Education officials announce 2 Brooklyn charter school closures

March 6, 2015 Associated Press

Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina. AP file photo

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Education officials announced Thursday that two Brooklyn charter schools they say are not meeting performance standards are to be closed in June.

The two are the Ethical Community Charter School in Williamsburg and the Fahari Academy Charter School in Flatbush.

In the past two years, the city Department of Education gave the schools short-term renewals — two years and one, respectively. The schools were told that if they didn’t meet academic conditions, their charters would not be renewed.

The Department of Education says math and English scores at the two schools are far below their district averages, with less than 20 percent of students proficient in exams. And both schools lacked leadership, with high rates of teacher turnover, officials said.

The students are to be enrolled elsewhere.

James Merriman, chief executive of the nonprofit New York City Charter School Center, said that when a school doesn’t meet its goals, closure is the “appropriate response.”

“The promise of results in return for autonomy is at the heart of the charter bargain,” he said in a statement.

For the next school year, families will be able to submit applications with their preferences among schools that still have space available.

“We must set every child up for success,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina. “I will not let failure continue. Every school is accountable for giving children an opportunity to achieve in college and have a meaningful career.”