On Saturday, parents, staff and supporters of Pinnacle Charter School located at 115 Ash Street expressed outrage and dismay over a recommendation by the State Board of Education that the school be closed at the end of the current school year, vowing to save the 560-pupil facility by whatever means necessary.
Pinnacle Charter School officials were informed Friday that the State Board of Education has recommended the K-8 grade school be closed at the end of the 2011-12 school year. The State Board of Regents has scheduled a vote on non-renewal of the school’s certification at its April 24 session in Albany.
At the heart of the recommendation is performance by students in Grades 3-8 on state-mandated tests during the 2010-11 school year. The tests were administered during a tumultuous period at Pinnacle when there was a change of administration. These changes were very upsetting to students and directly affected ELA and Math test scores, particularly among 8th graders, several of whom used the tests as a way to express their frustration.
“There is no argument that the scores failed to meet Pinnacle’s stated goal of 75 percent proficiency, however, those scores do not represent the strong body of work achieved by students and teachers since the charter school debuted in 2003,” said Pinnacle School Board President Dr. Fenice Boyd.
Current CAO Linda Linda Marszalek, who was hired to head Pinnacle at the start of the current school year, said she was given assurances from education officials in Albany that Pinnacle’s renewal evaluation would be based on its entire eight year accomplishments, in addition to turnaround strategies and outcomes in the 2011-12 school year.
“All of our interactions with regents staffers have been encouraging. We’ve made significant progress and the atmosphere among teachers, students and parents has been extremely positive,” Mrs. Marszalek said.
A review team from the state Department of Education visited the school Dec. 1-2, 2011 and issued a largely positive report on Feb. 21, 2012. All indications, verbal and otherwise, were that Pinnacle’s charter would be renewed.
“We agree that we need to have high standards for student success. We are just asking the state to allow us the time to show the results. Practice benchmark assessments using previous state exams demonstrate strong predictive indicators that we are being successful in the turn-around this year,” she added.
Pinnacle’s position is that the state’s action is unfair and unwarranted and ignores all of the progress that the charter school has made in improving academic performance. The board, staff and parents of the school have vowed to fight this action and have already begun reaching out to elected officials and community supporters to enlist their support and help.
Pinnacle’s administration and board also said the non-renewal recommendation, which is predicated on poor student performance, is based on faulty data, most notably inaccurate student demographic information. The socio-economic data led to unfair test score comparisons against schools with lower poverty rates.
In the eight years since Pinnacle opened its doors, the school was cited multiple times by the state for its excellence, only to be ultimately judged by 2010-11 test scores.
Pinnacle’s attorney, Steven H. Polowitz, a long-time charter school advocate, said the closing of Pinnacle will leave nearly 600 students in educational limbo.
“If the school closes, Pinnacle’s students and families are looking at options that are significantly worse than whatever condition SED believes Pinnacle to be in. These children will largely be destined to attend Buffalo Public schools that are and have been failing – many of which have been failing for far longer than Pinnacle, and yet are not facing the prospect of closure,” Mr. Polowitz said.
“Pinnacle is asking for nothing more than the same opportunity to give its turnaround plan a chance that SED always affords District schools. Pinnacle believes that this is not too much to ask for in view of the very poor alternatives that will be available to its students if the school closes,” Mr. Polowitz added.
Pinnacle officials continue to hold out hope members of the Board of Regents recognize the flawed evaluation behind the non-renewal recommendation when they review the matter at the Monday work session.
“We intend to pursue all legal alternatives and will enlist as many parents, elected officials and community leaders as we can to stand with us as we fight for the educational asset that is critical to so many children and families,” Dr Boyd said.
State Representatives:
State Senator: Mark Grisanti 716.854.8705
State Assembly Member: Crystal Peoples-Stokes 716.897.9714
Governor: Andrew Cuomo 518.474.7516
State Assembly Member: Crystal Peoples-Stokes 716.897.9714
Governor: Andrew Cuomo 518.474.7516
Board of Regents:
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue
Board of Regent, Room 110 EB
Albany, New York 12234
89 Washington Avenue
Board of Regent, Room 110 EB
Albany, New York 12234
E-mail: RegentsOffice@mail.nysed.gov