CSI Board initiating closure of Global Village Academy at the end of the school year

Amanda Oberg

DENVER, CO (December 12, 2018) – The Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI) Board of Directors voted yesterday that Global Village Academy – Fort Collins (GVA-FC) did not meet a mutually agreed upon milestone, and as a result, the school would begin the process to close, effective June 30, 2019.

Global Village Academy – Fort Collins opened in 2013 as a dual language immersion program in Fort Collins authorized by the CSI, Colorado’s statewide charter authorizing entity. GVA-FC underwent contract renewal in the Fall of 2017. During that time, several financial and operational risks were identified by CSI Staff and GVA-FC. As a result, GVA-FC was granted a two-year contract renewal with specific contract milestones designed to address these deficiencies. Its final contract milestone, due December 3rd, was to submit a facility plan that demonstrated financial viability and aligned with reasonable enrollment targets. After a thorough review of the submission, CSI staff determined that the plan submitted did not demonstrate financial viability and thereby posed a significant risk to GVA-FC students and staff. At its December 11th meeting, the CSI Board of Directors unanimously voted that the milestone was incomplete, thereby initiating the school’s closure as stated in the contract milestone.

Executive Director of the CSI, Dr. Terry Croy Lewis, shared: “As a parent, I feel for the GVA-FC community as it processes this decision and begins to consider next steps. Know that CSI is fully committed to supporting the school community in learning about and transitioning to high-quality public schools for the 2019-2020 school year. As a charter school authorizer, I accept the heavy responsibility of ensuring we authorize high-quality schools that are operationally strong, financially viable, and academically high performing.”

School leadership has informed families and staff of the CSI Board decision and will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Monday, December 17th to explore next steps, including the possibility to appeal the CSI Board decision to the State Board of Education. CSI has posted information about its closure process and a listing of local school options on its website: www.csi.state.co.us/parents. Dr. Croy Lewis stated, “We are committed to working with GVA-FC’s leadership and board to ensure that the GVA-FC students and staff finish out the school year strongly.”