaluators slammed Washington County charter application

All charter school applications must be evaluated by a qualified entity before action by the state charter school commission. From the outset, this was done by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers based in Chicago. Today, it is being done by the Auburn Center for Evaluation, a part of the Auburn University College of … Continued
April 18, 2019

Why aren’t Montgomery’s charter schools following the rules?

There is a process in place to approve charter schools in Alabama. When the Alabama Legislature passed the law allowing charters in the state, they spent some time putting together a written plan with steps that must be followed. Things like: any organization wishing to start a charter school must submit an application that includes … Continued
January 30, 2019

Montgomery’s charter school mess

By Josh Moon Alabama Political Reporter Good charter schools exist. This is a fact. An undeniable fact. There are good charter schools out there doing fantastic work, filling a void that a public school simply cannot. The problem is there are also a lot of bad charter schools and even more just plain ol’ average … Continued
February 28, 2018