The Arizona State Board of Charter Schools decided Tuesday that it will continue its course in revoking the charter status of Primavera online charter school.
Primavera had been facing an uncertain future after the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools sent a notice of intent to revoke its charter in a meeting earlier this year due to low academic results. For the last three consecutive fiscal years, the school received a ‘D’ letter grade.
Recently, the charter school asked the board to reconsider its decision in the Tuesday meeting, saying it requested information from the Arizona Department of Education to look at whether the online charter was classified as an alternative school in the past few years, and if it had a higher letter grade.
In Tuesday’s meeting, state school officials say the charter school could be classified as an alternative school and that if it were, they would have received a ‘C’ letter grade based on different calculating standards for alternative schools versus traditional schools. The charter school hoped that information would change the board’s mind in reversing course in revoking its charter status.
“Primavera is not perfect but it’s a performing alternative school and it is essential,” said Jessica Pagoulatos, the executive director of Primavera.
According to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), a spokesperson said the charter school was not designated as an alternative school for the last fiscal years those letter grades were at a ‘D’. In the meeting, it was detailed that Primavera officials did not request to appeal the low letter grades for those years, too, and the charter had not requested to classify as an alternative school.
ADE said the charter school’s fiscal year 2025 alternative status was approved and the fiscal year 2026 is currently pending.
Regardless, the board voted unanimously Tuesday to not reconsider its decision based on the new information and will continue to take steps to revoke its charter status.
The school is also known as the American Virtual Academy, a tuition-free online school. According to a report in the meeting, the average number of students the charter had is around 7,000 for the last few fiscal years.
A state assessment last year shows that only 9% of Primavera’s students were proficient in math compared to the 32% statewide average. Twenty-three percent of students were proficient in English Language Arts compared to the 40% statewide average.
Doug Nick, with the Arizona Department of Education, previously told ABC15 that impacted students looking for new education options would “have the same choices as anyone: district, charter, another online provider, ESA, private school or homeschool.”
The future of Primavera remains unclear, however, the school’s website says it is still enrolling students. The school and its leadership will have to go before an administrative law judge for hearings scheduled in early September. After that, the decision of that judge will go back to the charter school board for a final decision.
After the meeting, ABC15 tried speaking with Primavera staff and families which responded with no comment. The founder, Damian Creamer, walked out of the meeting without answering any questions.
However, the online charter school did offer a statement:
“The Arizona State Charter School Board’s decision to uphold its plan to revoke Primavera’s charter is a grave injustice and a tremendous disservice to all of Arizona’s students, parents, and teachers.
This reckless action threatens to dismantle a vital educational institution that has faithfully served our community, providing innovative, accessible, and high-quality education to hundreds of thousands of students since our inception.
We are appalled that the Board denied our legal counsel an opportunity to address the allegations made or to address the multitude of factual inaccuracies on which the board members specifically said they were acting. They did not want to hear anything that was contrary to the factually incorrect narrative they created.
This blatant disregard for due process is not only unfair but undermines the principles of transparency and accountability that the Board claims to uphold.
The assumptions and conclusions reached by the Board are based on factually untrue and materially false information. These were obvious misrepresentations rather than data-driven evidence.
Primavera will not stand idly by while the educational futures of our students are jeopardized. We are prepared to take all necessary action to challenge this decision and protect the rights of our students, parents, and educators.
The Board’s actions will not go unanswered, and we will fight tirelessly to ensure that Arizona families continue to have access to the exceptional education Primavera provides.”
