July 28, 2023 —When the Pasco County Schools district staff denied a request from Pinecrest Academy Wesley Chapel to increase enrollment, the FCSA team began a campaign to reverse that decision. Below are the actions we took:
The facts were on the charter school’s side. Based on recent data, the school is a High Performing Charter School. The district staff used a technicality not to grant the request and, as such, were denying parents a right to choose the best educational environment for their children. Within hours of contacting FLDOE, we had a response in our member’s favor. Adam Emerson, Executive Director of the Office of Independent Education & Parental Choice, issued a letter stating, “Based on the Progress Monitoring data, the achievement levels among students at Pinecrest Wesley Chapel in 2022-23 are comparable to what they were in 2021-22, when the school received an A. If the school receives high-performing status, it can, as you are aware, amend its contract to a 15-year term and increase its enrollment beyond the capacity in its charter. Ordinarily, we would know what school grades look like by now. The fact that this year’s results will be released later than normal should neither penalize neither the school nor the parents who need to make a decision on schooling for the upcoming year right now.”
The FCSA team has a reputation for solid relationships with superintendents, elected board members, district staff, and the FLDOE. This two-way relationship — that Ralph Arza, Director of Governmental Affairs, and FCSA have cultivated — helps our members and the families they serve in many ways. We don’t usually share our wins with all our stakeholders, but we wanted to share an example of how we help our members.
The FCSA thanks Al Hernandez, Pasco board member, and Adam Emerson, Executive Director, Office of Independent Education & Parental Choice, for their immense support and quick action in resolving this matter. We also want to recognize Superintendent Kurt Browning and Ray Gaad, Deputy Superintendent, for their willingness to have good-faith conversations about this issue. Finally, we must recognize all the FCSA member schools whose support fuels and drives our advocacy efforts.
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