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A charter school in North Charleston is being shut down at the end of this school year that primarily serves students with dyslexia.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A charter school in North Charleston is being shut down at the end of this school year that primarily serves students with dyslexia, leaving parents feeling lost and confused.

The Gates School opened its doors in 2021 and teaches children with dyslexia through Orton-Gillingham approach and a multi-sensory education model that parents say is unlike any other schools in the area.

“We’ve all just gotten our math testing scores back, and oh my god; the year over year different is huge,” Joseph Hochberg, Gates School parent, says. “It’s quantifiable and tremendous.”

Over 15 parents say their children have jumped multiple grade levels in reading and math testing scores.

“My daughter has only been there for one year and her reading is has just soared,” another parent, Heidi Sezginalp, says. “She’s so much more confident and willing to read in front of us. which she’s never done before.”

The Charter Institute at Erskine, tasked with authorizing charter schools in South Carolina, made the decision to close the school on Monday, citing systemic findings of noncompliance of state and federal special education law.

Some parents, including Roth Scott and Melissa Tranchida, think that Erskine is pulling data from 2021-2022 school year, saying that the charter is not taking everything into consideration.

“They did not take into account this year, where Gates is fully in compliance, has special education teachers, is meeting all the IEPs,” Scott says. “To do that is just robbing these kids of what they deserve.”

“The data speaks volumes. I mean, the growth is tremendous and yet the rug has been pulled out from underneath us, not taking into any consideration our students’ growth,” Tranchida says. “I feel like to make a decision without taking any student growth data into consideration is just deplorable.”

Members of the Institute met last spring to revoke Gate’s School charter for the same reason, but an appeal hearing gave the school a second chance.

“I was shocked that they had violations because from what I saw, everyone was certified in multiple ways in that school,” Gates School parent, Lea Carter, says.

Despite the history of violations and noncompliance at the school, many of the parents, including Ashley Governman, are mostly concerned about bringing their children back into traditional public schools.

“Lots and lots of tears, lots of tears,” Governman says. “We fear the thought of going back to the traditional school setting which failed them before. It was really hard to do.”

As of Monday, about 95 students were enrolled at Gates School, according to the Charter Institute at Erskine.

The Institute says it will notify parents of the closure and work with families to “provide a smooth transition for their students.”

“None of us want it to close. We want it to be properly funded, so that our kids can be properly supported and so that the teachers and staff can be properly supported,” Gates School parent, Julie Stowers, says. “That’s it that is all we want.”

The full list of violations and instances of noncompliance from the Charter Institute at Erskine has not been released.

“The kids are the collateral damage of all of this foolishness and is so not acceptable; it’s time for the parents to stand up.” Robin Moses, Gates School grandparent, says. “It’s time that they [the parents] have a voice; they use that voice and be loud.”

Ashley Epperson, director of communications for the Charter Institute at Erskine, provided this statement regarding the school’s violations:

The Gates School’s history of noncompliance has been extensive. As a result of Gates School’s systemic noncompliance, their students with disabilities are owed more than 220,000 minutes of special education services that the school was required by law to provide. The Charter Institute, in an attempt to remedy this systemic special education noncompliance, provided ongoing support, trainings, and site visits to the school. In an effort to impress upon the administration of Gates School the seriousness of these matters, the Institute placed multiple sanctions on the school from 2021-2023, including the issuance of multiple notices of noncompliance, multiple corrective action plans, and multiple enrollment freezes.

Stephanie Sams, founding board chair for Gates School issued the following statement after Monday’s announcement:

Gates School community is heartbroken and disappointed that the Charter Institute at Erskine Board disregarded the information from special education compliance experts that no statutory grounds for revocation exist. Gates School has always been dedicated to appropriate service and exceptional instruction and experiences for our dyslexic learners. Our focus will always remain on them and their best next steps. The Gates School Board and community will be taking under consideration those best next steps although I have been told that parents have already filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Beck

Driving north out of Florida in the springtime with every homebound “snow bird” is an ill advised activity. But if your destination is North Charleston’s High Water Festival it’s worth the hassle. This was our third year covering the Americana forward festival and first for Under the Radar. No doubt, the Shovels & Rope curated event is one worthy of attending regardless of line-up given its cosy confines and laid back vibe. It certainly doesn’t hurt though when your line-up is a stellar one full of artists we haven’t covered before.

First up for us on Saturday was Kentucky’s S.G. Goodman. Being a big fan of Goodman’s Old Time Feeling album from a few years back, it was great to hear that album’s title song and “Space And Time” in good and greasy live performances. Goodman trades on her backwoods vernacular and also got in an extended and funny story on fellow Kentuckian Tyler Childers. Extended takes on “Work Until I Die,” with a sly reference to an Alabama song, and a Waylon Jennings cover showed Goodman firmly rooted in her place in history. Next up on the main stage was Sierra Ferrell (one of our favourites of the weekend who we hadn’t seen before). A country and bluegrass traditionalist, Ferrell was backed by an acoustic trio and accompanied herself on guitar and fiddle throughout the set. An expert at making covers her own, her take on Willie Nelson’s “Seven Spanish Angels” was pristine, while “Give It Time” and “Bells Of Every Chapel,” from 2021’s Long Time Coming album, were also particularly fine.

