Teachers, students at shuttered Houston charter school pack up State says Jesse Jackson Academy owes $3.2 million

A handful of teachers and families turned out at the Jesse Jackson Academy this morning to clean out their classrooms and get their transcripts to take to a new school.

The Houston charter school, which is run by the husband of Democratic state Rep. Alma Allen, was ordered closed Thursday by the Texas Education Agency.

The campus, at 5400 Griggs, must remain closed until it resolves several bookkeeping issues, state officials said. The campus, along with its sister school in Fort Worth that was closed last month, owes the federal government $3.2 million in misappropriated federal grants.

Teachers at the school hadn't gotten paid for about two months.

"We're all in shock about what's going on," said teacher Wanda Thomas. "We had no knowledge of anything that was said or done."

A few employees were on hand to help students get copies of their records Friday and to suggest other campuses that they might attend.

"We're just helping the students. Nobody's helping the teachers," Thomas said.

Mother Pamela Lawal said she isn't sure what school her 17-year-old son Manjaroe will attend. He has enjoyed attending the Jesse Jackson Academy since August, she said.

"He was doing a really good job. He was really happy," she said. "The children received a lot of one-on-one attention."

This teaches students the value of education, she said.

"It's a test. We've got to move on from here," Lawal said.

Officials with the school, including Principal Lawrence Allen Sr., did not return calls seeking comment. Lawrence Allen's son is Lawrence Allen Jr., a Houston Independent School District administrator and the city's representative on the State Board of Education, which approves charter schools.

Commissioner Robert Scott write in a letter Thursday that the school may be able to reopen if it resolves all the outstanding issues. If not, the charter will be revoked, he warned.

Charter schools are public campuses that are funded by tax dollars but are free from many of the regulations of traditional campuses. About 82,000 Texas students attend one of the 450 or so campuses operated by the charter holders.

David Dunn, executive director of the newly formed Texas Charter Schools Association, said that maintaining quality in the charter school movement is extremely important.

"It's all about the kids," he said. "It's critical that we provide high-quality operations for kids. But it's broader than that. We have to run tight ships and run sound financial operations."

Jesse Jackson earned an "acceptable" rating under the state system for charter schools that serve a large percentage of at-risk students, but it was flagged in 2005 for irregularities on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.

Texas Education Agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said the state doesn't like disrupting students' school year like this but officials had no other option.

"They've been warned. They've been told," she said.

HISD officials said they are prepared to enroll the displaced students in several nearby campuses, including Jones, Worthing and Sterling high schools. Jones and Worthing are rated "academically unacceptable" by the state. Sterling has an "acceptable" rating.

"We've got plenty of space," HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said. "We'd be happy to have them."

jennifer.radcliffe@chron.com