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Vineyard's Franklin Discovery Academy will continue operating after the charter school was lifted from probation and placed on warning status Thursday.
The move by the State Charter School board comes four months after allegations surfaced that a student had been targeted for a sexual relationship by a former employee and the firing of an administrator for allegedly failing to act on those claims.
Utah Board of Education staff also visited the school and reported a dysfunctional academic environment in which students were left unsupervised, instructional time was minimal and safety hazards were prevalent.
School administrators disputed the descriptions by board staff, while acknowledging the inappropriate actions of a former employee and lapses in personnel management.
Jen Price, chairwoman of the Franklin Discovery Academy governing board, said Friday she is happy the State Charter School Board recognized the progress that has been made since February.
"We just need to keep doing what we're doing as far as a positive trajectory goes," Price said. "We feel like we've assembled a great team. We have a lot of confident in our staff."
Franklin Discovery Academy uses a personalized model that sees students self-direct between different classroom settings and tasks. Price likened the approach to that of a junior high or high school, but geared toward elementary-age children.
She said steps have been taken to preserve that model while adding supervision to ensure students are accounted for and remain on task.
"Because they're elementary students," she said, "it takes a little more effort to make sure they're going where they're supposed to go."
As part of its probation, Franklin Discovery Academy was mentored by an outside charter school organization and required to make monthly reports to the State Charter School Board. Under the warning designation, school administrators were directed to report on their progress again in March of 2018.
Price said she did not know whether the March report is the school's earliest opportunity to shed its warning label, or whether the school could petition for reconsideration before that time.
"Our expectation as a school is that it will be off the warning status at that March meeting," Price said.
Jennifer Lamber, executive director of the State Charter School Board, could not be reached for comment on Friday.
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