SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Springfield, Ohio — The Urban Youth Academy will close permanently today, May 9, a few weeks before the school year was set to end.

The charter school's sponsor, Educational Resource Consultants of Ohio, shut the school down after two site visits in April, ERCO's lawyer Phyllis Brown said.

"We thought long and hard," she said. "We wanted to let them finish out the year. But candidly, our concerns were so great, we felt it was necessary to close the school."

Superintendent Joanna Ward didn't return phone calls and former board Chairwoman Wendy Humphrey declined comment.

The school was placed on probation in September and the board replaced after the site visits last month.

The visits produced three main concerns — student safety, enrollment and educational programs.

The school doors didn't have the proper push bars to allow quick exit, Brown said, such as during a fire.

The building also didn't display or have the proper occupancy certificates and licenses.

The academy claimed it had about 125 students enrolled, Brown said, but fewer than 25 were seen during the visits.

"It was just too big a disparity," she said.

The school also used computer-based instruction, she said, that didn't match the school's educational plan.

The Ohio Department of Education is not investigating the school and it's a sponsor's decision whether or not to close a charter school, spokeswoman Karla Carruthers said.

ERCO is working with Springfield City Schools on a plan so seniors can graduate.

Betty Tingley's grandson John Clark attended the academy for two years.

At first, Tingley was upset it closed and some seniors didn't know if they could graduate.

She changed her mind after hearing why the school closed.

"Now that I know more, I'm glad they went ahead and did it," she said. "I want the safety of the children."

Clark liked the construction program and said he had good teachers. But this year the ninth grader's work changed, he said, and he only saw about 30 students on campus.

"We didn't really do anything," he said. "We just worked on the computer and did like third grade work ... It just changed."

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0363 or ssommer@coxohio.com.

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