Massachusetts Awards Charters To Two Edison Partners Monday, March 05, 2001 Edison announced that charters for two of its Massachusetts community partners have been approved by the State Board of Education. The charter for the Seven Hills Charter School in Worcester was renewed for a second five year period, and an initial charter was granted to the Holyoke Community Charter School in Holyoke. The Board acted on the charter applications at its February 27 meeting. Management agreements between Edison Schools and the Worcester and Holyoke Charter Boards are currently being negotiated. The Seven Hills Charter School opened in partnership with Edison in the fall of 1996 and currently serves approximately 665 students in Kindergarten through grade 8. The charter renewal was the culmination of a nine month process that included a self evaluation by the school staff, a three day site visit by an independent evaluation team, and a review of the school's performance by State Department of Education officials. Earlier this year, the State Board of Education recognized the Seven Hills Charter School for having posted one of the most significant improvements on the state's annual assessment of student achievement. The Holyoke Community Charter School will serve approximately 700 students in Kindergarten through grade 5, beginning in the fall of 2002. The school is being founded by Enlace de Familias, a grass roots community organization that has provided economic development, child care and adult education services to Holyoke's citizens for several years. Back to News...