Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Statement on the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School
Yesterday I released the following statement regarding the
Gloucester Community Arts Charter School’s decision to surrender its charter at
yesterday’s meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education:
“The entire experience with this
charter school has proven that when a state agency fails to follow its own
rules, that it can cause tremendous adverse consequences for all of the parties
involved.
Now that the GCACS Charter will
cease to exist, we all have an obligation to work together to move forward to
ensure that all students in Gloucester have the best possible educational
opportunities, and that innovation, excellence and creativity continue to be
pursued with vigor.
The Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education shares in that obligation, and must do all within its power
to provide school and city officials with the resources to recover from this
experience with strength. Although we
are facing difficult budgetary constraints, that obligation must be recognized
and acted upon.
I have spoken in this regard with
Commissioner Chester and appreciate his understanding of my concerns.
In turn, today’s actions underscore
the need for legislative reforms to prevent events of this nature from
happening again.”
