NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine — A nonprofit that works with teens at risk of not making it through high school has withdrawn its application to fill the state’s last open charter school slot.
New Gloucester-based Wayfinder Schools submitted an application in late August, seeking approval to open a charter high school called Wayfinder Academy. In advance of an interview and hearing scheduled for Nov. 1 arranged by the Maine Charter School Commission, which oversees and approves the state’s charter schools, Wayfinder withdrew its application.
“We have decided to stay focused on the work we know and the work we do well as a private school, which is offer an alternative for students who struggle in traditional school settings,” Dorothy Foote, Wayfinder’s CEO, wrote in a letter to the Maine Charter School Commission.
Earlier this month, a charter school commission review team released findings after vetting Wayfinder’s application and ultimately recommended that the bid be rejected. The review team raised concerns about Wayfinder’s plans for ensuring it met state public school laws surrounding special education, teacher certification, and truancy.
Wayfinder was the only proposed charter to file an application this year. Two other schools expressed interest in applying but never submitted applications.
Under the state’s charter school law, a maximum of 10 schools are allowed to open in the first 10 years of the law. Nine approved schools are open and educating students. That leaves one slot remaining until the 10-year window expires in 2021.
With the application deadline well past, no Maine charter schools will be approved for opening to start the 2017-2018 school year.
The commission plans on starting a new request for proposals process in May 2017 for schools interested in opening in the fall of 2018.
More information on the state’s nine existing charter schools can be found online at maine.gov/csc.
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