For students at the imperiled Amandla Charter Academy in northeast Denver, tears come fast and easy when talking about possibly losing their school.
Denver’s school board will vote Monday on a charter application for the school, but the district staff is recommending against it — citing systemic financial and academic problems.
Senior Jennifer Bynum, 17, and sophomore Arreon Miller, 16, quietly sobbed Wednesday inside a classroom as they described the family atmosphere at the school that they say has embraced them.
“You’re taking away our home, and people don’t like when their homes are taken away,” said Bynum, who received a full scholarship to Mississippi’s Jackson State University this week. “Why are they tearing something apart that can help more people get a full ride?”
Miller said she was a troubled seventh-grader when she came to Amandla — then known as Challenges, Choices & Images Charter School, or CCI.
Miller said she skipped classes and often got into fights at other schools. CCI’s staff turned her behavior around and gave her hope.
Both students say Amandla is a successful school and should remain open.
“If this is the last year, I don’t want it to be in vain. I don’t want it to be known as a failure because we’ve succeeded in so many ways,” Miller said. “We’re still fighting, and we’re still going.”
Friday, Denver Public Schools’ School Improvement Accountability Council will provide its recommendation on Amandla, which is preschool through 12th grade with 450 students.
District staff on Monday told the school board that Amandla should close because it does not have a viable financial plan and lacks a rigorous curriculum, among other things.
The school needs at least $200,000 to survive through the rest of the school year and is still reeling under the sullied reputation of CCI.
CCI was the lowest-ranked school on Denver’s accountability scorecard. Its officials were accused of mixing public money for a private enterprise and hiring ex-convicts, including an assistant principal convicted of possessing a crack pipe. The school’s financier threatened to evict CCI unless changes were made.
A new principal was brought in, a new governing board was convened and the name was changed. Denver’s school board agreed to give Amandla a one-year contract.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
