After educating students for 18 years, Focus Academies in Dallas may have to close after being forced to surrender its charter.
The charter school is under scrutiny with Texas Education Agency for dropping below academic standards for three consecutive years. The academic standard looks at the scores of the STAAR test.
Principal Phyllis Johnson has been adamant about fixing the problems.
"It's a unique school. It's a community school," she said. "We have a superior rating when it comes to finance. We have no financial issues. We’ve done a turn around plan that was requested by the state TEA. That plan was approved by the Deputy Commissioner, and so we can do this. We just need time to make it happen."
Focus Academies was one of the first charter schools in Dallas. The doors opened in 1999 with 100 students. The school currently has a population of about 1,100.
According to DeEtta Culbertson, information specialist for the Texas Education Agency, Focus Academy decided to surrender its charter before the state was forced to revoke it. That means the school will have its charter pulled at the end of the 2017 school year.
Culbertson said the school could only open back up as a private school, or if another charter school decided to move into the building on Ledbetter Drive.
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Parents told NBC 5 they are looking into other options for their kids. Many were not aware that the school will lose its charter.
"What do we do now? Find another school," said Felita Verdell, mother of three. "And I hope to God it's another charter school."
On average, Culbertson said five to eight schools have had their charter pulled due to violating the "three strikes law" each year. Senate Bill 2, passed in 2013, was meant to speed up the closure of charter schools that failed to meet academic or financial standards.
