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The former Connecticut Juvenile Training School on Silver Street is being suggested as a location for a Capital Preparatory Middletown Charter School.
Hearst Connecticut Media file photo
MIDDLETOWN — The State Board of Education will conduct a public hearing Wednesday about an application for a social justice-oriented charter school that eventually would serve students in kindergarten through second grade and those in grades 6-12.
If realized, the Capital Preparatory Middletown Charter School would have a 201-day school year and open in August 2024, according to the application. The state of Connecticut requires an academic year consisting of at least 180 days.
Two sites are mentioned as possibilities: land between Cross Street AME Zion and Shiloh Baptist churches, and the former state-run Connecticut Juvenile Training School, which closed in 2018.
It is intended to replicate schools run by a “nationally acclaimed, minority-led charter management organization that was born in Middletown,” according to the 518-page application.
The Capital Prep model was created 20 years ago in response to a parent’s plea: “Why is it that only rich kids get good schools?” the application said.
These of charter schools are funded by the state, according to the Board of Education. “They provide small-scale educational programs managed by a governing board comprised of teachers and parents or guardians of the students enrolled in the school and may include community members,” it said.
They also offer a range of educational programs, small class sizes and enhanced teacher-parent communication, according to the website.
It will be up to the state school board to determine whether to proceed with the charter school.
Bridgeport Capital Preparatory School Head of Schools, Steve Perry, is listed as the contact person for the application.
Capital Prep promises a 100 percent college acceptance rate for all graduating seniors and 95 percent daily attendance.
A number of well-known individuals are listed as founding members of the Middletown proposition. They include Bishop W. Vance Cotten Sr. of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church; the Rev. Moses L. Harvill of Cross Street AME Zion Church; Wesleyan University and Middletown High School graduate Dario Highsmith, who works for the state Department of Children and Families; the Rev. William J. McKissick Jr., senior pastor for Middletown’s New Jerusalem Christian Center and Department of Corrections chaplain; Middletown Board of Education member DeLita Rose-Daniels; and Middlesex County NAACP President Anita Ford Saunders.
Social justice is “embedded” in every aspect of the Capital Prep model, the application said. “At Capital Prep, social justice isn’t just something to be studied, it is a deliberate approach to helping scholars and adults develop as advocates and agents of change."
A longer school day and year would allow for a “significant” amount of instructional time to be devoted to core academic subjects, “which ensures, first and foremost, mastery of the learning standards,” the proposal states.
Twenty-one additional days of education would lessen the effect of summer learning loss that “overwhelmingly impacts low-income minority students,” Capital Prep said.
Middlesex Coalition for Children Executive Director Izzi Greenberg said Monday that she was concerned about the hearing notice not being issued more in advance. “This proposal could have a big impact on our community, and, procedurally, it would be better if some of that impact could be interrogated before a decision is made," she said.
“I don't know how members of the public can speak at a public hearing with such limited information available, and without a virtual option,” added Greenberg, who send out an email to coalition newsletter subscribers about the event.
The executive director said she trusts the many city leaders involved in the project, but she’d like more information about how such a school would affect all city students.
“Only a fraction of Middletown's children will be able to be served by the proposed school,” Greenberg pointed out.
She had a number of questions, including whether there would be a designated number of students from Middletown or whether the school mostly would serve children from outside the city.
“How will its presence change the landscape for the children who are not able to attend? What will it mean to have a school in a former prison?" she said, referring to CJTS. "Will it impact the riverfront plan?”
There are so many open questions that make her incapable of making an “informed decision” about the proposal, she said. “In fact, not only am I still undecided, my coalition has not yet had a chance to discuss it to take a position either.”
The session will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at Vinal Technical High School, 60 Daniels St. Members of the public can sign up between 5:30 and 7 p.m. only.
Send testimony to felicia.canty@ct.gov or Robert.kelly@ct.gov to be included in the record. For information, contact the State Board of Education at 860-713-6510. To read the full proposal, visit bit.ly/3xgfPJ4.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that Perry is no longer associated with the Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford.