New charter school coming to The Banks?

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It’s quiet on the fourth floor of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. There’s the genealogical library, but there’s only one person in it. And the rest of the floor is vacant – unused offices, empty chairs.

Could this be the space for Cincinnati’s next charter school?

Plans are tentative, but Carpe Diem school wants to open a second location in the Freedom Center on The Banks. The deal would give the Freedom Center, which has struggled since it opened, an infusion of cash. And, it would give the school’s students a chance to learn in a culturally rich environment.

The finances aren’t yet decided, but the city’s first Carpe Diem school, for grades seven through 12, rents a wing at Aiken High School for about $200,000 a year. The museum might make something like that on the charter, said provost and vice president Michael Battle.

Four years ago, the Freedom Center was on the verge of collapse. Its revenue was $1.5 million short. There was talk of turning over the museum to the federal government, and center leaders told The Enquirer that if they couldn’t find a way to make more money, they would close.

But funding is now stable, said Battle, who came on in January. The $4.5 million budget is balanced this year, with projections for a surplus.

This is a little bit about money, Battle said. But mostly, it’s about a rich education.

“The revenue, by itself, would not be sufficient cause for doing something like this,” he said. “But it’s certainly a complimentary cause that makes it attractive.”

Surviving versus thriving

The Freedom Center opened in 2004, its mission to tell stories of freedom’s heroes. But it hasn’t gone exactly as planned, with debt, doubts and low attendance taking their toll.

Early forecasts showed more than 300,000 people a year would visit the museum, but reality is closer to 120,000.

The center cut its initial staff of about 100 in half.

And charter schools have had their struggles, too. There are roughly 400 throughout the state, but a Center for Research on Education Outcomes report showed that, on average, students in Ohio charter schools perform worse than their counterparts in traditional public schools.

Battle likes Carpe Diem’s take on education, though – heavily individualized, with students doing a lot of independent work online.

And, he’s trying to move the Freedom Center from surviving on fundraising to using the building to make revenue. The school would be part of that, he said.

“Even without Carpe Diem, we would still be sustainable,” he said. “But the objective is not simply to survive. The objective is to thrive.”

Is it better than what we have?

The city’s first Carpe Diem sits in Cincinnati Public Schools’ Aiken High School. CPS is Carpe Diem’s sponsor – essentially, the entity that vouches for the charter to the state – and Carpe Diem rents a wing at Aiken.

State data is old, but in 2013-14, Carpe Diem high school students outperformed CPS in writing and math but lagged behind in reading, social studies and science. At the middle school level, Carpe Diem students scored worse than those at CPS in reading, math and science.

Carpe Diem is about 93 percent black, and more than 85 percent of its students are considered economically disadvantaged, according to the state.

The district hasn’t made a decision on whether it wants to sponsor a second Carpe Diem. And, technically -- officially -- Carpe Diem hasn’t asked. But all three parties -- CPS, the charter and the Freedom Center -- seem intrigued by the idea.

CPS board member Melanie Bates is concerned about Carpe Diem’s middle school scores, she said, but the city needs more quality high school seats.

"If the academics continue to improve, I'm fine with expanding," Bates said. "I just want to make sure that what we're sponsoring is as-good or better than the schools we already offer. Because if not, what's the point?"

‘Disenchanted’ with education

Students start the day at Carpe Diem in a large, open space called the Learning Center. It’s a setup akin to office cubicles: high school students in rows on one side of the room; middle school students on the other, each with his or her own computer.

Learning coaches roam the aisles, checking work and answering questions, but for the most part, students in the Learning Center study on their own. They spend about half their time doing that – more on some days, less on others – and then, they schedule “project” time, which is more like a traditional class.

Carpe Diem requires more self-motivation, because each student has to set his or her own pace, but that’s the school’s culture, said Principal Tyree Gaines. She tells students: You can’t slow down, but you can go as fast as you’re able.

Gaines taught English at CPS’ Withrow University High School before she took over at Carpe Diem. She knew she wanted to be a principal one day, she said, but the longer she taught, the more she knew she didn’t want a traditional school.

She was “disenchanted,” she said, as she watched student after student get pushed along – graduating without truly having mastered the content.

“It’s disheartening,” she said. “It’s criminal.”

At Carpe Diem, teachers are not broken down by grade level, so there’s no “passing the buck,” Gaines said.

She still teaches, too, advanced writing and an ACT class.

Schools need to focus on teaching children, she said, “and get over testing.”

Do we need it?

There are already 23 charter schools in CPS’ geographical territory, according to the latest statewide count. CPS itself has 55 schools, and there are private and regional online schools as well. Does the city need one more?

Gaines says yes. Carpe Diem is growing, up to 244 students this year, with a max capacity of 300. And while there are a lot of schools in Cincinnati, Gaines said, most of them are the same.

“Students need more options; parents need more options,” she said. “Everyone doesn’t learn the same, so we don’t teach the same.”

The Freedom Center and Carpe Diem signed a 45-day letter of intent a couple weeks ago, Battle said. On Monday, there were architects on the fourth floor, scoping out the space and possible renovations.

It’s still the due-diligence phase, and nothing is for sure, Battle said. But if he gets his wish, there will be a school in the museum next fall.

“There’s something significant about being in an academic environment where you can walk out and see where the power of the city actually takes place,” he said. “To get up in the morning and say, ‘Yeah, I’m going down to The Banks. That’s where I go to school.’”

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