The Harlem Day Charter School is facing significant change in light of the dismal test scores and the poor passing rate of its students. This year, for example, 100 of the school’s 247 students were held back. With this kind of performance, it was impossible that the school would get it’s charter renewed this year. However, instead of closing the school, the teachers and administrators at Democracy Prep Charter Schools have volunteered to take over Harlem Day and rebuild it from the ground up. Democracy Prep is preparing to instate strict policy changes, and not everyone is happy about it. Of the 32 teachers who taught at Harlem Day this year, only 5 will return to teach under the new regime. Both the school day and the school year will be lengthened, and teachers will be responsible for higher numbers of students in each class. The teacher’s lounge will be renamed the Teacher Work Room, and the teachers who chose to stay at the newly renamed Harlem Prep are having their lessons videotaped so that they can review their own performances at night.

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