On Moyer Academy Recent Developments

Epilogue language in the budget indicates that DOE will “directly manage a school to be operated at the location currently served by the Maurice J. Moyer Academy” through June 30, 2012. The state will “contract with K-12 Classroom DE, LLC to operate the school from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011.” At that point, an RFP process will determine the operator from until June 30, 2012.

Questions abound, with policy implications beyond this building: Is it too late to enroll enough students for the fall? Will any operator be willing to take on a one year contract? Will K-12 have an illegal advantage in that process? Is this still a charter, and will the school have to go through the formal chartering process or have we created a new type of school? Could state takeover be a strategy for low-performing schools more broadly?