Chester Charter School for the Arts Posts Huge Improvement in Academic Results; Charter is Renewed for Five Years

Akosua Watts, Principal and
Chief Executive Officer at CCSA

November 14, 2014 – On Friday, November 7, the Pennsylvania Department of Education released its 2013-2014 school performance data for all Pennsylvania schools. Schools are ranked according to their School Performance Profile Academic score (SPP). 

Chester Charter School for the Arts (CCSA), a non-profit, arts-enriched, public charter school recorded an SPP score of 71.7 on a scale of 100. 

CCSA ranked number one for growth and academic achievement in the Chester Upland School District and achieved the 3rd largest year over year improvement among 800 peer schools in the five-county Philadelphia region. 

CCSA’s improvements were driven by strong investment in creative and innovative academic programs including an intensive reading program and daily arts instruction. CCSA is the only school in the Chester Upland School district to offer leveled literacy intervention alongside full-time dance, drama, visual arts, music, and Spanish language instruction.

On November 13, The Chester Upland School District, led by court-appointed Receiver Joe Watkins, approved renewal of a five-year charter for CCSA. 

Syreeta Lockett, a CCSA parent, applauded the decision, “The District’s continued support of CCSA means that I can send my children to a school where I know that they are safe and loved while learning and growing as young women. I couldn’t be happier with Mr. Watkins’ decision. Now I know that my daughters will have an opportunity to attend an excellent high school here in Chester.”

Akosua Watts, Principal and Chief Executive Officer at CCSA stated, “We are very proud of our outstanding students and teachers. They have proven that all children can grow and succeed in a collaborative and creative environment.” She adds, “Today’s charter renewal lets us focus on developing an exceptional high school program. We are committed to building on our K-8 success while closing the achievement gap for our children.” 

Don Delson, CCSA’s Board President, adds, “This is a testament to what Chester schools can accomplish with strong educational leaders, an innovative organizational structure, and a challenging academic program that includes the arts. Our students love going to school; our attendance rate of 96% is comparable to suburban school districts.”

CCSA Founder, Dr. John Alston, remarks, “The most important aspect about our test results is that our teachers do not teach to the test. They teach critical thinking through a combination of arts-enriched academic instruction, and intensive training in individual artistic disciplines. One significant result is that our students learn to think creatively in academic disciplines and think critically in artistic disciplines. They will need to master both kinds of thinking to enrich their community, and one day lead their city.”