Gregory E. Gann: Monarch invests in the children of Baltimore

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“Don’t close my school,” a kindergartner at Monarch Academy Baltimore begged recently to the adults touring her classroom. She realized with remarkable intuition that they were representatives from the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, whose CEO, Sonja Santelises, has recommended that the board not renew its charter.

We shouldn’t take this school away from this kindergartner or her other nearly 1,000 schoolmates. Furthermore, an economically depressed community that continually experiences loss, disappointment, closure and trauma will be handed another profound blow.

There are so many misunderstandings relating to charter schools. Many do not realize that, in Baltimore, charter schools are part of the public school system. Monarch Academy Baltimore’s teachers, principal, assistant principal and support staff are employees of Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPSS) and many are members of the Baltimore Teachers Union.

Our students literally come from all corners and some of the most challenged, financially depressed and violent districts of the city. In fact, almost all of our student body is African American, with a high percentage qualifying for free and reduced meals, and a significant percent require special education services.

Another misnomer is that, as a public charter school, Monarch Academy Baltimore is taking money away from the public school system. Rather, we are a partner of the school system, and we offer an educational and cultural choice for every Baltimore resident. Families select us because they believe that our approach to education and culture best suits their children’s learning styles and values.

Undisclosed formula

BCPSS provides a per-student allocation to its public charter schools based on a formula that it has yet to reveal. The failure to reveal that funding formula has resulted in two significant consequences — an active lawsuit demanding that BCPSS identifies this mysterious formula, and for the last few years, the per-student allowance that we receive has gone down without demonstrating why. In addition, mandatory fees are imposed on Baltimore City charters, further stripping money from the charter schools budgets.

Meanwhile, salaries and benefits for our teachers, which are from the allocation, increase each year. In short, we are being financially squeezed. Additionally, Monarch Academy Baltimore pays for citywide school bus service because many parents are not comfortable putting their children on MTA buses or having them walk in through unsafe neighborhoods. And, notwithstanding a decreasing allowance, Monarch Academy Baltimore pays for and maintains our state-of-the-art school building on Kirk Avenue.

Monarch Academy Baltimore incorporates a transformational educational philosophy that is based on strong academics and equally on developing social skills and behaviors that lead to successful lives. The school applies the most innovative and progressive teaching methodologies, including project-based learning and whole-brain teaching. Nothing about this transformational approach or commitment to urban education comes cheap. If not for The Children’s Guild, the parent organization of Monarch Academy serving Baltimore’s children since 1953, and its innovative fundraising endeavors, it would not be financially feasible for Monarch Academy Baltimore to survive.

For each of the last two years, The Children’s Guild has allocated $700,000 over and above the city per-student allowance to provide additional support services. It plans to do the same in the coming year. The Children’s Guild also plans to allocate an additional $500,000 for instructional coaches for the 2019-2020 school year, for a total of $1.2 million.

Looking for excuses?

Having made this commitment financially, imagine learning that Santelises recommends that we close Monarch Academy Baltimore at the end of this academic year. Does BCPSS really promote school innovation, partnerships, school choice and being student-centered? And, are they simply looking for excuses to keep charters out and retain complete autonomy and control of BCPSS?

Monarch Academy Baltimore is also making an economic impact on the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello community by transforming the neighborhood around our school. We are purchasing boarded-up, abandoned houses and completely renovating them with environmentally sound construction. They then can be sold to new homeowners, such as our teachers and school families, enabling them to own a home and build equity at a cost below comparable rent. In addition to impacting our community, we are incorporating this housing initiative into our project-based learning about community revitalization for our students.

Can you imagine what would be lost if our students lose Monarch Academy Baltimore?

BCPSS will fail its students, students who perpetually experience loss and trauma. This is why I, along with our kindergartner and nearly 1,000 of her schoolmates, are pleading with BCPSS to renew Monarch Academy Baltimore’s charter, enabling us, as a BCPSS partner, to fully expound models and best practices to achieve breakthroughs associated with urban education and to be an economic force in Baltimore.

Gregory E. Gann, Gann Partnership LLC, is a member of the TranZed Alliance board and immediate past president of the Monarch Academy Baltimore Public Charter School board.