The TEA denied the accreditation based on an “academically unacceptable performance” based on standardized testing scores the past two school years.
SAN ANTONIO — For the past year, Miriam Sobre says, her first grader has been thriving at The Gathering Place, a charter school in northwest San Antonio that serves kindergarteners through sixth graders with a “whole-child approach.”
“She’s only been there a year, but over the year that she has been there, she’s had three teachers who have all completely built back her self-esteem,” she said. “She loves the experiential… the project-based learning really works for her. The Gathering Place has worked really well for her because it’s for students who think outside the box.”
But Sobre’s daughter will be among the school’s last students. The facility is closing its doors after the Texas Education Agency (TEA) decided not to renew its application, citing poor test scores as their reasoning.
In a letter sent to The Gathering Place’s board chair and superintendent on Feb. 5, the TEA denied the accreditation based on an “academically unacceptable performance” evident in standardized testing scores over past two school years.
On Wednesday night, the school board decided to close at the conclusion of this academic year.
Sobre finds the decision frustrating.
“I don’t want to cry,” she said. “So many of us in there were just truly saddened and upset and angry—not at the school, but angry at the system that is causing this. How could they close a school that helps neuro-divergent kids who aren’t going to be taking tests so great because they’re not good test takers?”
The Gathering Place is also dealing with financial struggles due to low student enrollment, according to a press release.
The charter school could appeal the decision, but chose not to given what they say are limited chances of reversing the TEA’s decision and the high cost it would take to go through the appeal process.
In a statement to KENS 5, Superintendent Brian Sparks acknowledged the closure will mark a difficult moment for the Gathering Place community, saying students and staff have “built strong, meaningful bonds.
“We are committed to ensuring that our students continue to receive the best education possible until the end of the year while also supporting caregivers in finding a new school for next fall that will meet their child’s unique learning needs,” Sparks said. “I also want to recognize the incredible dedication each staff member has shown in their work here at TGP. We will do everything we can to assist our staff in exploring new professional opportunities where they can continue making a positive impact on young people.”
Sobre, along with many other families, is now looking at different places to send her kid.
“I really liked that she was going to a school that also had their values aligned with ours, and I’m not 100% sure if there’s any other school in the city that does that really,” she said. “This was a school that was good for a lot of kids. Different schools fit different kids; this school fit the kids who are going there.”