Fahari Academy Charter School

Fahari Academy Charter School was closed in June 2015 after years of poor performance.

Fahari was plagued with challenges since its founding in 2009. High student and teacher turnover combined with low student achievement led to a threat of closure from city education officials just after Principal Stephanie Clagnaz took over in May 2013.Clagnaz, who has a doctorate in education and 25 years of experience, told us she has worked hard to remove the dark cloud that hung over the faculty, starting with a staff retreat and hiring new deans and assistant principals. The school adopted a restorative justice approach to discipline, designed to involve students in repairing the harm done by disruptive behavior.Test scores went up dramatically during Clagnazs tenure: The 2013-14 School Quality Guide showed that students met or exceeded all of their targets for growth in test scores, although still have far lower proficiency rates than the citywide average.Despite these gains, Department of Education decided to close the school in 2015.

The school, which was located in East Flatbush and served grades 5-8, shared a building with MS 246.(Nicole Mader, December 2014; updated with closed information by Ella Colley, December 2015)