'We Are Applying Again,' Says Charter School Organizer

The Somerville Progressive Charter School group thinks it has a good shot of achieving a charter next year.

The Somerville Progressive Charter School will apply again next year for the chance to open a school in Somerville, according to Selena Fitanides, an organizer of the proposed school. On Friday, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Eduction announced that 12 proposed charter schools were invited to submit full applications to the state, but the Somerville Progressive Charter School was not one of the selected schools. It was the second time the Somerville Progressive Charter School failed to earn a charter from the state education department. "We were obviously disappointed, as hundreds of Somerville families were," Fitanides said. She said the group will submit another application next year—in July of 2013—and that she…

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Somerville Progressive Charter School Passed Over By State

The proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School wasn't asked to submit a full application to the state.

The Somerville Progressive Charter School was not included on a list of proposed schools invited by the state to move forward, according to an announcement issued Friday by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Eduction. According to the announcement, out of the 22 groups that submitted initial applications to the state education department in July—of which Somerville Progressive Charter School was one—12 have been invited to submit full applications. The Somerville Progressive Charter School was not one of those 12. In 2011, the proposed Somerville charter school was invited to submit a final application to the state, but in February of 2012 the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommended …

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Somerville Progressive Charter School Applies Again

Half a year after their application was denied by the state, supporters of a proposed Somerville charter school have renewed their effort.

Organizers of the Somerville Progressive Charter School have applied again for state approval to open a charter school in the city, according to an announcement from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. The new application comes about six months after the state education department denied an earlier proposal for the school. According to the announcement, the Somerville Progressive Charter School submitted a prospectus to the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education calling for a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school that would enroll up to 520 students. The school's previous proposal, that was denied in February, would have enrolled up to 425 students. Earlier plans for the school received staunch …

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SCHOOL DAY

Debate on Somerville Progressive Charter School Isn't Over

If the state's board of education votes to deny a charter, the creators of the school will submit a refined application later this year.

After the state’s education commissioner announced last week that he wouldn’t support the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School, the welcome note on the school’s website changed to reflect the creators’ revised goal.  “There is a new public school which will hopefully be opening in Somerville in the Fall [sic] of 2013.” For months, Somerville School Committee members, parents and teachers debated, among many issues, whether or not this publicly funded independent Commonwealth charter school would educate English language learners and teach science better than the district’s elementary schools do. And although Progress Together for Somerville, a group of parents who oppose the charter school, declared in a statement that the “…

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Education Commissioner Recommends Against Somerville Charter School

Mitchell Chester, the state's elementary and secondary education commissioner, issued a statement about the proposed charter school Thursday.

Mitchell Chester, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is recommending against the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School. The education department issued a statement Thursday saying the commissioner was recommending charters for four schools across the state, but that "two groups, Springfield Preparatory Charter School and Somerville Progressive Charter School, have not been recommended for new charters by the Commissioner." The statement says the department will provide feedback to the founders of those groups, and they are invited to submit new applications in the future. The final decision on the matter is up to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which meets Feb. 28. …

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Winter Hill Community School Could be Innovation School by Fall

The Boston Globe reports the Winter Hill school could move to an "innovation model." The city is exploring the idea of an innovation school as it waits for state education authorities to make a decision about a proposed charter school.

The Somerville School Committee has been discussing the idea for nearly a month, and now, Somerville Schools Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi has said the Winter Hill Community School could become an "innovation school" as early as this fall, according to the Boston Globe. The Globe reports that Pierantozzi expects an innovation school to open in Somerville in September, 2012, and that teachers at the Winter Hill school are discussing plans "to convert to the innovation model." School administrators, along with members of the Somerville School Committee and certain parents groups have explored the idea of an innovation school in large part as a reaction to a proposed charter school in the city: the Somerville Progressive Charter School. …

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SCHOOL DAY

Somerville Educators Will Consider Innovation Schools

An unusually large audience attended a meeting about innovation schools, which some see as an alternative to a proposed charter school in Somerville.

As the state's Board of Education scrutinzes the application for a new charter school in Somerville, some educators have put forth an alternative for parents, teachers and staff who want to practice experimental teaching and management methods.  The Somerville School Committee passed a motion last week requesting that the superintendent and assistant superintendent meet with the Somerville Teachers Association to discuss innovation schools.   About 20 parents and teachers, including figures for and against the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School, packed a small conference room in the school district's administrative office building Jan. 18 to hear from two experts on innovation schools. Innovation schools, introduced by Gov. …

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Letter to the Editor

Support for Charter School 'Crumbling,' Says Opposition Group

An opinion from Progress Together for Somerville regarding the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School.

This announcement was sent by Progress Together for Somerville, a group that formed to oppose the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School. Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone made reference to the group in his inaugural address this week, saying the group has broadened its agenda to address other aspects of public education in Somerville. This announcement expresses the opinion of Progress Together for Somerville, and Somerville Patch has not confirmed the statements made. Support for Proposed Somerville Charter School Crumbling Jan. 4, 2012  Somerville, MA – Support for the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School (SPCS) has significantly eroded as the Somerville community learns more about the flawed plan. Several of the …

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SCHOOL DAY

UPDATED: Large Turnout for Hearing on Somerville Progressive Charter School

State Sen. Pat Jehlen and Mayor Joseph Curtatone spoke against the proposed charter school. In all, about 40 people voiced their opinion.

Parents, teachers, public officials and others filled Somerville High School’s auditorium Wednesday for a pubic hearing about the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education held the hearing, in part to guage public support for the proposed school, which would teach kindergarten through eighth grade and enroll up to 425 students. As an independent Commonwealth charter school, the school would be publicly funded and governed by a board of trustees. Education Secretary Paul Reville oversaw the event, which lasted approximately two hours. Speakers were allowed three minutes to state their opinion.  “It was a well-informed discussion,” Reville said after the hearing ended. “People had …

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POLL: Do You Want the Somerville Progressive Charter School to Open?

Vote in our poll, and then see what your neighbors have to say.

A public hearing about the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School happens this Wednesday, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. inside the auditorium at Somerville High School. The hearing, organized by the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, provides people with an opportunity to voice their opinion about the school. We at Somerville Patch would like to know where you stand on this issue, so we invite you to take our poll and elaborate on your choice in the comments section.  If you want to learn more about the Somerville Progressive Charter School, read our coverage of the School Committee and Board of Aldermen's opposition to it. You can also read a Q&A with a member of the founding group and another interview with a …

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