Gateway renews Spectrum Charter School's charter for five years

The Gateway school board unanimously voted last week to renew a school’s public charter, keeping the school of 32 students alive for another five years.

Michelle Johnson, Spectrum Charter School’s executive director, was pleasantly surprised by the move taken by the board at a Feb. 18 meeting.

“Yes, I’m surprised,” Johnson said moments after the vote. “I’m happy. They were very kind to us.”

Up for a vote was Spectrum’s charter, which, according to Pennsylvania Department of Education code, must be reviewed and renewed by the home school district every five years. Spectrum’s charter expired Jan. 1.

The school’s charter could have been renewed as early as Jan. 21. But at that meeting, the board voted to table it.

The delay was due to the board’s investigation into a complaint brought by a Spectrum student’s parent, Tricia Shelton, of Monroeville, in November. Shelton said Spectrum “miserably failed my child.”

Shelton said Johnson had “denied my child access to school for an indiscriminate amount of time.” She told board members the move was not the result of a suspension or an expulsion and charged the board to not renew the charter.

She also said Johnson did not follow the policies or procedures outlined in the school’s handbook. She said she has every reason to believe the action was “purely discriminatory.”

Shelton said her son was out of school for a total of 22 days between October and November.

“During that time, I watched my child – who desperately wanted to attend school – regress and lose skills,” Shelton said at a November meeting. Her son, who is on the autism spectrum, no longer attends Spectrum Charter School.

When reached by phone, Shelton declined to comment further.

Johnson declined to comment on the specifics of Shelton’s charges, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that protects student education records.

Spectrum parents and staff, however, responded to Shelton’s complaint in droves. Many showed up at Gateway’s meetings leading up to the Feb. 18 vote to praise the school and urge leaders to renew the charter.

One mother who addressed Gateway said her family moved to Monroeville from Texas in order to enroll their child in the school.

“We specifically looked for a home in the Gateway school district to ensure he got a spot at the school,” said Rachel Kennedy, speaking of her son, who she said has been enrolled there for two years now.

Spectrum is a public charter school that touts itself as “the first autism-specific charter school in the United States” and now enrolls 32 children aged 13 to 21 from 13 school districts around the region. Its first day of school was in September 2000.

“Spectrum has been life-changing for our son and family,” she said.

Gateway Superintendent Bill Short said he is not aware of any other complaints against Spectrum Charter School. The complaint prompted the administration to review Spectrum’s policies regarding discipline and admission.

Short said all the materials were forwarded by Spectrum and reviewed by administration.

After the school board unanimously renewed the charter, Short said the district takes all complaints seriously.

“We are responsible for doing our due diligence and examining, asking for information – especially with a renewal of a charter,” he said.