SALEM — The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved a 20 percent increase in the enrollment of Salem Academy Charter School at a meeting yesterday in Malden.
The state board endorsed the independent public school's request to add 64 students, which will increase the student body from 308 to 372.
The extra students will be added at the high school level of the grade-6-to-12 charter school in Shetland Park, a business park on the Salem waterfront. School officials said they need more students to operate a viable high school program.
Over four years, high school enrollment will jump from 142 to 206, an increase of more than 40 percent. Twenty-one students are expected to come aboard next fall.
The school, which is not part of the Salem Public Schools, is one of only two charter schools to win approval of expansion plans this year. A total of 10 charter schools submitted requests to the state board.
The state cited the Salem school's strong performance on the MCAS exams.
The school "has a solid record of academic achievement ..." Mitchell Chester, commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said in a memo to the state board recommending the enrollment hike.
The state board approved the expansion with almost no discussion.
Both Rachel Hunt, the head of school at SACS, and Executive Director Sean O'Neil attended the morning meeting in downtown Malden.
"Now, we'll have the opportunity to become a larger community and provide more opportunities for our students, still within an intimate setting, and that's exciting for us," said Hunt, the school's lead founder.
When Salem Academy Charter School opened in 2004, the school expected, over time, to have 44 students at every grade. It currently has only 22 students in the 11th grade and 29 in the senior class, according to information submitted to the state.
"Over the years, that has proven to be a flawed projection," the school stated in a letter to the state. "It did not take into account attrition, academic retentions, ideal class sizes or the necessary breadth of a high school program."
As a result of its size, some high school classes, such as honors physics and AP calculus, have been "too small for them to be as educationally vibrant as they might be with larger numbers," the school stated.
The shortage of students also made it difficult to field music, drama and after-school programs.
"Social events are sometimes difficult, as well," the school stated, "simply because of insufficient numbers."
Mayor Kim Driscoll and Stephen Russell, superintendent of the Salem School Department, wrote letters opposing the expansion. Both cited costly initiatives in the public schools — such as a new charter school for at-risk high school students — and the loss of funding the Salem public schools will incur if students move to the charter school.
"Approving additional enrollment at the Salem Academy Charter School may benefit them," Driscoll said, "but it would substantially harm our district at a time when we are making major investments in our educational community."
Although the Salem Public Schools would lose funds if students leave, the state provides reimbursements for several years to offset some of the financial losses.
In a few weeks, Salem Academy Charter School plans to mail an informational packet to the families of Salem fifth- and eighth-graders that will include details of the high school expansion plans.
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
