Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School seeks 100-student expansion

The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley.

The Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 10-03-2024 5:13 PM

HADLEY — After recently acquiring an 80,000-square-foot building on Venture Way for a second campus, the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion School is seeking a 100-student increase in enrollment.

Despite several parents speaking against the enrollment increase while attending a virtual board of trustees special meeting on Sept. 24, trustees voted unanimously to support a charter amendment which, if approved, would add to the school’s student headcount. The vote supported Executive Director Richard Alcorn’s request that will go to the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to grow the school, currently located at 317 Russell St., from 584 students to 684 students.

In 2015, the school asked to increase enrollment from 584 students to 986 students, but was rejected by the state. Similarly, in 2019 the state turned down a request to go up from 584 students to 952 students. The last time an enrollment increase was approved by the state was in 2013, when the 584 students cap was put in place by the state, simultaneous with the schools’ grade span expanding to K-12.

The latest request comes amid concerns from families who contend that the school is not adequately educating special needs students, who are either being denied services or being counseled or pushed out of the school. Such contentions have been made by other families over the years.

Rachel Fiore of Springfield was among several parents who both spoke and provided written comments recommending against taking any steps to expand until adequately meeting all students’ needs and with better cultural competency among educators. Fiore alleged the school isn’t educating all children equally, has a culture of ableism, and replacing students with special needs with others who will score more highly on test scores.

Alcorn defended the school’s record on special education and said there has been consistent growth in special education services at the charter school, meaning it is hard to reconcile with the idea that school leaders are trying to remove those students.

Erin McCarthy of Granby brought forward several concerns, including around transportation shortages, claiming there are not enough buses for the current study body; staff shortages; programming that has been eliminated; and the concerns about special education services.

“(Those are) all things our kids need now, not 100 kids later,” McCarthy said.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Sanford Lewis and Jody Shapiro: ‘Quabbin: The next generation’?
The Lehrer Report: Nov. 7, 2024
The Lehrer Report: Aug. 4, 2023
Amherst elementary school bid challengers claim winning contractor misled town
Tom Bassett: Valley Green Energy — Save money and reduce greenhouse gases
$5.7M Amherst surplus rankles strapped school officials

Alcorn, though, said expansion is a sensible approach, in line with an original request made more than 12 years ago. “So we’re asking again,” Alcorn said.

Alcorn said similar charter schools across the state have enrollments in excess of 1,000 students, allowing better opportunities as more funding is available to educate and ensure enhanced standardized testing scores.

He observes there are waiting lists at every grade level.

“There clearly is demand,” Alcorn said.