CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina State Board of Education voted Thursday to officially revoke the charter of Eastside STREAM Academy in east Charlotte.
Eastside Stream Academy has just two months until it has to close its doors to students. Its charter expires on June 30th.
This comes after the Office of Charter Schools cited failing grades, staff turnover, and fiscal mismanagement as reasons to not renew the school's ability to operate and receive state funding.
The state board originally voted to deny renewal to operate in April.
Eastside STREAM Academy appealed the decision before an independent review committee last week. Two independent hearing officers concluded in a report that the state's decision not to renew the school's charter was "supported by the facts and consistent with law."
A unanimous vote Thursday affirmed the original vote in April to close down Eastside STREAM Academy.
James Ford, an NC State Board of Education Member at large, voted with his colleagues to deny the school's charter.
"We expect for them to be exemplary schools, we expect expect for them to outperform their local education agencies and we expect for their finances to be in order, to be in compliance.” Ford said.
The board voted to renew the charter for Cabarrus Charter Academy for only three years. It had the option to deny, or renew the school's charter for up to ten years. A three-year renewal signals the school could potentially be denied its charter at its next review if it does not improve.
The board also voted not to renew Invest Collegiate Transform’s charter. The state said like Eastside Stream, the school was failing both academically and financially. Invest Collegiate has the option to appeal the decision.
Now, about 300 students who attend Eastside STREAM, will have to find a new school for the upcoming school year.
Board Chair Walter Bowers Jr. told WCNC Charlotte earlier this week that the state's case to deny their charter leaves out important context regarding student performance.
“We have students that have been rejected by CMS, meaning they've been suspended or expelled from various schools, and they just had some challenges in the traditional school setting,” Bowers said.
North Carolina’s School performance data shows in the past 8 school years, excluding two years when data wasn’t collected the school received D and F grades. Its most recent performance grade was an F.
The state said when comparing grade level proficiency to Mecklenburg County Schools Eastside Stream was 20 points below the average for Mecklenburg in 2018, in 2019 it was 26 points below, and in 2022 was 25 points below.
Bowers acknowledged the discrepancy and said Eastside has some work to do.
"All we're asking the state to do is to give us a fresh opportunity based on who we are today and what we're doing now, to be able to provide some great outcomes for our students," he said.
The debate about how charter schools are renewed is a hot topic in Raleigh, with legislation going through the General Assembly that would shake up how the state board of education renews, revokes, and approves charters.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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