Why was Kansas City charter school ordered to shut down? Here’s what police reports say
Kansas City police responded to eight reports of disturbances and threats at Hogan Preparatory Academy High School in the past few months, before the charter school was ordered to shut down for two weeks due to safety concerns.
Four of those calls were made just last week — the same week that the Missouri Charter Public School Commission was visiting to monitor the school. Officials said they witnessed threats to student safety, “indicative of an environment that has resulted in high rates of student suspension, and which has been consistently understaffed,” and where many employees are considering resigning.
“(The monitors) will prepare a written, detailed report. But, based on what they saw and heard, we decided we couldn’t wait until their report is finished to take action,” said Robbyn Wahby, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Commission, which sponsors Hogan Prep.
Several parents have shared on social media that their children have witnessed a pattern of disturbances and fights at Hogan Prep. The Kansas City Police Department shared with The Star a report listing eight calls of service to 1331 E. Meyer Blvd., near the high school, since Sept. 8. Two of the calls were for reported threats, while the others were listed as disturbances.
The safety and staffing concerns are the latest in a series of issues at the charter system over several years, commission documents show.
The commission on Friday ordered the high school to close for two weeks, allowing students to only attend virtual school until Nov. 28. Students at the elementary school, at 2803 E. 51st, may continue attending school in person, but students at the middle school, at 6409 Agnes Ave., can only attend classes on campus if the school adds two additional security guards, a letter sent to the system says.
The commission is ordering Hogan Prep to submit a safety plan for each of its campuses by Thursday.
“If these actions are not completed in a timely manner, the Commission may take additional action, up to and including closure of the school,” the letter states, adding that state law allows for “termination prior to the end of the school year if ‘continued operation of the school presents (a) clear and immediate threat to the health and safety of the children.’”
Superintendent Jayson Strickland did not return The Star’s request for comment on Monday. But a statement posted to the school website said that Hogan Preparatory Academy “strives to provide a safe and healthy environment that is conducive for teaching and learning every day.
“We are absolutely committed to making all the necessary changes in our procedures and staffing to ensure that students can learn, teachers are effective, and parents know that their students are in a safe and healthy place,” the statement said.
School leaders wrote that they have taken immediate steps, including adding extra security at the middle school and “identifying additional personnel for the high school. We’ve also altered procedures during the school day to emphasize safety.”
By the end of next week, leaders said families will be notified of next steps.
The Missouri Charter Public School Commission said it was recommending the two-week closure in light of “multiple recent incidents affecting the safety of students and staff at each of HPA’s campuses.” But neither the commission nor the charter system have provided details.
Officials also have not shared details as to how critically understaffed the school is, or the number of staff vacancies.
But commission reports show that the charter system has been struggling for several years.
This fall, Hogan opened a new high school building, increasing the school’s capacity by 20%.
Hogan was founded in 1942 as a Catholic high school, named for John Joseph Hogan, the first bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City. It converted to a public charter school during the 1999-2000 school year, and has a history of serving families in the highest poverty ZIP codes of Kansas City, according to the commission.
Between 2015 and 2019, the commission reports, Hogan had “serious financial, academic, and operational problems, including lack of oversight by the governing board.” In 2019, the charter system was overhauled, with Strickland as its new leader.
Officials identified several areas for improvement, including student achievement, steady leadership, financial oversight, culture and teacher quality. Fewer than 20% of teachers were rated proficient or distinguished, and with “new leadership setting a tone of high expectations and excellence,” only 58% of instructional staff returned for the 2020-21 school year, according to a commission report.
Hogan’s charter contract was renewed last year, through June 2026, “despite several years of low performance during the previous term.” The commission decided the school had made progress and was on track to achieve academic performance expectations and operate a fiscally sound system.
The commission’s most recently available annual report of the system, done in the 2020-21 school year, showed that Hogan met expectations across the board, although academic performance was not included because testing was stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“HPA has worked hard to turn around the governance and operations of the organization. This is evidenced by the diligence put forth by the board and school leadership. HPA is meeting all of the financial, operational and governance standards,” the report states.
In April 2021, the commission sent a letter to Hogan saying it would conduct additional monitoring and apply specific consequences if the school failed to meet academic expectations over the next year. The commission set expectations for higher student academic scores in all tested subjects, saying that if Hogan failed to meet the targets, it would “take further action such as moving to close one or more of the school sites.”
Officials on Monday did not respond to The Star’s question regarding whether those academic goals have been met. But the commission has ordered Hogan to provide a plan “to address the combination of an unsafe environment, limited capacity and high attrition among the staff, and ongoing challenges in student achievement.”
The plan for this semester must be presented before high school students can return to campus, the letter says. And the plan for the second semester must be submitted by Jan. 9, “and must include the board’s assessment of leadership and plans to allocate resources in support of the plan.”
In 2019, two other Kansas City charter schools shut down. The Kansas City Neighborhood Academy, sponsored by Kansas City Public Schools, closed due to low enrollment. And Pathway Academy, sponsored by the Missouri Charter Public School Commission, closed due to low student performance and declining enrollment. In both cases, the decision was made by the charters’ school boards.
In 2018, Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy of Technology closed after it struggled to meet state performance expectations, and as a result, lost its sponsor.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 5:45 PM.
