PSSA Fallout continues after the Erie School Board revoked the Charter of Erie Rise Youth Leadership Academy Charter School.

  In making the decision, board members cited declining state test scores, saying not only did the charter school not live up to a 2019 deal promising to raise scores, it actually reported lower scores than three years ago. 

 

Erie Rise leaders say that's true, but it doesn't accurately represent the situation.

They say scores dropped when the pandemic hit, like they for Erie Public Schools as well. Erie Rise leaders say since returning to in-person learning, scores have started to rebound, meeting or exceeding state growth standards.

 

"To hold us accountable for an agreement was established prior to a pandemic is unfair. No one predict the pandemic coming. In fact, 10 of 13 elementary schools in the Erie Public School system, if they were held to the same metric, all of them should be shut down,"  said Erie Rise Director David Krakoff. 

 

Parents Erie News Now spoke with had mixed reactions to the closure. 

One father, Dimitrius Vincent, said his son Naray had improved significantly since beginning school at Erie Rise this fall.

Vincent said he's frustrated and hopes the school finds a way to stay open.

Other parents, like Nikita McLaurin, are less happy with Erie Rise.
She questioned if her son's needs were being met and said an inadequate education sets children up for failure.
"It sounds good to take them out of the school and put them somewhere else, but knowing that they have been receiving this below-average education, can they actually compete at another school? No," she said.
 
Erie Rise officials have signaled that they may fight the charter revocation, but that's further complicated by the 2019 agreement keeping the school open. In it, charter school leaders agreed not to fight if scores didn't meet the 2022 standards.