DEPAR

RTMENT
T OF ED
DUCATIO
ON
The Townsend Building
deral Street Suite 2
401 Fed
Dover, Deelaware 19901-36339
DOE WEBSITE: http://www.doe.kk12.de.us

Mark T. M
Murphy
Secretary of Education
Voice: (302)) 735-4000
FAX: (302) 739-4654

A
April 23, 2015
V
Via email atta
achment
M
Mr. John Pierrson
Board Presideent
Frreire Charterr School
2227 North Maarket Street
W
Wilmington, DE
D 19801
D
Dear Mr. Pierrson:
Pllease be ad
dvised that, for the reasons set forrth below aand with thee assent off the State B
Board of
Education, the Departmen
nt of Educattion (Deparrtment) hass placed the charter of F
Freire Charteer School
onn Formal Reeview, pursu
uant to Title 14, Delawarre Code, Secction 515(b),, to determinne whether thhe school
iss violating th
he terms of itts charter and
d, if so, wheether to orderr remedial m
measures.
w approved
d to open grrades 8 and
d 9 with an enrollment oof 224 studeents. Howeever, unit
Thhe school was
coount information submiitted April 1,
1 2015 inclluded studennts enrolled in grades 8 and 9 witth a total
ennrollment off 78 studentss, or 35% off the total au
uthorized ennrollment. T
Title 14, Delaware Codee, Section
5006 (c)(1) req
quires that, on
o or before April
A
1 of eaach school yyear, a charteer school shaall have enroolled, at a
m
minimum, 80
0% of its to
otal authorized number of students.. This requuirement waas also impoosed as a
coondition upo
on the appro
oval of the charter. The Board o f Directors signed an aassurance doocument,
ennsuring that by April 1 each year th
he school [w
would have] enrolled at least 80% of the total auuthorized
nuumber of stu
udents and that
t
it [woulld have] nottified each sschool district of inform
mation aboutt enrolled
sttudents. Ad
dditionally, this
t
requirem
ment was diiscussed by the charterr holder in tthe approvedd charter
appplication.
A student enrollment nu
umber so farr below the total authorrized enrolllment and 880% minimuum raises
cooncerns abou
ut whether th
he school will
w be financcially viable.. It also raisees concerns about whethher many
arreas of the approved
a
charter applicaation can bee implementeed with fideelity thesee include, buut are not
lim
mited to: plaans for curriiculum and education
e
deelivery, planns to serve sttudents withh special neeeds, plans
too maintain economic
e
viability and plans for ad
dministrativee and financcial operatioons. In addition, this
siituation raisees concerns about
a
the caapacity of bo
oth the leadeership team aand the mannagement com
mpany to
sttart and operrate a charterr school.
Pllease also bee aware of the
t provision
ns of 14 Dell. Admin. C. 275.5.2, which statees: Compliaance with
thhe charter, in
ncluding com
mpliance with the termss of any connditions placced on the chharter, is a ccondition
prrecedent to the
t authority
y to open and
d operate thee Charter Schhool. Failuree to comply with the term
ms of the
chharter and any
a conditio
ons placed on
o the charteer, includingg deadlines,, operates aas a forfeiturre of the
auuthority to open
o
the Chaarter School regardless of
o previous aapproval. Thhese regulatiions are incoorporated
innto and madee a part of each charter approved by
y the Departtment with thhe consent oof the State B
Board. A
C
Charter Schoo
ols failure to
t comply with
w these reegulations shhall be treateed as a failuure on the paart of the
mply with its charter. The
T current situation
s
connstitutes a faiilure to com
mply with thee terms of
scchool to com
thhe charter th
he Departmeent approved
d and thereffore is a forrfeiture of thhe authorityy to open thhe charter
scchool.
THE DELAWARE DEPARTME
ENT OF EDUCATION IS AN EQUAL OPPOR
RTUNITY EMPLOYER
R. IT DOES NOT DISCR
RIMINATE ON THE BA
ASIS OF RACE, COLO
OR, RELIGION, NATIO
ONAL ORIGIN, SEX,
SEXUAL
L ORIENTATION, GEN
NDER IDENTITY, MAR
RITAL STATUS, DISA
ABILITY, AGE, GENET
TIC INFORMATION, O
OR VETERANS STATU
US IN EMPLOYMENT
T, OR ITS PROGRAMS
S AND ACTIVITIES.

This matter will be referred to the Charter School Accountability Committee (CSAC) for review and
recommendations. Enclosed, please find a timeline for this process, including dates of CSAC meetings
and public hearings. Please note that there is a May 5 deadline for a revised budget and organizational
chart, which should be developed based on the final May 1 enrollment count. These documents, and any
other materials you wish the CSAC to review, should be submitted by the Charter School Office to
infocso@doe.k12.de.us.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (302) 735-4020 or Jennifer.Nagourney@doe.k12.de.us.
Sincerely,

Jennifer Nagourney
Executive Director, Charter School Office
cc:

Williams Porter, Head of School, Freire Charter School

Dr. Kelly Davenport, Head of Freire Charter Schools
David Blowman, Deputy Secretary of Education
Jennifer Nagourney, Executive Director, Charter School Office