Low-performing Preclarus Mastery Academy charter school to close

Kristen Taketa
Dec 8, 2017
Dec 8, 2017
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Surprise funding of hundres of DonorsChoose.org requests — Preclarus Mastery Academy sixth grader Rcalah Love-Rucker prepare to make a pitch in modified game of kickball during gym class on Thursday, March 10, 2016. The school's gym teacher Ryan Johnson put in a $2,400 dollar request to help the school buy new gym equipment on . Johnson's request was one of hundreds that funded by Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey, a St. Louis native, and others as a surprise hundreds of teachers across Missouri Thursday. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
David Carson

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Receiving a second chance to improve its performance, the Preclarus Mastery Academy charter school will close at the end of the school year because of poor academic outcomes, enrollment decline and strained finances, officials announced Friday.

The school鈥檚 sponsor, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, had tried to close the school at the beginning of this year. The school was given a second chance after school leaders appealed.

But this year鈥檚 state test scores, which were released last month, revealed that the school did not meet the adjusted performance goals that the university had set. Only 18.1 percent of students scored proficient or advanced on state English tests this year and 5.6 percent did so in math.

Those scores dropped from last year, when 32.4 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in English and 12.9 percent did so in math.

The school only this year reached an annual performance report score from the state that barely met the level of provisional accreditation. It earned 50.6 percent of points possible on its annual review.

On top of that, enrollment dropped this year, and therefore, so did the school鈥檚 funding. Fewer than 150 students in fourth through eighth grade enrolled this year, down from about 200 last year, said Bill Mendelsohn, director of charter schools for the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

This time, the university鈥檚 charter school office came to a mutual agreement with school leaders to close.

鈥淭hey accepted the fact that their performance was not strong enough,鈥� Mendelsohn said. 鈥淭hey felt it would be in the best interest of all, especially the students, that this would be the last year.鈥�

The school at 620 North Grand Boulevard opened in 2011.

Charter schools are independently-run public schools that in Missouri are allowed only in St. Louis and Kansas City.

One main reason the school struggled is it lacked strong and stable leadership from the beginning, Mendelsohn said. The school鈥檚 founder left after two years and an interim replacement had no leadership experience. The founding school board also had little governance experience.

The school eventually installed a new leader, Tonya Harris, who tried to rescue the school from closure. But, Mendelsohn said 鈥渋t was too little, too late.鈥�

Preclarus will become the 12th charter school to close in St. Louis. The school鈥檚 official last day is June 30.