KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Board members of Hogan Preparatory Academy have until Monday, Jan. 9, to submit an assessment of leadership at the Kansas City, Missouri-based charter school to the Missouri Charter Public School Commission.
The assessment is a required response to a letter of concern the commission sent the school in November. The letter laid out concerns about staffing struggles, security issues and a high number of student suspensions. The initial letter required Hogan to move its high school students to virtual learning.
In December, the state followed up by placing Hogan on academic probation, citing low MAP test scores and issues providing students with certified teachers. If Hogan does not meet certain requirements, the state could revoke its charter, forcing the school to close after this semester.
Upon returning from Thanksgiving Break, Hogan implemented a series of changes including more safety protocols, more security guards, more staff members, a new cell phone policy, more personalized learning pathways and more emotional and social support systems.
“Our young people deserve an opportunity to be in a productive environment. Any agency that helps us be accountable to being sure we serve them appropriately, we welcome that opportunity,” Hogan Superintendent Dr. Jayson Strickland said in December 2022. “We want to step up to that challenge and make sure we do good things for young people.”
To remove academic probation status, the school needs to submit more information by Feb. 15 on its leadership structure and methods to evaluate leadership. By Feb. 28, the school board must determine how it will serve students next school year. By May 15, Hogan must show 80% of the teachers on its roster for the next school year have teaching certifications from Missouri in their assigned areas.
The state also suggested Hogan consider closing one or more of its three campuses, perhaps giving it to another charter school in the area to operate.
On Monday afternoon, Strickland released a statement on the deadline:
Hogan Preparatory Academy (HPA) strives to provide a safe, healthy, and favorable environment for learning. The leadership at HPA took immediate steps in November to improve our school environment, including adding personnel at each building. We are pleased to report that since returning from the Thanksgiving break, HPA High School has not had a single disruptive incident. As part of the second semester plan, Hogan has a lower adult-to- student ratio, limited student use of cell phones during the school day, five substitute teachers on site every day, and ensured teachers and staff are always present during transition periods. We are confident these changes will provide a better environment for learning that will allow our teachers to do their best work, allow our students to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially, and alleviate the safety concerns from the Missouri Public Charter School Commission.
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