A pair of related companies have applied to run 19 charter schools in Florida. The size of the request has stirred concerns among educators.
By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published October 15, 2003
The name on the front of the charter school application says Academies of America. But when Hillsborough school officials were briefed recently by the company's founders, another name occasionally slipped out.
By accident, the presenters called it "Academies of Excellence," a charter school company on Florida's east coast operated by many of the same people who run Academies of America.
Together, the two companies have peppered 10 Central Florida counties with 19 charter school applications. The Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk and Hernando school districts are among them.
Though they have never opened or run a school before, the sister companies face the task of convincing school boards over the next few weeks that they can successfully launch as many as 19 schools at once. Each would have an annual budget of between $917,000 and $1.1-million.
"They have so many applications in across the state. Do they have the manpower to administer that many schools?" said Mary Krabel, a curriculum specialist for Hernando County schools. "It appears to me that they didn't take a lot of time to investigate the needs of any one county."
While charter schools in Florida are privately run, they are publicly funded. That means the financial responsibility for a charter lies with the school district that sponsors it.
Doug Jackson, founder of the two Ormond Beach-based charter companies, said he doesn't expect all of the applications to be approved.
Eight to 12 would be reasonable, he said. State law caps the number of charter schools one corporation can oversee at 15. It is one reason Academies is split into two units.
While some district officials worry about the long-term impact of the company overcommitting on the public dime, Jackson says the strategy is essential to making the schools successful.
The more schools the companies run, the more dollars they get from the state. Jackson says the additional money will allow them to hire key people who can provide services to all of the schools.
"In order to really make the schools the high caliber that we want, I want to be able to use the services of the best experts in every area," Jackson said.
But according to the applications, many of those services would be delivered through partnerships with companies run by some of the same people who would run the schools.
For example:
As a central part of the curriculum, each of the schools would use ActiveClassroom, a Web-based computer program created by a company called C2T2 Educational Systems Inc., which Jackson runs. Jackson says the software would be donated. The Web sites for both Academies of America and Academies of Excellence are registered to C2T2 Educational Systems.
Financial and human resources services would be provided by Venture Business Associates Inc., a Daytona Beach company overseen by C2T2 Educational Systems board member David Rooks. This would be a paid service, Jackson said.
Academies of America board member Larry Rosen is a founding partner of one company that would consult with the schools and is listed as a staff member for another.
Rosen's EdDesigns Group, according to the application, would help the schools coordinate curriculum with the school's vision. Rosen also is on staff at the Institute for the Study of Digital Inclusion, which would work with the schools to provide technology and training for economically disadvantaged students. The group is seeking nonprofit status with the state.
The Educational Research Foundation, another organization Jackson oversees, would provide inservice training to teachers and seek grant funding for the schools.
While the crossover of services is a key element of the schools' academic plan, school districts that are reviewing the applications are not giving it much attention. That's because state law requires districts to judge charter school proposals strictly on the merits of their application.
Still, Volusia County assistant superintendent Chris Colwell said the connections between Academies and its proposed partners raise a question central to the board's decision: "Our board wants to know who is responsible and who in fact is running the school."
Polk County education officials are expected to ask their School Board to deny the company's application during an Oct. 22 meeting. In a letter to Academies, Polk's charter school review committee listed "complete lack of community support" foremost among its concerns.
Hernando County educators criticized the Academies of America application for being cookie-cutter - one application slightly altered for each county.
Other counties have the same concern.
"We felt it was too general to get a feeling for what they were going to be able to accomplish," said Mary Ann Haas, Flagler County's executive director for curriculum and instruction. Flagler denied an Academies of Excellence application earlier this year.
Jackson said working through such concerns is a standard part of the process. He expressed confidence that the faculty being assembled is capable of tailoring the schools to meet local needs.
In addition to Flagler County, Academies submitted applications earlier this year in Orange, Seminole, Marion, Osceola and Volusia counties. In each case, the companies either withdrew their proposals prior to a board vote or were rejected.
Jackson said he withdrew the first round of applications in order to comply with newly altered charter school legislation. "We really want to work with the districts that are amiable to charters," Jackson said.
Board votes on the Academies of America applications are set for Oct. 21 in Pasco, Oct. 22 in Polk and Oct. 28 in Pinellas and Hillsborough. Hernando County school officials set a second board workshop for Nov. 4, with a vote planned later that month.
Charter applications
School officials worry that two sister charter school companies known as Academies of Excellence and Academies of America are spreading themselves too thin by applying to open 19 charter schools in 10 counties. Here are their applications:
