Major changes announced for 2 Philadelphia charter schools days before start of 2022-23 classes
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It will be back to school for most students in Philadelphia on Monday, but some parents just found out two charter schools will not be welcoming students back to class as scheduled. One school is likely to close and the other will likely start a week late.
More than 1,000 West Philadelphia families are in limbo right now. They're scrambling to find another school for their children to go to because their usual schools will not be opening on Monday.
The shocking news about the start of the school year was shared on social media Thursday morning. Four days before the start of school, parents were informed that there will be no classroom to go to for students at Daroff and Bluford Charter Schools.
The Board of Education is holding an emergency meeting regarding this on Friday. According to the agenda for the meeting, Daroff, on Vine Street, will surrender its charter and close immediately.
The property will be returned to the school district.
Parents knew something was wrong when they got an email telling them not to bring their children to school next week.
Meanwhile, its sister school Bluford will stay open for the 2022-23 school year, but it's unknown whether the school will continue to operate after that.
The first day of school for Bluford has been pushed back to Tuesday, Sept. 6.
All students at Daroff will be given the opportunity to enroll at Bluford since Daroff is closing down. A lottery system will be used if there aren't enough seats for all the applicants.
Collectively, the two charter schools enroll more than 1,000 students.
Both schools were managed by a private organization called Universal Companies. The Philadelphia School District chose not to renew items charter agreement with Universal.
The situation brings one parent to tears.
"People out here need to be real," parent Jamie Rodgers said. "Because kids, it don't make no sense. I feel like, you know, some kids been here since Kindergarten and about to go to the 8th grade. It's not fair for the kids. It's not, because the kids need to fight for their education, you know. It's crazy how as parents, now we gotta look and find another school. It's not fair how the kids gotta start 8th grade at another school. It's not fair. It's not fair for nobody. It's a shame."
The School District of Philadelphia is having an emergency meeting at 9 a.m. Friday to finalize an agreement to close Bluford and move at least some of the remaining students to Daroff.