Community urges board to extend Barack Obama Leadership Academy’s charter; superintendent cites performance concerns

Dozens of community members and school leaders urged the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education to extend the charter authorization for Barack Obama Leadership Academy (BOLA) for one year so the school can secure a new authorizer and complete an orderly transition.

"One final year. One year to transition responsibly," said Dr. Sharonda Edgerson, who identified herself as speaking on behalf of BOLA students, families and staff, asking the board to "finish well" and give the school time to find another authorizer. Multiple parents, alumni and neighborhood leaders made similar pleas during a packed public-comment period, telling the board the school is a community anchor and that closure would displace more than 300 students.

The board heard repeated requests for a one-year extension at an upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting on April 29. Renard Richmond, who identified himself as BOLA’s board president, said the school is "a pillar of the community" and asked the board to vote to reauthorize at that session.

In response, Superintendent Dr. Vidi told the board he was speaking to accumulated feedback and to the board’s recent deliberations: "DPSCD is not closing Barack Obama," he said, adding that as an authorizer the district evaluates whether a charter meets its standards for reauthorization. He said the board’s committee review found that BOLA’s most recent letter grade and state assessment performance placed it below comparable neighborhood and application/exam schools in the area, and below district averages on apples-to-apples measures.

Dr. Vidi laid out the district’s approach: when DPSCD chooses to authorize charters it expects either unique services (for example, alternative or targeted programs) or performance at or above neighborhood and district comparators. He said BOLA has repeatedly struggled to exceed those benchmarks and "that's why at least at this point ... the board members that were present stated that it was time to move on from Barack Obama as an authorized charter." He also told the meeting that BOLA may seek authorization from another authorizer in Michigan.

Community speakers disputed the assessment and urged the board to consider context and the school’s progress. One public commenter said that closing the school now would be "a statistical injustice" because school-turnaround work typically takes multiple years. Several speakers asked why an Afrocentric school would be denied reauthorization while other new charters are approved nearby.

The board did not take a final vote on BOLA’s authorization at this meeting. Members and staff said the issue will continue at the Committee of the Whole and that the administration will provide additional comparative data. The superintendent also agreed to meet with affected school leaders and community members to discuss the accelerated timeline for Greenfield Union, a separate school the district is phasing out.

Next steps: the board will consider public input and staff recommendations at the Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled later this month; no final action on BOLA’s authorization was recorded at this session.