Premier Arts and Science Charter School
The future of a Harrisburg charter school may be at risk.
At a board meeting on Tuesday, Harrisburg School District Receiver Dr. Lori Suski approved a resolution that will commence non-renewal proceedings against Premier Arts and Science Charter School.
The district recently completed its charter renewal review process for Premier, evaluating its academics, administration, operation and other aspects. Charter schools must face renewal every five years. Premier’s prior charter period expired in June 2023, but the school has been legally allowed to continue operating during the review.
District officials and an attorney presented findings from the review that included students underperforming academically, low staff retention and non-compliant programs, among other issues.
“For these reasons and others, Premier’s performance and operations warrants non-renewal of the charter under the grounds in the Charter School Law,” said Dr. Marisol Craig, assistant superintendent of the district.
Premier’s charter was initially granted in 2013. In 2018, the district initiated non-renewal proceedings, but the district eventually reached an agreement with Premier to renew its charter with certain conditions. Most significantly, Premier would go from being a K-5th grade school to K-3rd grade.
“Honestly, this is extremely disappointing. I sat on this board when Premier first presented this charter,” said board member Danielle Robinson. “Now it’s the same thing, possibly even worse than it was in 2018.”
Premier could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to attorney Allison Petersen with Levin Legal Group, who helped conduct the review, the review process was delayed due to certain data that wasn’t available until the 2023-24 school year and because Premier was often delayed in sending the district information.
Data collected by the district showed that Premier students’ Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) scores decreased, as the percentage of proficient students in math dropped from 7.1% in the 2021-22 year to 0% in 2022-23, and proficiency in English language arts between the years dropped from 14.3% to 5.6%. Academic performance in several other areas also decreased or remained nearly the same over the years.
Officials also pointed out that average staff retention was only 53% and that there were multiple principals over the past five years, including one who was not properly certified. Premier has also increasingly been utilizing teachers who lack certification or experience, many teaching on emergency permits, Craig said.
Other issues included truancy, non-compliant food facility inspections, noncompliant programs for English language learners, under-enrollment and a lack of enough school board members.
As required by the Charter School Law, the district will begin a hearing process with Premier to support their evidence in support of a non-renewal. Premier will also have a chance to present evidence in its defense.
After the hearings, Suski will ultimately make the final decision regarding renewal.
Also on Tuesday, Suski approved the hiring of Dr. Frances Echevarria as the principal of Steele School, which is slated to open for the 2024-25 school year, with a salary of $111,352, plus an additional doctoral stipend of $3,000 per year.
Additionally, Dr. Scott Lindsey was hired as the principal of Ben Franklin Elementary with a salary of $109,686, plus an additional doctoral stipend of $3,000 per year. Lindsey replaces James Snyder, who resigned.
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