The North Carolina Board of Education recently voted not to renew PACE Academy’s charter. During the coming 60-day appeal window, the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools should work with PACE to enact reform in the areas in which it is deficient.
A report released by the Office of Charter Schools, states that PACE failed to meet with noncompliance in the areas of accountability, criminal records checks, governance and finance.
PACE Academy is worth saving, if at all possible. In the wide world of alternate or nontraditional education, a school like PACE is an important venture. It provides an instructional space for students who would otherwise struggle in traditional schools. The importance of such a space is undeniable.
If the Office of Charter Schools releases guidelines for compliance and PACE demonstrates due diligence in meeting them, it is in the community’s interest that their appeal is successful.
Sixty days is not an immense amount of time. PACE should be judged on its potential and commitment to reform rather than merely what has happened since the charter was not renewed.
Charter schools are essentially experiments in education , and as we know, experiments don’t always go according to plan. This should not, however, be a death sentence to PACE Academy if it shows a willingness to improve.
