Canton STEM school loses charter, closing doors by year end

The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board voted on Monday to revoke the charter of SR1 College Preparatory and STEM Academy in Canton. The decision will close the school on December 31, ending its operation after a fall semester that began this year.

The board cited two main reasons for the revocation: the school failed to meet academic expectations and did not follow standards for fiscal management. Officials pointed to financial audits and evidence presented during board hearings as the basis for the vote.

SR1 opened in 2023 and initially served kindergarten and first-grade students. The school planned to add one grade level each year. With the charter gone, the school will finish its current fall semester but will not reopen for the spring term. More than 100 students are currently enrolled and must secure a new placement by January.

Parents described the news as a shock. Nancy Fry, a grandmother with a kindergartner enrolled at the school, said the decision devastated her family. "I was truly devastated because when I first heard it, I was like they are doing what," Fry said. She argued that her grandson was thriving academically, noting he could operate a computer at age five and explain how the technology worked. Fry questioned why the school would disrupt a student who was already succeeding.

Niccori Brown, a former teacher and parent at the academy, said she saw warning signs before the closure. She said she sought answers during her time there but did not receive them. "I feel like there should have been more transparency when I was a teacher and parent at the school. I constantly was asking questions but not getting any answers," Brown said.

Brown pointed to a specific gap in staffing. Despite the school's name, there was no dedicated STEM teacher. "First of all, we didn't have a STEM teacher and it's a STEM school. Sometimes, someone from the main office would come and teach them, but it wasn't STEM related," Brown said. She placed the responsibility for the closure on the school's owners rather than the local staff.

"The owners. That's who I would place it on because the leadership we had at the school, the provost that we had last year, I had no issues with her. We ran smoothly at the school as a small little team and like a family, but the main office is where all the issues came from," Brown said. She suggested the board should address management issues without penalizing the school community.

Staff and families now face a tight timeline. Brown said teachers must find new jobs by January. Parents who chose SR1 to avoid local district schools now have limited options. "The parents place their kids at SR1 because maybe they didn't want them at the local schools. So, now they are back at square one. They have to possibly put them there or if they have the funds, put them in private schools or even home school," Brown said.

It is not yet known if the school can appeal the board's decision. SR1 posted on Facebook that it is seeking input from parents. The school stated that parents' perspectives are an important part of its story and that it wants to ensure their voices are heard.

The school remains open for the remainder of the fall semester. Students will finish their current coursework before the December 31 deadline. The board's vote stands as the final administrative step in closing the institution.