Achievement First (AF) charter network sent a letter to the New Haven Board of Education with 50 signatures from community leaders in support of the proposed charter school Elm City Imagine — in advance of Monday night’s scheduled board discussion on whether the New Haven Public Schools should serve as a financial partner.
The proposal has sparked controversy. Click here to read about parents and teachers who are organizing against the proposal, in conjunction with the teachers union. Click here to read a detailed reader debate involving both proponents and opponents.
Starting as a K‑1 and eventually expanding to fourth grade, Elm City Imagine will be AF’s first school using the “Greenfield” model. The model, designed with the help of the inventor of the computer mouse, is aimed at inventing the school of the future. It encompasses a variety of creative teaching and learning methods, including a calendar alternating eight weeks of regular classes with two weeks of career “expeditions” and daily blocks of “self-directed learning.” AF is also planning to create a Greenfield middle school beginning with next year’s fifth graders at Elm City College Prep Middle School.
Click here to read a letter the teachers union wrote outlining reasons to oppose the school.
In response, Achievement First gathered a range of heavy hitters to sign its “open letter” in favor of the proposal. Signatories ranged from Yale President Peter Salovey, Albertus Magnus President Julia McNamara, Gateway Community College President Dorsey Kendrick, University of New Haven President Stephen Kaplan, city small-business chief Jacqueline James, Yale-New Haven Hospital President Marna Borgstrom, Community Foundation of Greater New Haven President Will Ginsberg; philanthropists Anne Tyler Calabresi and Roslyn Milstein Meyer; to Revs. Eldren Morrison, Todd Foster, and James Newman; Chamber of Commerce President Anthony Rescigno, realtor Barbara Pearce, UI CEO James Torgerson, JUNTA CEO Sandra Trevino, funeral home director Howard K. Hill, and Alders Carlton Staggers, Richard Furlow and Darryl Brackeen (who works for a pro-charter advocacy group called ConnCAN).
“For too long, the city’s traditional public and public charter schools have operated separately while trying to do the same important work,” the letter reads in part. “Both have much to learn from the other, and we hope this partnership will be a bridge for future learning and collaboration in the best interest of students. We also appreciate the willingness of all parties to address issues that have caused tension in the past, notably mid-year transfers in and out of schools. We all need to be paying attention to students who are not successful and parents who are not satisfied and responding thoughtfully to those needs.”
Click here to read the full letter.
For previous coverage:
• Teachers, Parents Organize Against Charter Deal
• The School Of The Future Gets A Dry Run
• Teachers Union Prez Pens “Imagine” Critique
• Charter Plans Detailed; Parents Weigh In
• Elm City Imagine Sparks Debate
• NHPS, AF Team Up On Experimental School
• Elm City Charter Eyed For Futuristic “Conversion”
• City’s Charter Network Hires San Francisco Firm To Design The K‑8 Public School Of The Future