DENVER — Wyatt Academy, a charter school in Denver, will remain open following a close vote by the charter school's board of directors on Tuesday morning.
Late last month, the board notified staff and parents that the decision was made to close classrooms at the end of the year, a vote that was made without community input. The board said the decision was "extremely difficult" but was spurred by "consistent low enrollment" and "limited funding" that left them unable to fulfill their promise to provide "high-quality education."
About 200 students in kindergarten through 5th grade attend the school located in north central Denver. Tuesday morning the nine-member board voted on the closure and five of them voted for closure, while four voted to keep the school open. However, a motion must reach 60% approval to pass and as a result, the resolution failed.
“It has been a privilege to serve on Wyatt’s board for the past several years. Wyatt has a special community. We appreciate how everyone has come together during the last several years of under-enrollment as the school has faced budget constraints," the Wyatt Academy board chair and vice chair said in a statement after the vote.
"Paras have stepped up to teach classes -- even our own principal is teaching a class. Everyone in the building is working hard to serve students. We know many challenges lie ahead, and we sincerely hope the Wyatt legacy carries on even stronger into the 2024-25 school year.”
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If the resolution had passed, the school would have ceased operations and terminated its contract with Denver Public Schools (DPS), effective June 30, 2024. Students can enroll in Wyatt through SchoolChoice. The first round of enrollment closed Monday but round two begins in April.
The Wyatt board previously announced a partnership with another charter school called University Prep, but after Tuesday's votes, said both boards agreed to pause the memorandum of understanding to work with DPS on revisions.
They do not expect that to move forward, but both boards will have to vote to formally terminate the agreement.
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