Monday, December 3, 2012

Group wants change at Waterfront School


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