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Ex-Voucher School Shut for 2 weeksAcademic Solutions' Future Remains Unclear

Posted on: Friday, 1 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

Ex-voucher school shut for 2 weeks

Academic Solutions' future remains unclear

Academic Solutions Center for Learning, the troubled voucher school that was thrown out of the program by the state last week, told families on Monday that the school would be closed for the next two weeks at least.

Students and their parents filtered in and out of the school throughout the morning, asking questions about their options and the school's future.

In a letter distributed to families, school officials asked parents to keep children home, "which would give us time to restructure the school."

Wiltisha Henard, a 19-year-old senior at Academic Solutions, sat in the school's office on Monday, wondering where she would go. "This is wrong," she said. "We worked very hard to get these credits. I'm going to have to do everything over."

The state's Department of Public Instruction, which oversees the voucher program, ordered the school out of the program last Thursday after a large fight on Jan. 24 drew police to the north side building. DPI officials also allege that the school cashed about 300 checks totaling about $430,000 for students it did not have.

As of lunch time Monday, DPI officials said about five families from Academic Solutions had called to complain about the decision, and that they had not received word yet of whether the school planned to appeal.

Henard was distraught as she consulted with school officials. She said she came to Academic Solutions because of the small class sizes, individual attention and the opportunity to attend school at night Academic Solutions has both day and night classes. She left Milwaukee Public Schools' Washington High School while pregnant with her now 1-year-old son.

She works at a W-2 office filing and faxing papers during the day, hopes to become a nurse and worries that the school's midyear closure could derail that goal.

MPS will hold an open house from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at the central administration offices, 5225 W. Vliet St., to help students at Academic Solutions enroll in new schools, including charter schools and other private schools.

"We are eager to be able to accommodate students who come to us seeking any placement," said Roseann St. Aubin, a spokeswoman at MPS. St. Aubin said the issue of transferring credits would be dealt with on a "case-by-case" basis.

Academic Solutions officials said they plan to appeal the DPI decision. Ricardo Brooks, deputy director of the school, said students flocked to it "because they can be themselves."

During a tour of the building, 4055 N. 34th St., on Monday, he pointed out security cameras kept in the classrooms.

State Deputy School Superintendent Tony Evers signed an emergency order removing the school from the voucher program on the ground that it is unsafe. The voucher program allows low-income families to take state-funded tuition vouchers with them to private schools.

The DPI order quoted police officers as saying the fighting on Jan. 24 escalated to "a melee (that) included over 100 students, chaotically fighting among themselves." Brooks disputed that account, arguing that the 13 students who were given citations by police were the ones involved in the fighting.

Academic Solutions claimed it had 729 students on the official attendance day in September, while DPI said Milwaukee Public Schools officials who visited the school reported fewer than 500 students.

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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