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The charter school movement in Rhode Island is at a crossroads.

While family demand for charter options is growing, advocates for the alternative public schools are being met with opposition – or indifference – from elected officials, are struggling to navigate a unionization push at the charters, and can’t seem to reach an agreement on a long-term strategy.

Behind the scenes, the Rhode Island League of Charter Public Schools and Rhode Island’s mayoral academies – which are also charter schools with slightly different governance structures – have been in talks to join forces – especially when it comes to legislative priorities at the State House.

But those talks  stalled in the days – or hours – before the merger was set to be publicly announced this week, and the path forward is unclear.

The bigger picture: There has always been some friction between league members and the mayoral academies even though they’re all largely part of the same charter school family. 

They’re all publicly funded and function separately from traditional school districts (most aren’t unionized), but league members are usually viewed as “mom and pop” charter schools, while mayoral academies have a reputation as “big box” charter schools, in part because Achievement First also runs schools in Connecticut and New York. Generally speaking, teachers’ unions have focused their criticism on mayoral academies more than league members.

It’s all a little confusing and in-the-weeds, but the idea of the merger was that the league and the mayoral academies could present a united front on discussions about funding and the future of charter schools in the state.

The league also wants to combat what it sees as misinformation about charter schools that occasionally interferes with growth strategies. Most recently the Providence City Council rejected Excel Academy’s attempt to lease the old Carl Lauro Elementary School building in Providence (Excel is a mayoral academy).

What’s next: It’s unclear where the talks between the league and the mayoral academies will go from here, but here’s why it matters: Several new charter schools are seeking to open in the coming years.

The Rhode Island Department of Education is currently holding public hearings for three new charter schools:

🏫 De La Comunidad Bilingual School would serve 628 K-12 students in Providence, Pawtucket, and Cranston.

🏫 MedPrep Charter School would serve 468 students in grade 6-12 from Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls.   

🏫 New England Technical Academy would serve 1,152 high school students from across the state

🏫 Two existing charter schools are also seeking to expand. PVD Prep wants to add 168 middle school seats in Providence, and The Greene School wants to add 168 middle school students.