Truebright charter to appeal Commonwealth Court decision
Truebright Science Academy Charter School says it's not ready to shut down. The board of the charter in Olney has decided to appeal Friday's Commonwealth Court decision that said the School Reform Commission had ample grounds to close the school for poor academic performance.
Truebright Science Academy Charter School says it's not ready to shut down.
The board of the charter in Olney has decided to appeal Friday's Commonwealth Court decision that said the School Reform Commission had ample grounds to close the school for poor academic performance.
The three-judge Commonwealth Court panel affirmed a finding by the state Charter Appeal Board, which had upheld the SRC decision.
The board found that Truebright had failed to deliver the academic performance it promised in its application and had not met state standards. The board ordered it to close at the end of the school year.
Brian H. Leinhauser, the school's lawyer, said Monday that Truebright would ask all the judges that comprise Commonwealth Court to review the case.
He said Truebright believes it is entitled to remain open during the appeal, but if needed, would ask the court for a stay to keep the school open.
"Our hope is that this will be resolved before the end of August," Leinhauser said.
Leinhauser said letters would be sent home to students' parents.
The school, at 407 E. Roosevelt Blvd., has 241 students in grades seven through 12.
In 2013, the SRC voted not to renew Truebright's operating agreement on several grounds, including poor academics.
Commonwealth Court Judge Rochelle S. Friedman, who wrote the three-judge panel's decision, said, "Truebright has had a consistently low percentage of students scoring proficient or better on the PSSA [math and reading tests] and has shown no clear sign of improvement."
Truebright, which opened in 2007, is one of more than 120 charters nationwide founded and operated by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who lives in self-imposed exile in the Poconos.
