By DAVID BOYLE
As the legendary radio newsman Paul Harvey used to say, “And now the rest of the story.”
More information has been gathered regarding the change of the Family Partnership Charter School to a correspondence school since the initial story about the dispute.
Previously, we reported that parents testified at the last school board meeting that the FPCS principal did not attend the March 20 Anchorage board meeting which had the school’s charter on its agenda. We’ve learned that Principal Jessica Parker could not attend because she was attending a Family Partnership Charter School board meeting that same night.
Contrary to testimony at the last school board meeting, cited in our article, Parker appears not to have coordinated on the ASD superintendent’s letter to the school regarding changing the school from a charter to a correspondence school.
Some parents also testified at the March 20 board meeting that the principal had received notification four days before the FPCS Board was notified.
New information indicates that Parker only received notification of this letter the same day as the FPCS board.
The Family Partnership Charter School has the most students of any school in the Anchorage School District — more than 1,700. It is a very successful school with proficiency test scores in reading and math 60% and 40% respectively, much higher than the average scores in Anchorage public schools
This school is so popular that there are more than 500 students competing for 100 slots in the next lottery. Parents recognize the Family Partnership Charter School provides curriculum choices which they can tailor to fit their child’s needs.
Today, parents of FPCS students can choose from four pathways to tailor their child’s education. These include a virtual school; a home school; a hybrid of ASD, University of Alaska Fairbanks, home school; and total private schools.
Despite its success in educating students, the FPCS has a very dysfunctional board, the Academic Policy Committee, which sets policy for the school. According to information we’ve recently received, the board is divided into two camps- one that favors keeping the current curriculum choices and another that wants to remove the private content providers.
Those who want to keep the current successful charter school curriculum choices also want to keep the current principal.
Those who want to change the curriculum by removing the private content providers oppose the principal.
Additionally, further board dysfunction is stoked by one member whose teacher spouse was not retained. This board member is pursuing a lawsuit against the principal and the Anchorage School District.
The district attempted to help the charter school board by sending representatives from the Alaska School Board Association. Its recommendation was to fire the entire board. That was unacceptable to the board, so it dismissed the ASBA.
In the last year, eight board members have resigned. In the last two months the board has met 12 times, including two regular meetings and 10 special meetings.
Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt has promised to keep the same curriculum for the Family Partnership Charter School as long as it follows state law.
He has also promised there will be no change to student allotments, which now start at $4,200 for elementary FPCS students.
Bryantt has promised that the principal, dean of students, and the business manager will be retained.
Bryantt promised that all funds will remain with the school. There is one problem with this promise: The FPCS charter states that, “Upon termination, charter school shall immediately return any unused funds to the District.”
These promises are set forth in the FAQs at this link.
The entire issue of transitioning the Family Partnership Charter School to a family correspondence school rests on trust in Superintendent Bryantt, who has made some big promises to seal the deal with the ASD School Board.
The ASD Board meets on April 3 to vote on the superintendent’s recommendation.
Can the Anchorage community trust Bryantt to keep his promises to parents and their children?
David Boyle is the education writer for Must Read Alaska.
Thank you. This is all helpful information!
I wouldn’t trust the Superintendent since the school district he was working at in Houston, TX has been taken over by the State of Texas Education Department. He was in charge of recruiting and hiring at that district.
They were off regulation for sometime with plenty of correspondence about it.
If you live your kids, get them as far away from public school as possible.
Out of Alaska, if necessary.
Bryantt wants to keep curricula as long as it “follows state law” aka- nothing with any religious or Christian values embedded. Aka- only things with woke-Ism, gender confusion and reparations verbage. Come on Anchorage… read between the liberal lines.
I believe the problem is you hav to follow the State Constitution, not utilize funding with a law that has not been tested by the Courts
This article is full of factual inaccuracies and misinformation. It was either written by a principal who has a massive increasing list of illegal actions and lawsuits against her or a former board chair that was removed for this kind of erroneous commentary and inappropriate relationship with said principal. Sad to see this kind of false narrative here. I’m a supporter of freedom of speech, but you should fact check more thoroughly before posting.
Thank you for the clarifications. If fpcs is “the school of choice”, then its apc should be promoting a vision for the school that aligns to that expectation. As a parent, I am at fpcs for this very reason. If the asd can support this mission and in the process clean up the apc dysfunction, let’s go!
What exactly is a “private content provider”?
Does that have something to do with the National Education Association suing the district for funneling public funds to private schools?
It seems “the rest of the story” has more holes than the previous story.
Nope. Don’t trust the Superintendent one bit.
The superintendent only applied for his training role at ASD superintendent after losing out on an elected position on the Houston Independent School Board. As we all know how poorly that district has performed; sounds alarmingly familiar with our ASD Board.
You could pay to run your kids through Kumon w/ funding provided through FPCS, toss a day at Alyeska in as gym class every once in a while, hire a music teacher, etc. and need not be concerned about perv books that local homosexuals think your kid should be shown. ASD has an horrific legacy and parents willing to responsibly handle a program such as FPCS win by separating themselves from the cesspit that ASD has become.
The boards at Charter Schools are always the downfall. Greedy parents want thing their way & don’t look at the bigger picture or what’s best for the kids.
I’ve worked at two Charter schools & Family Partnership was sharing a building with one of them so I herd their problems as well. The drama & rumors that parents kick up to out people they don’t like is sad.
Get your act together FP board for the good of the children. FP has some special features, protect that so it doesn’t become another ASD failure.
There is more to this story. What is the money trail? Superintendent Bryantt is a political appointment, a hardcore woke leftist. I could never imagine a government agency happily handing over cash. Unless a bunch of woke leftists have their kids in private school and are getting the money.
New disclosure: Superintendent Jarrett Bryantt works for and is responsible to Margo Bellamy, Pres. of Anchorage School Board. Margo is a less than honorable person relative to what she wants done with and to the students in the district. Margo is far left in disguise. Margo pushed the hiring of Super-Doper Bryantt and knew very well he did not have the credentials.
The problem is the fake superintendent saw a pot of cash he could hijack and is going for it. This is further example that the schools no longer have anything to do with educating kids. It has become a huge bureaucracy that blows through cash with terrible results for the kids.
I was hoping your report would be believable. But knowing the situation myself, I see even your perspective is skewed as well.
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