Kansas City charter school put on probation over low test scores, staffing problems
A state commission has placed Hogan Preparatory Academy on academic probation, threatening to revoke the K-12 school’s charter and putting it at risk of closing, over low test scores and its challenges hiring and retaining enough staff.
It’s the second Kansas City charter school recently to come under fire from the Missouri Charter Public School Commission.
The commission recommended in a letter last month that the charter school in Kansas City consider either closing one or more of its campuses, relinquishing its charter or allowing a different nonprofit to take over. Hogan operates three campuses: elementary, middle and high school.
It’s the latest in a series of problems at Hogan Prep, headquartered at 6409 Agnes Ave. In November, the state commission instructed the charter to close its high school for two weeks due to concerns over security and a lack of staff. The elementary school was allowed to stay open, but the commission said the middle school could only keep students on campus if it added two additional security guards.
The temporary closure came in response to “multiple recent incidents affecting the safety of students and staff at each” school, worsened by the school not having enough staff, the commission said. Parents told The Star that their students had witnessed multiple fights and strangers getting into the high school without permission.
The commission required Hogan Prep to submit a safety plan for each of its campuses. Superintendent Jayson Strickland said at the time that the school took immediate steps, including adding extra security at the middle school and new personnel at the high school. He said Hogan Prep also improved daily safety protocols.
Renee Willis-Broadus, whose children attend Hogan Prep, told The Star that in light of the safety concerns, she enrolled her high schooler in virtual classes for the semester. “I wasn’t taking any more chance this school year with them,” she said.
With the plan submitted, but not released to the public, students were allowed to return to classes after Thanksgiving break. Hogan Prep is still required to submit a plan for the second semester by Jan. 9 to address “the combination of an unsafe environment, limited capacity and high attrition among the staff, and ongoing challenges in student achievement.”
“As part of the second semester plan, Hogan has a lower adult-to-student ratio, limited student use of cell phones during the school day, five substitute teachers on site every day, and ensured teachers and staff are always present during transition periods,” Strickland said in a statement on Jan. 9, adding that, “since returning from the Thanksgiving break, HPA High School has not had a single disruptive incident.”
He said school officials are “confident these changes will provide a better environment for learning that will allow our teachers to do their best work, allow our students to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially, and alleviate the safety concerns from the Missouri Public Charter School Commission.”
Still, the state commission is reigniting concerns at the school following the release of new state assessment data. In a letter last month, the commission said that Hogan is put on probation because its performance on the Missouri assessments in the 2021-2022 school year was “significantly below” that of Kansas City Public Schools, as well as goals outlined in its contract with the commission, which sponsors the school.
“In addition to the low academic performance on the MAP test, the Commission has significant concerns regarding Hogan’s ability to provide students with appropriately certified teachers and staff who can provide students the quality education promised when the board was reconstituted and new leadership hired in 2019,” the letter says.
If Hogan Prep meets certain milestones in the coming year, the commission said it will release the school from academic probation. If not, it will revoke Hogan’s charter. Hogan cannot operate as a charter school without a sponsor.
But the commission says Hogan also should “consider sharpening its focus and accessing additional supports.” Specifically, it recommends “closing one or more of it campuses, turning one or more of the campuses over to another non-profit school operator or relinquishing its charter.”
“The Commission appreciates Hogan’s commitment to its students and families,” the letter says. “We know the Board is disappointed with the Commission’s decision. … We remain committed to supporting the board and the school in efforts to provide the education that was outlined in Hogan’s renewal plan. It is our hope that the action we are taking will prompt a remediation plan that will put Hogan on a much better path.”
In addition to the plan due Jan. 9, Hogan Prep must submit a new organizational leadership chart by Feb. 15. By Feb. 28, the school must provide the commission with a plan for how it will serve students in the coming school year and beyond.
And by May 15, the school must submit a roster of teachers hired and renewing contracts for next school year. The commission says that Hogan must meet the statutory requirement that at least 80% of teachers have the required Missouri certification for the subject they are assigned. Data from November, the commission says, shows only 36% of Hogan’s teaching staff has appropriate certification for their classes.
Hogan’s problems come during an especially difficult time for schools across the Kansas City metro, which are struggling to hire enough staff during ongoing labor shortages. Many public districts have placed long-term substitutes or unqualified teachers in understaffed classrooms.
Still, the commission says Hogan has been consistently understaffed. And concerns at the school come after years of mounting issues, commission documents show.
Hogan was founded in 1942 as a Catholic high school, and converted to a public charter school in 1999. It has a history of serving families in the highest poverty ZIP codes of Kansas City.
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, Hogan 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.
Its charter contract was renewed in 2021, through June 2026, despite several years of low performance, the commission said.
The commission decided last year that Hogan 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, 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.
In April 2021, the commission sent a letter to Hogan Prep 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 test scores, 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.”
The commission said in its letter last month that it will require Hogan to meet additional milestones in order to be released from probation after it receives additional assessment data from the state education department.
Meanwhile, another Kansas City charter school is at risk of closing over poor academic performance. The state commission notified Genesis School on Kansas City’s East Side that it plans to revoke its charter on June 30 based on “clear evidence of under performance in academic outcomes.” Genesis has appealed that decision and requested a public hearing to fight for the school to stay open.
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 3:05 PM.
