A public hearing was held on September 13 to address the concerns of Ithaca residents about the New Roots Charter School. While it is not necessarily up to Ithaca’s taxpayers to decide the fate of New Roots, there are certainly some strong feelings both for and against the renewal of New Roots’ charter. New Roots was originally granted a charter from the state, providing that it would work to encourage innovation, improve student achievement, and provide families with greater educational choice. Although these goals may seem virtuous in nature, some people believe that New Roots is wasteful in practice and failing to meet these goals.
At the hearing, only two passionate members of the public defended their strong opinions against renewing the charter school. This is very low, considering the previous meetings where 42 people spoke—35 of them being in favor of renewing the charter. Nonetheless, the latest hearing indicated a major change in sentiment towards the charter. Corrine Frantz and Pat Ehrich represented the Coalition for Sustainable Schools and made sure to create some friction before the ultimate decision regarding New Roots would be concluded. Aside from Frantz and Ehrich, several members of the ICSD Board of Education (BoE) also spoke, further criticizing New Roots. BoE member Pat Wasyliw in particular condemned New Roots for not meeting certain academic thresholds set by the state, such as attendance and academics. Charter schools are often expected to outperform local public schools; however, New Roots falls short by a noticeable percentage in virtually every regard. In 2015, New Roots graduated 79 percent of its students while IHS graduated 94 percent. Despite this increase from the 51 percent grad rate that New Roots had in 2010, people are still wary of the school’s value to the community. Rob Ainslie, president of the BoE, was the last to speak, and also voiced negative sentiments towards the school. “It’s an institution that is declining enrollment… I’m not sure, frankly, how they can keep the doors open and pay their bills,” Ainslie said.
The vehement opponents of New Roots’ renewal as a whole are primarily concerned about two things: the future of the students who currently attend New Roots and the money that goes into supporting this allegedly ineffective school. Funding for charter schools does come from taxpayer money, and more and more people are feeling as though they are feeding a dying animal. ICSD gives New Roots one million dollars each year; naturally, people are wondering if that money would be put to better use elsewhere.
Even with these staggering statistics, New Roots’ principal, Tina Nielsen-Hodge, maintains high hope for the school. “In the last two years, we’ve had our highest graduation rates ever at New Roots, and we have very stable enrollment that’s allowing us to support the school in a fiscally responsible way,” she said. “There’s all kinds of wonderful things happening with the young people that chose New Roots, and many of our Class of 2012 are just now graduating from college and going on to great things.” Nielsen-Hodge said that she remains confident New Roots’ charter will be renewed.
The charter school’s future is still undetermined, but the final decision will be made in the coming months by the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. For now, New Roots remains a precarious charter on the edge of a major change.
please actually come and see new roots before writing this much stuff about how bad it is.