Roman New COO of Cesar Chavez School Network

The board of the Cesar Chavez School Network announced they've hired Dr. Henry Roman as their new COO. The position has been vacant since last October when Dr. Lawrence Hernandez, the school's founder, was terminated. Dr. Roman was formerly the Superintendent of Pueblo 60 City Schools, the charter school's authorizer.

Yesterday the CCSN board also met with Cary Kennedy, the state Treasurer, regarding their bond payments. The high school bond is held by the elementary school and there is question as to whether or not the school will be able to make bond payments in the future.

The Cesar Chavez Academy-Denver school operates autonomously with their own governing board and currently only purchases business services from the Network. As noted by the CCA-Denver principal, Ryan Lucas, the fairness of this year's charges and services is being questioned by the CCA-Denver charter school governing board.

Rocky Mountain Classical Academy

The Falcon 49 Board of Education gave the Rocky Mountain Classical Academy a one-year probationary contract last week. The troubled charter school has been in a financial bind since it failed to set aside its TABOR reserve. Charter school board members now say they've trimmed non-teaching staff positions by six and have gaine expert financial advice that is more encouraging for next year.

Rocky Mounain Classical Academy is a K-12 school ending its fourth year of operation and is located along the east side of Colorado Springs, just north of the airport. Last spring the charter school released its executive director and school founder after information about the financial situation were uncovered.

Battle Rock Charter School

One of the neatest charter schools in the state is in the four corners area of southwestern Colorado. Battle Rock Charter School is a on-room school in the McElmo Canyon west of Cortez.

In 2002, William Celis wrote a book about the charter school called, "Battle Rock." The book provides extensive information about the school's founder, Stephen Hanson and his wife, Susan. I visited the school many years ago and was actually a guest at Stephen and Susan's home. Stephen poured himself into getting that school open and established.

Recently some renovations were made to the building and the school's leaders sent a thank you to the local paper recognizing those who helped them. This is small town Colorado-goodness at its best!

More Senior Pranks

It's that time of year where I write about some of the more entertaining senior pranks that I've learned about. A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with three high school principals and took the opportunity to hear some of their best stories.

At one high school the seniors scaled the school building and entered via the roof access where they proceeded to remove all the light bulbs in the entire facility. They neatly packaged the light bulbs and labeled them as to where they were taken from and stored them all in a very "safe" place. Then they wrote a scavenger hunt for administrators to use to find out where the light bulbs were located. Doing the scavenger hunt took almost an hour.

A group of senior girls gained access to the principal's office and covered everything--literally everything--with tinfoil. This included every single pencil.

This year at a high school where the principal wants to know about pranks that are planned so he can give approval or help the seniors think of a prank that while still funny, won't harm anything or anyone. Well, this year the seniors called him to let him know--that they were in the midst of hanging old tires all over campus.

More Incriminating Evidence Against Cesar Chavez School Network

Today CDE released a statement about the findings of the MGT financial audit of the troubled Cesar Chavez School Network (CCSN). At one time the CCSN had six schools under their network, but that is now down to three: Cesar Chavez Academy-Pueblo, Dolores Huerta Prep HS and Cesar Chavez Academy-Denver. The two charter schools in Colorado Springs merged and became Scholars to Leaders while the online school, GOAL Academy, operates out of the Pueblo mall.

Last summer it came out that the CEO, Lawrence Hernandez, made $250,000 a year. Today's financial audit revealed the amount was actually $340,000 for a one-year period. Similar salary increases were found for the CFO, Jason Guerrero, and Lawrence's wife, Annette. The study revealed Guerrero made $321,000 and Anette Hernandez made $200,000. Additionally, the Hernandez's daughter's cell phone and hair salon expenses were charged to school accounts. Twenty-six credit cards were used by CCSN staff for a total of more than $400,000 in one year, most without proper records.

The 193 page MGT report also details that the Hernandez's had 20 relatives working for them before changes were made last fall and the Hernandez's were terminated. Numerous conflicts of interest issues were also identified. Including a corporation Dr. Hernandez established and paid himself to operate an alternative teacher licensing program.

I'll be posting more on this report in the following days.

Update: Another Pueblo Chieftain piece.

Scholars to Leaders Academy

I spent the morning at Scholars to Leaders Academy in Colorado Springs. STL is authorized by the Charter School Institute and sits in the Colorado Springs 11 School District. The school is ending its second year of operation, but just last October separated from the Cesar Chavez School Network.

STL serves 225 students in grades K-8 in a building that had previously been used by a private Catholic school. The school's principal is Dr. Carolyn Gery. Success for All, used for reading and Everyday Math supplement the Core Knowledge curriculum. There is an extended day and school year. Students are 74% Free and Reduced-Price Lunch and 76% minority.

Last fall STL merged with a second Cesar Chavez School Network school that also operated in Colorado Springs and was authorized by the state Charter School Institute. There wasn't enough enrollment to support both schools.

When STL separated from the Network last fall they established a new board of directors, incorporated and signed a new contract with CSI. After consulting stakeholders, the board has adopted a mission statement. The school has rebounded from the turmoil of the first semester and is focused on improving academic achievement.

Thomas MacLaren Charter School in the News

The Thomas MacLaren Charter School in Colorado Springs got some much-deserved recognition by their local newspaper yesterday. The new charter school, authorized by the state Charter School Institute, is just finishing up its first year of operation.

Thomas MacLaren was a well-known architect in Colorado Springs when the city was getting established. The charter school has several architectural renderings of his work on display.

The school uses the classical approach to education with an emphasis on the fine arts. Classical education centers on discussion as the primary methodology. The theory is based on the motion that through the discussion of primary texts, the student delves into deeper meaning and asks a higher level of question.