Sep 17, 2008 9:59 pm US/Eastern
Parents, Teachers Scramble To Save Charter School
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FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
Not ready to throw in the towel just yet, teachers of a Ft. Lauderdale charter middle school, along with parents and the school's students are rallying to raise money to keep the doors open.
After receiving a second "F" rating in the last four years, the Board of Directors of the Downtown Academy of Technology and Arts held an emergency meeting on Monday and voted to shut the school down by the end of the week instead of facing state sanctions.
Jennifer Lowe, a language arts at the school, says they need to raise $330 thousand by Friday to keep the school open.
"It's been devastating. It's been devastating for them. We've had students coming to school the last couple of days in tears, in shock. If you can imagine, we're only four weeks in to the school year," Lowe added.
Opened in 2004, DATA, which has nearly 90 students in grades 6, 7, and 8, was named National Charter School of the Year in 2007.
Last year, said Lowe, a seventh grade student earned a National Scholastic Art Award and two eighth graders earned a perfect score on their FCAT essays.
Lowe said those while those are some of the school's bigger accomplishments, what really makes the teachers proud is the day to day work being performed in the classrooms.
Most of our students have been in the public school system and felt the frustration of being just another number in a school that is not able to meet their needs. Here, at DATA, they were given an environment where they could feel comfortable and safe," said Lowe.
If school leaders can raise the necessary funds, they can meet the state requirement and completely overhaul the school, including the staff and administration. School officials plan to meet with parents Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the options available which include returning the students back to public schools, or possibly enrolling them in another charter school or magnet school.
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