The New Hope Academy says they’ll fight to stay open. And they’ll appeal the state’s decision to close it. The school held a parent rally Wednesday night.
Jermari Murphy is a student athlete at New Hope. For the last 6 years his basketball team has been his family. He said “we just have that good bond that me and some of my real relatives don’t even have.”
But that could all change in the next several weeks. The state has upheld a decision not to renew New Hope’s charter. Meaning it’s doors are set to close on January 15th. For Murphy losing Hope means losing the team. He said “they’re just so close to me and to break us up and to send us to other places, that’s basically telling you.. that’s like telling you you can’t be with your brother anymore.”
Sherliz Contreras is in honors classes and hopes to graduate early. Leaving New Hope means a lot more than just being the new kid in a new school. She said “what scares me is if I go to another school am I going to have honors classes? Am I going to be able to skip a grade? Am I going to be able to graduate early? Here I could be able to do that. There I don’t know.”
Two of more than 800 students who anxiously await a decision that will change the course of their academic lives.
New Hope Academy released a statement Wednesday night saying:
Our school has made improvements continually over time and no one is more committed to putting students first than us. We’ve achieved a 91% graduation rate and an 84% college acceptance rate—these numbers don’t lie. CAB and the School District of the City of York are failing our city’s families with contradictions, distractions and politics. Many of our students left a failing school that was unsafe, lacking necessary support and programs, including support for students with special needs. New Hope provides a safe and supportive environment before, during and after school for all students, and parents thank our school and its teachers every day for the changes in their children’s lives. There is no way we’ll give up on these kids, our staff or our community. We will appeal. And we will fight to stay open. We are tired of the school system politicizing education and putting our city’s children in the middle.