School administrators plan to absorb Toledo’s only Spanish-speaking school into the city’s public school district.
Toledo Public Schools board members on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution to “open and operate” Escuela SMART Academy. Officials said the move will essentially involve TPS taking over Toledo SMART Bilingual Elementary, a K-5 charter school in South Toledo, and opening in its place a public school academy.
TPS Superintendent Romules Durant said the new school will be a collaborative effort between the district and the charter school. Mr. Durant said TPS has been looking to open a bilingual school, and board members for the charter school learned about this and suggested the two entities work together.
“They were looking for a new facility, a facility that could hold an expansion of their student enrollment,” Mr. Durant said.
Peggy Young, director of education at Buckeye Community Hope Foundation — sponsor for Toledo SMART Bilingual Elementary — said the foundation is aware of the future takeover plans.
Ms. Young said the foundation will continue providing its oversight, monetary and technical assistance until a memorandum of understanding is signed with TPS.
“Should this be finalized in the near future, we trust that the school and Toledo Public have the best interest of the students [in mind], and we trust that they’ll work to ensure a smooth transition,” she said.
Mr. Durant said the plans approved by the board are not indicative of any issues at the charter school. Rather, he said, the move is about providing better services to students, and better value to local taxpayers.
“When you hear a person say, ‘Why don’t you operate two [schools]?’ That’s not a good use of taxpayers’ money,” he said. “What you’re doing is creating two schools, two rents, two staffs, etc., to service the same population, and splitting the students up. What we’re doing is we’re taking taxpayers’ dollars and being more efficient, and more importantly, more effective.”
An Ohio Department of Education official declined to comment and said department officials do not speak to such local issues.
The new academy will be located at the Westfield School, at 617 Western Ave., in the heart of the city’s south side, home to a large population of Spanish-speaking families.
District records state Escuela SMART Academy will be open to all Spanish-speaking, English-learning students, as well as English-speaking students interested in acquiring or improving Spanish-speaking skills. The academy will be a magnet school, meaning students who live outside TPS district boundaries will be eligible to attend, Mr. Durant said.
Currently Westfield School serves special education students. Mr. Durant said the district is partnering with a mental health agency to provide a “better learning approach” for students currently attending Westfield, though on Tuesday he said the district is still in the preliminary phases of determining how exactly that will play out.
First Published April 24, 2019, 4:38 p.m.
