Houston school board questions saving low-performing charter school C.O.R.E. Academy was forced to close due to poor academic performance

Houston ISD trustees are considering whether to save one of the region's lowest-performing charter schools, which was forced to close due to repeated academic failures.

Trustees questioned Monday whether C.O.R.E. Academy, which serves 475 students in elementary through high school on Houston's south side, is worth keeping open given its abysmal academic performance. C.O.R.E. Academy ranked last out of 878 elementary schools and 317 middle schools in the Houston area on the Children At Risk rankings, which measure academic performance in the context of poverty levels.

To keep C.O.R.E. Academy open, the district would take over responsibility for the school's academic performance ratings issued by the Texas Education Agency. C.O.R.E. Academy, which opened in 2013-14, received an "improvement required" rating in each of its first three years, triggering a state law that requires automatic closure.

About 93 percent of C.O.R.E. Academy's students qualified as economically disadvantaged, and 84 percent were deemed "at risk" under state guidelines in 2016-17. Children can be considered at risk if they have a history of poor academic performance or meet certain social criteria, such as homeless or pregnant.

Trustees are scheduled to vote Aug. 10 on the reprieve. Board members did not signal how they plan to vote, though they raised questions about the school's performance history, its location relative to Houston ISD campuses and its share of certified teachers.

"I'm just wondering why we would add another failing school to our portfolio of schools, rather than offer some other way for those kids to come to another school," Trustee Anna Eastman said.

Board Chairwoman Wanda Adams noted that C.O.R.E. Academy is located in an area where Houston ISD schools are sparse, particularly for high school students. The nearest high school, Worthing, is about 3 miles away.

"I think it's a good move, but if they don't handle it academically, they're not going to stay," Adams said.

District officials signaled they're willing and able to keep C.O.R.E. Academy open.

"They were very eager to have support and resources they could use from us," Houston ISD chief of staff Cynthia Wilson said.

C.O.R.E. Academy administrators said they believe students were making gains at the school, pointing to success in hitting its "student progress" benchmark in 2015-16. The school failed to meet the other three state benchmarks: student achievement, closing performance gaps and college readiness.

David Fuller, the school's co-founder and principal, said in a statement that C.O.R.E. Academy is "a viable, salvageable, and greatly needed educational resource in southeast Houston."

"This partnership will be a win-win for both entitles, and more importantly, a win for students," Fuller said in the statement. He refused to an interview request.

Under Fuller's leadership, C.O.R.E. Academy has foundered academically amid extraordinary teacher turnover. According to state data, about four-in-five C.O.R.E. Academy teachers each year had zero classroom experience. The average C.O.R.E. Academy teacher earned about $38,000, at least $10,000 less than entry-level salaries at Houston-area traditional public schools.

At the same time, Fuller and the school's business manager, Shun Johnson, earned about $180,000 in 2016-17. By comparison, Houston ISD principals earned $80,000 to $130,000 this year, and superintendents of traditional public school districts serving less than 1,000 students averaged about $100,000.

In his statement, Fuller said he and Johnson earned salaries of $143,750 this year and back compensation of $36,000, the result of board members not paying them their full salary in prior years.

"Ms. Johnson and I both made significant personal and financial sacrifices for the dream of bringing C.O.R.E. Academy to life," Fuller said in his statement. "Overall, the compensation remains in market range for the vast work of a charter school admin (sic) team."

Fuller said he expects the administration and board members to remain if the contract with HISD is approved. District officials could mandate administrative changes during contract negotiations, but those wouldn't start until the board authorizes moving ahead with keeping C.O.R.E. Academy open.

Charter schools are publicly funded campuses governed by a private board of trustees. C.O.R.E. Academy received about $4 million from the state in 2015-16, the most recent year with available data.

The district has similar contracts with 10 charter schools. Last year, it took on oversight of Victory Preparatory Academy, which was also ordered to close after three straight "improvement required" ratings.