ST. LOUIS — The Opportunity Trust education reform group has been awarded a $35.6 million federal grant to expand and open new charter schools across Missouri over the next five years.
The money will be used for 16 charter schools to serve 5,000 additional students, according to the group’s to the U.S. Department of Education. The federal agency granted a total of $147 million to education departments and reform groups in 10 states for more charter school seats.
“This funding will enable us to continue our mission of expanding access to high-quality public educational opportunities for students in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and across Missouri. We remain committed to fostering innovation in education, cultivating strong community partnerships, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive in a quality learning environment,†Keith Williamson, chair of the Opportunity Trust board, said in a statement.
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Charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently of school districts. In Missouri, charter schools can open in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and Kansas City, and in school districts that are continually underperforming. There are 15 charter school networks in ºüÀêÊÓƵ with about 40 schools. The Leadership School in Pagedale, which opened last year in the Normandy district, is the first charter school in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
The Opportunity Trust launched in 2018 and has helped fund the Leadership School and several other new charters, including Atlas, Kairos Academies and Voices Academy, which opened this fall in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Charters have had a mixed record since they first opened in the city in 2000 with a promise to improve student performance through innovation and independence. More than half of the 37 charter school operators that came to the city have folded due to financial or academic failures, including La Salle and Hawthorn schools this year.
Others have found success, including Lafayette Preparatory Academy, which outperformed all charter schools and most districts in the state in 2022 and was awarded a rare 10-year renewal by the state. The school, in the Lafayette Square neighborhood, has 400 students in preschool through eighth grade, with long waiting lists for some grades. Gateway Science Academy, which has four charter schools in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ, scored in the top 20% of all Missouri districts.
But charter schools have done little to stem the city’s population loss, driven primarily by Black families with children moving out. Census data shows ºüÀêÊÓƵ has lost 40% of its children since 2000.
Enrollment in charters has stalled at around 11,500 students for the last few years, as schools open and close. More than 50 ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public School buildings have been shuttered since 2000. Yet the district has among the lowest capacity rates in the country, with 16,600 students across 62 buildings last year.
Academic results have also been mixed. In 2022, ºüÀêÊÓƵ charter schools scored an average of 69% on the state’s annual performance report, which includes test scores and attendance rates. SLPS schools scored 64%.