Mastery to take over Hardy Williams Charter

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

Starting next school year, the Hardy Williams Academy Charter School (HWACS) in West Philadelphia will become part of the Mastery Charter School network.

HWACS, located at 1712 S. 56th Street, serves roughly 800 students in grades K-8. The school will become the 8th in Philadelphia managed by Mastery, which is also vying to manage Clymer Elementary and Simon Gratz High School as part of the District’s Renaissance Schools initiative.

Dawn Chavous, the president of the HWACS board of directors, is quoted in a Thursday press release as saying that school believed "we still have more to do" to provide a high-quality education to its students, so the school’s board reached out to Mastery last fall.

HWACS failed to make AYP last year, with 44.2 percent of students scoring proficient in reading and 46.2 percent scoring proficient in math. The school’s special education students scored far below the overall student body. Overall, it is in Corrective Action I status under the No Child Left Behind law, meaning it also failed to meet its performance targets for at least three years prior to 2009-10.

"I am personally committed to working closely with the board at Mastery Charter Schools to ensure a successful transition," said State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, who is a board member.