Thank you to everyone who continues to follow our story and support our fight to keep Memphis Street Academy (MSA) open. We are proud to say that, despite the ongoing challenges we’re facing, we have opened our doors for another school year!

In the meantime, the fight continues — MSA filed a civil action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a Complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.  

While MSA's charter conditions are based upon the Charter School Framework, the Framework’s methodology contains statistically significant biases toward certain racial demographics. It unlawfully discriminates against predominantly Black and/or Hispanic charter schools and their students by putting such schools at a heightened risk of closure: A significant portion of the Academic Success Domain (60%, in the case of MSA) consists of measures that are heavily biased against Black and/or Hispanic students.

The Charter School Framework violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits school districts from discriminating against minority students. It clearly states: "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 

At the same time, a recent study focused on academic growth and equity revealed that minority and underserved students attending charter schools are significantly outpacing their peers in traditional public schools (TPS). The study analyzed data from approximately two million charter students and an equal number of TPS students across the U.S. Addressing the urgent need to close the education gap, institutions like American Paradigm Schools’ MSA are recognized as "Gap Busters," for their successful efforts in reducing educational disparities.

And yet, despite these growing concerns, we continue to face misinformation. Ballard Spahr recently released its findings on allegations of racial discrimination and bias in the Philadelphia School District’s charter renewal process. Most headlines zeroed in on the lack of “intentional” bias, however, publications seemingly glossed over the real story: The systemic bias toward minority-led charter schools is pervasive, well-documented, and has been swept under the rug since 2017. This sort of lackadaisical and service-level coverage hurts our cause and places our schools at risk. But we will not be deterred.

While we continue to fight this battle, our top priority will always remain the same — doing everything in our power to remain a strong resource for our students and the community. We look forward to providing programming and pivotal services such as our health center access, English language access, food and nutrition programs and more to our students and families throughout the year. 

Again, thank you to all who remain invested in our story — please keep sharing our petition with your friends and family, and urge them to do the same, and follow us on social media for updates: @americanparadigmschools.