MEDIA STATEMENT: Philadelphia Charters for Excellence Responds to Allegations of Enrollment Tampering at a Philadelphia School

May 8, 2023

The following is a statement from Scott Peterman, Chief Executive Officer for Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE), in response to a recent article in The Philadelphia Inquirer in which allegations of enrollment tampering were made against one public charter school.

“Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE) learned of the allegations of enrollment tampering by a charter school operating in Philadelphia in an Inquirer story that was published on May 7th. PCE believes that all public schools - whether charter or district - must be held to the highest standards as stewards of taxpayer funding and nurturers of Pennsylvania’s most precious resource…our children. Any action taken by a public charter school to discriminate in its enrollment practices is unacceptable, and further feeds into the false narratives and misconceptions about public charter schools.   

PCE strongly encourages all of its 80 member schools to utilize Apply Philly Charter to collect enrollment applications and conduct an independent lottery for their enrollment. More than 85% of Philadelphia’s charter schools use Apply Philly Charter for their enrollment lotteries, which eliminates any question of bias, discrimination or cherry-picking.

PCE supports a thorough investigation into the allegations brought to light in the Inquirer story, and encourages all of its members to review their own enrollment policies and practices to ensure they are following Pennsylvania’s Charter School Law and they are above reproach.” 

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Media Contact: Please direct all questions or requests for additional information to Jessica Hickernell at jessica@hickernellconsulting.com. 

About Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE)

Founded in 2011, Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE), is a 501c3 non-profit organization that works to connect, convene and catalyze collective action for Philadelphia’s 83 public brick-and-mortar charter schools, which currently educate approximately 65,000 public school students. Today, PCE serves as the central voice and umbrella advocacy organization, including policy development, advocacy initiatives and public-private sector engagement, and serves as the focal point for resources and collaborative knowledge sharing for Philadelphia’s public brick-and-mortar charter school sector.