KIPP School in Maryland May Close for Lack of Space

In a symbol of the difficulties facing charter schools nationwide, KIPP Harbor Academy, a charter school in Anne Arundel County Maryland may have to close due to its inability to find adequate space to operate.

The academy told parents last week that it must close because it could not find a new location to house growing enrollment, making it the first of 52 KIPP schools in 16 states to close.

"I think we're just asking all sides involved, KIPP included, to take another look and see if anything can be done," Maxwell said in the statement.

Steve Mancini, a KIPP spokesman, said the county leaders haven't provided a viable solution. "We want a concrete proposal," he said. "All we got is a press release."

Sojourner-Douglass had offered KIPP a five-year lease, saying it needed a long-term commitment from the charter school to make business sense. But KIPP officials said that even with the construction of a new wing, the building is too small for its current enrollment of 120 fifth- and sixth-graders, not to mention an incoming class of seventh-graders.

The Maryland Hall board voted this month against housing the charter school. A spokeswoman, Donna Anderson, said yesterday it would have forced Maryland Hall to reduce enrollment from 5,000 to 4,000.

Charter schools often operate under the good graces of a larger institution, like a high schools whose enrollment is too small to occupy an entire building or some other similar location. Most charters struggle not with enrollment or staffing but simply finding space to operate.

Sojourner Douglass may not have enough space and Maryland Hall needs its enrollment in order to make money--a lease with KIPP would not be equivalent to 1,000 student's worth of tuition and fees.

I am hopeful that in the end, the Anne Arundel School Board will delay closing the school for a month or so to give the school a chance to find new spaces. I am also hopeful that someone with space will step up to the plate and offer some help.