BESE committee approves Third Future to operate Lynnwood Public Charter; health-clinic access raises community concerns

The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education(BESE) School Innovation and Turnaround Committee approved a type 5 charter contract on a recommendation to transfer operation of Lynnwood Public Charter School in Shreveport from its current operator to Third Future Schools, effective July 1, 2025, and separately approved a four-year extension of Third Future's partnership for Prescott Academy.

The committeevote followed a presentation from state staff and a public comment period in which Lynnwood staff, parents, community leaders and the operator seeking the contract both defended the school's recent progress and pressed the board on how a change of operator would affect on-site health services.

School officials and state staff told members the department is not recommending closure of Lynnwood but that it recommends a change of operator because it believes another operator can accelerate students' academic growth. The presentation cited Lynnwood's school performance score of 56.7 (D) and mastery gaps between Lynnwood and Louisiana averages in ELA and math across tested grades, and compared those measures to Prescott Academy, a Third Future-operated school that posted a one-year jump to a 58.5 score after Third Future's takeover.

Third Future's superintendent, Zach Craddock, and co-founder and chief of schools, Dr. Shirley Miles, described their model of high teacher pay, intensive professional development and daily on-the-job coaching. "We hire for character, we train for performance, and we coach for effectiveness," Dr. Miles said, and Craddock said the operator's school-level policy for the health clinic would require that "an administrator, a counselor, or our nurse refer down to the clinic if the situation is more than they can handle. That's it, sir."

Lynnwood leaders and staff urged more time and cautioned that Rosince 2017 the school has been operating under year-to-year management agreements and that the school has invested in early childhood expansion and campus upgrades. Stephon Jennings, whom he identified as the school's CEO, said Lynnwood's total enrollment is about 1,100 and that third-through-eighth-grade testing captured 657 students. "We tested 657 students. That is 100% of our population in third through eighth grade," Tara Seeley, chief academic officer at Lynnwood, told the committee, arguing the larger tested cohort makes percentage comparisons to Prescott (which tested 92'to 100% of roughly 235 tested students) harder to interpret.

Local elected and community leaders also spoke. Representative Jay Walters said he was concerned that Lynnwood deserves additional time under its current operator and noted Third Future would, if approved, be responsible for roughly 1,600 Caddo Parish students. Gord Waite, president of Shreveport Charter Schools, Inc., which currently operates Lynnwood, reviewed the school's 16-year turnaround work and said campus culture, enrollment growth and facilities investment have changed since the operator began.

Health providers and the operator of Lynnwood's school-based clinic pushed back on the Third Future intake policy. Willie White, CEO of David Raines Community Health Centers, which runs Lynnwood's clinic, said the center historically provided about 2,000 student visits at Fair Park prior to Third Future's arrival and that visits dropped to about 253 after Third Future's model was implemented there. "We are very concerned about the process, the gatekeeper approach that Third Futures has in place and the impact that will have on students accessing quality primary care services," White said. Dr. Darrell Burnett, pediatric director at David Raines, added that nonmedical staff cannot diagnose or prescribe and said the school-based clinic model depends on clinician access, not a referral-only system.

State staff answered clarifying questions about testing participation and timelines. "99% was the rate at both of the schools," a staff member identified as Mr. Lambert said when asked about test participation rates at Lynnwood and Prescott. State presenters noted that prior BESE actions moved the school out of direct charter renewals into management agreements after 2017, and they said the department believes Third Future is an operator ready to provide a longer-term type 5 charter than the year-to-year MOU previously used.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved the type 5 charter contract between the Recovery School District and Third Future Schools for Lynnwood Public Charter School (motion moved by Mr. Morris; second by Mr. Burkins; outcome: approved) and approved an extension of the partnership agreement between the Recovery School District and Third Future Schools for Prescott Academy for four additional years (motion moved by Mr. Morris; second by Mr. Birkins; outcome: approved). The committee also approved an earlier agenda item on charter contract amendments and voted to move an item on the LA Gator scholarship program to the next day's agenda.

The committee did not alter the condition that the department is not recommending closure of Lynnwood; rather the formal action was to change the school's operator via a type 5 charter contract effective July 1, 2025. Several public commenters asked the board to delay action by one year to allow the current operator more time to reach the state's threshold for a multi-year charter, and health providers asked the board to require preservation of in-school clinic access under any new operating agreement.

Committee members did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript beyond indicating motions and that they "carried." The record shows motions and seconds as noted above; the transcript does not include a detailed named vote tally for each member.

The committee moved on to other agenda business after the vote; the LA Gator scholarship update was postponed to the next day.

For now, Lynnwood's management will transition as outlined in the committee's approved type 5 charter contract, effective July 1, 2025, and Prescott's partnership with Third Future will be extended to align timelines between sites. Community members and health providers said they will press the department and the incoming operator to preserve the school-based clinic model and ensure continued access to care for Lynnwood students.