Odyssey Charter School was back before the state’s Charter School Accountability Committee (CSAC) Monday.
The 45 minute meeting in Dover was the first step in the latest formal review of the Greek-themed charter school .
Odyssey is already on probation, placed there last July by the state Department of Education.
This new formal review started last month after DOE determined the school’s board of directors failed to meet a January 1 deadline to alter its board composition and to develop a plan for filling future vacancies.
Monday’s 45 minute meeting included discussion of the board’s effectiveness in the wake of recorded comments by board members about “building a wall” between Odyssey and the adjacent dual-language Academia Antonia Alonso, which rents classroom space from Odyssey.
One of the Odyssey board of directors’s new members, Alisa Moen, handled most of the school’s presentation.
“We appreciate the committee’s time to meet with us and address the conditions and concerns that led to the second formal review," said Moen. "We are hopeful based on the questions we received that Odyssey is well on its way to satisfying the conditions and alleviating any concerns the committee may have.”
Moen described how the board has transitioned away from having a majority of members affiliated with the Greek fraternal organization that founded the school.
She adds the board plans to conduct inclusion and diversity training for board members and staff and to resolve the issues raised with Academia Antonia Alonso.
The formal review process continues with public hearings in March and April and another CSAC meeting before state Secretary of Education Susan Bunting and State Board of Education make a final decision on April 23rd.
