After
identifying Waterfront Elementary School as being in the bottom 5 percent of worst performing schools, Chameleon
Community Schools Project has filed an application with the New York State
Board of Regents to turn it into a charter school.
Representatives
of Chameleon met with the Buffalo School Board on Nov. 7 to discuss the
possibility of a charter agreement. Lead Project Director for Chameleon Steven
Polowitz said the discussions were met with stiff opposition from teachers and
school board members.
Multiple
attempts to reach Buffalo Public Schools and The Buffalo Teachers Federation
went unanswered.
If
the application goes through, Polowitz said the Board of Regents will require
Waterfront to shut down as a Buffalo Public School. This, he said, will allow
Chameleon to come in and implement administrative structure changes and reopen
it as a charter school.
“This
is Waterfront's second year without a turnaround plan,” he said. “If parents
demanded schools in good standing, Buffalo Public Schools would be obligated to
do that. They don't have the resources to do that right now.”
Under
“Charter Restart,” Polowitz said Chameleon will look to hire a new staff, but
current teachers will still be able to apply. Waterfront will remain open to
public school students.
“We
believe our model gives the school the best chance for turnaround success,” he
said. “We want to do this as smoothly as possible.” By Brian Alexander and
Jennifer Waters
