The Legacy Prep School in Charlotte, North Carolina, closed its doors at the end of the holidays, leaving parents and students on their own to find a school.
Legacy Prep was a private school that relied on vouchers from the state.
Parents were stunned.
“Yes, 100% caught off-guard,” said Jackie Davis, whose son attends Legacy Prep.
On Friday, she and other parents whose children were enjoying holiday break, received an email from Stacey Rose, the school’s principal, that told them the school would not re-open on January 7th due to funding issues.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that Legacy Preparatory will have to close its doors and cease all operations immediately. As such, we will not reopen for classes on January 7th (or any time thereafter) as originally planned,” Rose wrote in-part.
“It’s a burden,” Davis said. “I’m thinking I’m in a nightmare, in a dream, and I haven’t woke up from it.”
She now has just days to go through the headache of finding her son a new school to attend so he can stay on track.
“It’s a shock,” she said. “First thing that crossed my mind was what about I going to do with my son.”
The letter that was sent to parents noted that the school could not stay open due to a lack of funding.
“Our main school investor did not deliver on his promise to provide the additional finances needed to accompany the scholarship funds that are required to run the school through June,” Rose wrote in-part.
Davis said the private school charges $4,200 per student for the year, the cheapest she could find in the Charlotte-area when she looked for schools to send her son.
She said she doesn’t want to send her son to CMS because she wants to ensure her son gets the one-on-one attention he needs to succeed.
The principal offered to place them in an online cybercharter, which provides no personal contact at all.
Keung Hui, a reporter for the “News Observer’ tweeted:
Legacy Prep, which abruptly closed Friday, got $283,500 this year from NC for 135 voucher students. The private school is in same building & led by same principal when Charlotte Learning Academy was there before charter was not renewed in spring. #nced
The school was a charter that was not renewed, then a voucher school that failed.
Thats the market: Instability is a feature, not a bug.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There will be a lot more of these stories. Ed reformers have vastly expanded vouchers and there’s little or no regulation.
Asking them to consider what their policies do to students in existing public schools is way beyond what they do- they don’t even do any real analysis of the charter and voucher policies. It’s pure ideology. “Choice = Better” that’s the extent of the “analysis” in the echo chamber.
That’s why we need real public school advocates in government to speak for our students. Our kids are the dead last priority in these states. No one works for them. They’re the “default” population- treated as a amorphous mass of “students remaining in public schools”, useful only to serve as a safety net while they transition to wholly privatized systems. They’re poorly served by their own government employees in these states. We can do better- hire better.
In Florida, where the Republican legislature is mad for vouchers and accountability, the private schools (mostly religious) that get vouchers are exempt from any state tests or accountability.
Some investment in the future.
Easy definitions to explain the differences between types of schools from the eyes of the state.
Public School: You must reach these standards and this is how you will do it.
Charter School: You must reach these standards, but you can figure out ways to do it.
Private School (esp. vouchers): We’re not even going to make you reach a standard. As long as the parents keep their kids enrolled, we’ll assume you’re doing well.
It’s been amusing to watch from the public school perspective because we had 8 years of the Obama Administration bashing public schools and promoting charter schools, and now we’ve had 3 years of the Trump Administration bashing public schools and promoting private schools.
You’ll notice which students ed reform never seems to get around to supporting or aiding in any way. Eventually maybe one or two of them will get around to the “unfashionable 90%” of students and families.
Too bad Charters and Vouchers weren’t mentioned as SCAMS in this article. Do note that dump is at the top of this list.
Quote: “Bottom line: There are a lot of con men and grifters out there, starting with the current White House resident. Be smart. If it seems too good to be true, don’t fall for it. If it looks off, don’t trust it.”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/5/1908856/-Scams-you-should-not-fall-for-in-2020?detail=emaildkre
We have devolved into a society in which education depends on a myriad of funding schemes. Students cannot count on charters or vouchers. Should young people seek out wealthy people and ask, “Please, sir, may I have an education?”
Wow déjà vu. Just got home after circling thro a fave 3-y.o. specialty grocery to see if they were just taking an unannounced long winter break, or were really closed. Talked to a couple of purveyors out back who were trying to finally collect on previous deliveries. Yup, flew the coop. Feeling very lucky I got a $300 overcharge to credit card refunded by them 3 wks ago [“typo” by cashier?!]. Meanwhile lady in this article is probably won’t get more voucher $ to cover the rest of the school year at a private. That’s what you get in a state that views education as a biz. Day-lily school-stores.
“Caught off guard”?? Well, I know your school isn’t financially solvent, but what the heck, live on the edge, I’ve got my voucher, and we are so there!! Said no parent, ever.
Their main school investor did not deliver on his promise to finance the operation. They were relying on one man to keep the school open, and he showed them the power of freedom of choice; he chose not to donate. Donors choose.
It is a real loss of innocence. 💔
These charter and voucher schools really are just a license to steal aren’t they? I gotta get me one on these, and soon.