Baltimore residents are frustrated over the closing of charter school New Song Academy

Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester community voiced its concerns to Baltimore City Schools Monday night after the district announced New Song Academy, a charter school in the neighborhood, will soon close its doors.

Students will move to the Harlem Park school building, which is located half a mile down N. Gilmor St. from New Song Academy, on January 7. The entire school community will move and have its own wing of this shared school building, according to the district.

 The Harlem Park school building already houses three other programs.

New Song Academy opened in 1994 and was founded by Allan and Susan Tibbels, who created a non-profit to benefit the Sandtown-Winchester community years prior, according to our media partner The Baltimore Banner.

In a letter to staff and families, district CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises cited several maintenance issues with the school building and financial issues with the school's operator, New Song Community Learning Center.

"Recently, we have learned about additional serious financial obligations of the school's operator, including concerns related to the school's building. Additionally, the conditions of the current New Song building are deteriorating, specifically the school's roof and HVAC system. Although the operator has made some repairs, the systems are at the end of their lifespans and may not last through the remainder of the current school year, school year 2025-26," the letter reads.

At a community meeting on Monday, district staff explained to concerned parents and neighbors why their school is being forced to close. The academy just renewed its charter with the district in January.

"This isn't an ideal situation. This is an emergency situation," said Angela Alvarez, senior executive director of the Office of New Initiatives with the district.

Students to switch schools mid-year

Some neighbors say it isn't fair that their children have to move mid-year with no say in where they go.

"They don't care. This was just another school that's being shut down," said Hope Crosby, the president of the New Song Academy Parent-Teacher Organization.

Other neighbors say the Harlem Park building is older than their current school, has its own maintenance issues, and isn't safe for their students.

The district claims the school's operator wasn't honest about its financial situation and didn't keep their end of the deal.

In January, the academy's charter was renewed, but with conditions following financial issues. The district and board of education required the operator to provide a funding plan and fulfill other conditions by July 31 to keep the charter in good standing.

"The operating organization misled us. They were hiding information. And deeper, we dug into their financials. We learned things we did not know," Alvarez added.

The district says it didn't know how bad the finances actually were until late October or early November, saying the organization wasn't paying any of its bills, including utilities, nor maintaining the school building.  

Neighbors want the school's operator to be held accountable.

"That wrong has caused this situation to have to come into being," a community member said.

Neighbors also feel they were left behind in this decision and believe it was made without any community input. The school district says this is an emergency plan that needed to be in place quickly before students and staff were left in an unsafe building.

"It's pretty disheartening to see we wasn't even given a vote on this decision," Crosby added.

Safety and transportation concerns

Some parents are worried about transportation. Neighbors told WJZ that many of the academy's students live nearby and can easily walk to school.

The academy and Harlem Park's building sit about half a mile away from one another, leaving some students to walk further to get to class. Many worry that attendance will drop and cause students to fall behind.

Others are concerned about safety, saying these two neighborhoods have had past issues that could impact their children.

"We're now asking students to go into an atmosphere and then maybe hostile, if not towards them, definitely their parents, who are familiar with the difference in neighborhoods," said Lamar Richards, the president of the New Song Academy Alumni Association.

"You, on your worst day, would not walk through Sandtown and that part of Edmonson Avenue," another parent said toward Alvarez.

The district says it had staff assess the commute to the new school and deemed it safe.

"We walked the walk just to because whenever we make a move like this, we do have staff who goes out and walks the walk to see what the walk is like," said Allison Perkins-Cohen, the chief of staff for the school district.

Because of the transportation and safety concerns, neighbors worry their students won't get the most out of their studies and fall behind, contributing to systemic poverty and the school-prison pipeline.

"We're going to be having the same question with these certain with certain kids run into problems. We're going to be trying to have this conversation about the Sandtown, as a community, and I will point to the closure of the school being one of them," Richards said.

The district says it is investigating and could pursue legal action against the New Song Community Learning Center.

WJZ reached out to the organization for comment but did not hear back. The organization's website also appears to have been taken down.

Students will move to Harlem Park on January 7 when they return from winter break. The New Song Academy school building is set to close by the end of the academic year.

Meanwhile, some neighbors asked questions about how to save the building and start fresh, adding that many people at the community meeting would be willing to donate. The district says an entity would need to take over the charter.