In Rare Move, Oklahoma Charter School Ordered to Close at End of School Year

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OKLAHOMA CITY — A state board governing charter schools has decided it’s seen enough from Proud To Partner Leadership Academy and voted Monday to “pull the plug” on the school.

The Statewide Charter School Board made the rare decision to issue a notice of termination to the charter high school in southwest Oklahoma City. Seven board members voted in favor and two abstained.

The decision sets in motion the process of closing the school once the current academic year ends and voiding its charter contract. The 100 students attending the school, known as PTPLA, then would have to return to their neighborhood school districts or find another educational option.

The board placed PTPLA on probation in November over financial, operational and academic quality concerns. Members of the state board grew frustrated with what they considered to be an uncooperative response from the school’s leadership.

“That’s what we always ask for is a spirit of cooperation and desire to work together to improve the outcomes at the school,” board Chairperson Brian Shellem said after Monday’s meeting. “As it continued to progress, it seemed like it got harder and harder.”

State officials said they still had more questions than answers after three months of probation and multiple meetings with PTPLA.

The board’s staff made three visits to the school this fall and reported seeing only one teacher giving instruction. PTPLA leaders contend the report is inaccurate.

Rebecca Wilkinson, executive director of the state board, said she observed students with a computer open but not logged in, others not completing any work, seven who were sleeping or had their heads down, and some who were unable to say what course or topic they were studying, all of which raised concerns about the school’s educational quality.

PTPLA, which opened in 2024, faced scrutiny over weak finances, as well. It laid off four teachers in October and finished the previous school year in a budget deficit.

State officials also complained of missed deadlines and other unfulfilled obligations by the school’s administration.

“My opinion is it’s time to pull the plug,” statewide board member William Pearson said before the vote. “It’s time to move to termination.”

Despite the school’s struggles, PTPLA leaders told the state they had “nothing to fix.”

School founder and Superintendent Dawn Bowles said her students now face the prospect of returning to “schools that were not serving them in the first place.”

“Our next feat will be, what is our next move to make sure that we don’t drop the ball on the ones that we’ve committed to serving,” Bowles said. “We will continue to serve them. We will continue to educate them. We will continue to provide opportunities outside of education, and we will continue to be their village as we move forward because this is what we consider to be the greater way.”

Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected].

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