MLK, PVPA charter schools being watched closely by state board

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (WWLP) - The same day that they voted to allow the New Leadership Charter School to withdraw their charter application , the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted on matters related to two other charter schools in western Massachusetts.

During their meeting at Bridgewater State University on Tuesday, board members voted to take the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School in Springfield off probation, after it met certain academic conditions. State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester said that they will be keeping a close eye on the school, even though they're off probation.

The board also acknowledged that the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School did not meet conditions set to improve the performance of seventh and eighth graders in math.  The board set new deadlines for them to meet.

Scott Goldman, the head of the South Hadley performing arts school, told the board on Tuesday how grateful he is to get the chance to be better.

Goldman told the board that he wanted “to say thank you for raising the bar beyond what it already is, and that we're confident we can meet those conditions and continue to be the really fantastic school that we are.”

The Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School must come up with a plan of action and an evaluation of its math program by this spring.