The chief executive officers of both Pottsville Area School District and Gillingham Charter School each took the stand Tuesday, which was day six of a series of public hearings regarding the charter school’s future.
At the D.H.H. Lengel Middle School Auditorium, Jeffrey S. Zwiebel, superintendent of Pottsville Area, expressed concerns about Gillingham’s special education program and explained why on Dec. 2 the school board rejected Gillingham’s application for a second-five year charter.
And Nicolle M. Hutchinson, Gillingham’s CEO and director of education, defended Gillingham’s special education program, and stated why Pottsville Area should give Gillingham another five years.
Ellen C. Schurdak, Bethlehem, an attorney for Pottsville Area, asked Zwiebel questions about Gillingham’s charter renewal process.
“Have you had your own mind made up about what your recommendation was going to be regarding the renewal or non-renewal for Gillingham Charter School at the start of this process?” Schurdak asked.
“No,” Zwiebel said.
“Prior to the renewal process, did you have any discussions with any board members regarding whether Gillingham Charter School’s charter should be renewed?” Mark G. Morford, Mechanicsburg, an attorney for Gillingham, asked.
“No,” Zwiebel said.
Schurdak asked if Zwiebel instructed other witnesses for the district, including Stephen C. Curran, Pottsville Area’s business manager, Kelly A. Brennan, the Pottsville Area’s director of middle school education, and Stephanie R. Ziegmont, Pottsville Area’s director of curriculum and instruction, to reach certain conclusions as they were reviewing the case.
“No. I just asked them to conduct a thorough review of all the components of the application,” Zwiebel said.
Special education was one of Zwiebel’s main concerns. And he complained that Andrew M. Kline, the independent special education consultant the district hired to conduct special education audit of Gillingham in March, was not given permission by Gillingham to sit in on a special education class at its schoolhouse at 915 Howard Ave.
Zwiebel said Gillingham’s website at www.gillinghamcharterschool.org states “tours of the school are available by appointment.”
“Does it say anything about anybody being allowed to observe special education students being instructed in their classroom?” Morford asked.
“No,” Zwiebel said.
“We believed that it would violate FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), and the student right to privacy,” Hutchinson said Tuesday afternoon when she took the stand.
“Does Gillingham Charter School have any specific spaces or rooms that are used for special education students?” Christine Elizabeth Reilly, Mehanicsburg, an attorney for Gillingham, asked Hutchinson on Tuesday.
“Yes, we have three small spaces for pull-out, small group instruction,” Hutchinson said.
“As part of the renewal process, was the Pottsville Area School District able to tour the charter school?” Morford asked.
“Yes,” Zwiebel said.
“And was it able to observe classroom instruction?” Morford asked.
“Briefly, yes,” Zwiebel said.
Another matter Zwiebel testified about was truancy at Gillingham.
Since Gillingham opened in 2011, Pottsville Area should have been notified about such matters regarding Pottsville Area students, Zwiebel said. But he claimed Gillingham didn’t start sending absent alert letters to Pottsville Area until Sept. 14, 2015.
“Why were you concerned about truancy issues?” Schurdak asked.
“Our attendance department had told me they began receiving letters this school year on students who had at least three illegal absences. That hadn’t occurred in the past four years,” Zwiebel said.
“Where did you obtain your understanding that only the school district could pursue the truancy process?” Morford asked.
“I believe it’s in the charter school law, a reference that the district of the student has to file that paperwork,” Zwiebel said.
“You believe that’s in the actual charter school law itself?” Morford asked.
“Yes,” Zwiebel said.
“Do you know which section?” Morford asked.
“Not off the top of my head,” Zwiebel said.
“Do you remember the last time you reviewed the charter school law?” Morford asked.
“No I don’t,” Zwiebel said.
“Do you know if Gillingham ever worked with Children & Youth directly with respect to truancy?” Morford asked.
“I do not know that,” Zwiebel said.
Since the public hearings began on April 18, the Pottsville Area School District has called 15 witnesses to the stand. On Tuesday, the district rested its case, and Gillingham Charter School started presenting its witnesses.
Hutchinson was the first. In her testimony, she responded to some concerns presented by school district witnesses last week.
“At Gillingham Charter School, do you know what the process is to identify a student who may be in need of special education services?” Reilly asked.
“We conduct child studies. And if a teacher is working with a student or a counselor and they’re seeing that the children are struggling or behind, they will approach me and we will pull out a child study form which tell us which interventions have already been implemented, which ones are successful and not. We’ll also include people who would be appropriate to help deal with the struggle the child is having. The nurse might be there or a counselor or we might pull in our OT speech therapist or student coach. We could see if there are other interventions that we can try and work on those and see if they work. During this process, there are a lot of discussions with parents. And we might come to the conclusion that the child should probably be evaluated,” Hutchinson said.
“In that process, how do you decide who will participate in those discussions?” Reilly asked.
“It would depend on the situation, if this was behaviors that are inhibiting learning or if this is struggling with reading or math or there seems to possibly be a learning disability or a lack of focus. It would depend on the child’s needs. Often times we also bring in the special ed teachers too. They’re part of that process,” Hutchinson said.
“At Gillingham Charter School, how many teachers do you have who currently have a special education certification?” Reilly asked.
“Six,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said Gillingham’s special education program is monitored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and also said the “U.S. Department of Education” also found the charter school in compliance.
Hutchinson also addressed concerns Curran had Monday about Gillingham buying flowers at various times of the year.
She said some of those arrangements were Gillingham’s way of sympathizing with members of its board of trustees or families of students who experienced a death in the family. Some were sent to cheer up people who were ill. Some were congratulatory gifts.
Day seven of the public hearings will continue today at 9:30 a.m.