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Two Charter School Proposals Opposed: Next Step Learning Academy

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 09:01 CDT

By Andrea Eger, Tulsa World, Okla.

Apr. 3--Two charter school recommendations should be rejected by the Tulsa school board, Superintendent David Sawyer has recommended.

Local proponents of one of the schools, Next Step Learning Academy, say they will dispute the recommendation at the board's meeting Monday, but a Texas nonprofit organization said it would accept the proposed rejection of Tulsa Can! Academy and take the idea for its 11th charter school "somewhere where we are welcome."

Tulsa Public Schools already sponsors three charter schools, which receive public funds through the school district but are governed by independent boards.

Donald O. Tyler Sr., the pastor of Greater Grace Apostolic Temple in Tulsa, proposes to open Next Step Learning Academy at a church structure at 1010 E. 56th St. North.

The charter school would be operated by the nonprofit Greater Grace Foundation and serve 90 sixth-graders in 2006-07. The school would add grades 7-8 over the following two school years, bringing its total enrollment to 270.

"Three of the junior high schools in north Tulsa are failing miserably. My goal is to help improve the quality of education in north Tulsa and get kids in school who are staying at home," Tyler said. "You can ride through north Tulsa any day, any time of the week and see kids out on the street."

Sawyer's recommendation states that Next Step should be rejected because district administrators found "a significant portion of the standards addressed by the proposal" to be unsatisfactory or in need of improvement.

It also says the plan to locate the school on the campus of a religious organization and to have a church foundation operate the school is "contrary both to Oklahoma law and (Tulsa school) Board policy."

Sawyer referred to a copy of Greater Grace Foundation's state incorporation certificate as a nonprofit organization, which was included in the charter school proposal.

The certificate states that the foundation "is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes."

Tyler said that although the foundation was started by the church, it is dedicated to the service of older people and youths and conducts no religious activities.

Tyler spoke about his proposed school at a March 20 school board meeting and was accompanied by nearly 100 supporters from the church and community.

He said he would plead his case again Monday.

"I feel that I intimidated the board at the last meeting and I did not intend to do that. I want to partner with them, so I will come alone on Monday," he said.

Tulsa Can! Academy

A Dallas nonprofit organization that operates 10 charter schools in Texas has proposed to open a charter high school, Tulsa Can! Academy, at 10638 E. Marshall St.

America Can!, formerly Texans Can!, would operate the school, which would be for economically disadvantaged students in grades 9-12 who are below grade level, are contemplating dropping out or have dropped out.

Yolanda Cruz, the director of expansion for America Can!, said her organization initially brought its idea for a new charter school to Tulsa school officials in 2005.

"They had said we were not very familiar with their curriculum and that our admissions criteria was not up to their standards," Cruz said. "So with this application, we made sure that we researched it really well because we wanted to come in and have a school."

Sawyer has recommended that the board not sponsor Tulsa Can! Academy for the following reasons:

* The school would offer no significantly different opportunities from those already available in the Tulsa district.

* The application demonstrates "limited knowledge" of Tulsa Public Schools and is based on a number of inaccurate or incomplete assumptions. For example, the proposal stated that the Tulsa area has a number of high schools with more than 2,000 students, when in fact there are only two and neither is in the Tulsa district.

Grant East, the founder of America Can!, said he was stunned by Sawyer's recommendation.

He said he had secured the support of Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune and the pledge of several high-profile Oklahomans to serve on the school's advisory board, including former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, the Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens, and former Lt. Gov. Jack Mildren.

"We met lots of folks in Tulsa who wanted to help us open a school, but of course that's not what's going to happen if the school district doesn't want it to happen," East said.

Cruz said her organization had received plenty of interest in expanding into other states, such as Louisiana.

"We'll move on. We have been asked by other states to set up a school. We'd rather go somewhere where we are welcome," she said.

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Andrea Eger 581-8470 andrea.eger@tulsaworld.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Source: Tulsa World

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