SAN ANTONIO – Three local charter schools have been labeled "accredited warned" after the Texas Education Agency reported the schools failed to meet the state's accountability standards.
DeEtta Culbertson, a TEA spokeswoman, said the schools are the George Gervin Academy, which received its charter in 1995; the Radiance Academy of Learning, which received its charter in in 1998; and the Shekinah Radiance Academy, which received its charter in in 1999.
Culbertson said accredited warned designation means "deficiencies in their academic and/or financial performance, if not addressed, could lead to probation or revocation of its accreditation status."
Despite those findings, Barbara Hawkins, superintendent of the George Gervin Academy, said in trying to reassure parents, "We are a great school. We will continue to be. They have nothing to worry about."
She said the academy was among the first 20 charter schools that opened in San Antonio in the 1990s.
Hawkins said since then, the George Gervin Academy's pre-kindergarten to high school campuses have had an average enrollment of 1,200 students.
She said the school's financial ratings that fell short in 2013 have been addressed. However, its academic performance remained a struggle last year.
"We are not going to deny young people who are trying to graduate," Hawkins said. "Our mission has been to help the students most in need."
However, Hawkins said schools are penalized for taking in students from other school districts.
She said they can either pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills or pass college entrance exams at a certain level.
"We're not going to deny kids, because they're not at the highest level. We're not going to do it."
Cheryl Washington, superintendent of the Shekinah Learning Institute, said its six charter schools have about 500 students.
She said they remain fully accredited by TEA.
But TEA reported Radiance Academy and Shekinah Radiance Academy failed to meet financial and accountability standards over the last two years.
Washington said in a statement, "This is not a loss of accreditation, but a part of the state's complex regulatory framework for all public schools."
Click here to read Washington's full statement.
She said several San Antonio area schools also have been labeled "accredited warned."
"These systems which were intended to be tools leading school administrators toward improvement, have evolved and are now used primarily for punitive purposes," Washington said.