Not everything on the High Water agenda comes with a country accent and the rest of day’s acts we covered bore that out. Regardless of your view on Jack Antonoff and his outfit Bleachers, Antonoff pulled off the most stunning guest slot of the festival. Two songs into the set, Antonoff casually introduced Lana Del Rey to the stage. Purportedly Del Rey’s first live performance in four years, she and Antonoff performed the gorgeous duet “Margaret” from Del Rey’s just released album. Antonoff knows how to throw a party with dual saxes leading the way on hits from 2017’s Gone Now, like “Let’s Get Married” and “I Miss Those Days.” Next days headliner, Beck, also joined Antonoff on stage for a somewhat head scratching cover of Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough.”

Second to last act for the night, Father John Misty, put on one of the best sets of the festival pulling from his earliest work up through last year’s return to form, Chloë and The Next 20th Century. Not short on the dramatics, with a few drop to the knees moments, Misty lead off with a smouldering take on “The Next 20th Century.” Shrouded in darkness or moody blue lights for most of the set, other highlights included a crowd sing-along inducing “Mr. Tillman” and the country tinged ode to a grieved cat, “Goodbye Mr. Blue.” The closer for the night, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, from the Carolina to the north, gave their fans what they want in high spirited takes on favourites “Devil Like Me” and “Cocaine Jesus.” Not your grandmother’s gospel music.

On a Sunday that threatened rain, thankfully none ever came. But making it rain was a fun and stellar set courtesy of the Black Opry Revue. The Revue consists of a loose collective of approximately 200 Black artists that haven’t historically had access in the country genre. Backed by a three piece “house band,” fronted by the incredible guitar work of Ping Rose, the artists on hand for this festival included Aaron Vance, Tylar Bryant, Nikki Morgan, Jett Holden, Julie Williams and Roberta Lee. Each artist took a turn at the mic with celebratory side stage support from the others and frankly from the crowd of fans out front at well. Vance opened with a twangy tune that could have easily fit in Alan Jackson’s catalog, Bryant aligns more with the new country movement with his witty “Outside The Box Of Wine,” Williams played a song and served as de facto spokesperson for the Revue’s mission, and Lee closed it out with a blustery blues tune.

On a day where recent Under the Radar cover artist, Ezra Furman, was scheduled to perform, sadly she was a last minute scratch due to a brief illness. But the following main stage set from the masked Orville Peck was a wildly entertaining one. Pulling heavily from last year’s Bronco album, Peck and his band sounded great on classic country and Elvis inspired songs such as “Curse of the Blackened Eye” and “Daytona Sands.” Peck also won over the crowd with his dialogue with a five-year old fully decked out cowgirl sitting on the rail. She and her mom were invited backstage for an impromptu photo op. Nicest moment of the festival for sure and representative of the low key atmosphere. Angel Olsen followed back on the smaller stage and put up quite a squall given her recent move to a softer, countrified sound. Olsen was in a mischievous mood which found her joking about a new song they wrote in the parking lot before ripping into “Shut Up Kiss Me.” Plenty of songs from last year’s Big Time album were also on display.

Though historically the festival hosts, Shovels & Rope, have played on the main stage, they wedged their set between those of Wilco and Beck. Wilco played a tight hour and fifteen minute set with only a few songs pulled from last year’s Cruel Country. Eric Slick joined the band on stage for a loose take of “Handshake Drugs” and of course guitarist Nels Cline put on a clinic with solos on songs like “Impossible Germany.” Jeff Tweedy and company were in fine form and the shortened set assured there was no room for filler. Shovels & Rope followed on the smaller stage and always receives a warm welcome from their hometown crowd. Having seen the band many times, their marquee song “Birmingham” was notably absent, but the set didn’t suffer for it.

The festival was closed out by the king of festival sets, the ever present Beck. With a darkened stage, Beck appeared playing solo with acoustic guitar. Five songs in, including a cover of Neil Young’s “Old Man,” it wasn’t clear if Beck was playing a full solo set, but he was joined by his band for “Devil’s Haircut” and the remainder of a 32 (!) song set including other favourites like “Debra” and “Dreams.” He closed out his set with a fitting cover of Daniel Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You In The End.” Bringing the two day festival to successful close and a realization that High Water always gets it right. The Americana leaning festival has made a point to bring diverse artists across a broad array of genres and for that we should all be grateful.

NORTH CHARLESTON — The Performing Arts Center has announced its Best of Broadway 2023-24 season featuring seven shows.

Here’s what’s coming to the North Charleston stage.

‘Come From Away’

Oct. 20-22, 2023

Broadway’s “Come From Away” is a best musical winner across North America.

The performance tells the true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them following 9/11. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

‘Pretty Woman: The Musical’

Dec. 1-3, 2023

“Pretty Woman: The Musical” is based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories. It springs to life with a powerhouse creative team led by two-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (“Hairspray,” “Kinky Boots,” “Legally Blonde”).

Featured, of course, is Roy Orbison and Bill Dees’ song “Oh, Pretty Woman,” which was a smash hit in the 1990 film.

‘Hadestown’

Jan. 2-7, 2024

Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards, including best musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for best musical theater album, this acclaimed new show from celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and director Rachel Chavkin (“Natasha,” “Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812″) is a love story for today and always.

“Hadestown” intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.

‘My Fair Lady’

Feb. 9-11, 2024

Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live,” this production tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady.” But who is really being transformed?

‘Six’

March 12-17, 2024

From Tudor queens to pop icons, the “Six” wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 500 years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st-century girl power. This new original musical is a global sensation that won 23 awards in the 2021-22 Broadway season, including the Tony Award for best original score (music and lyrics).

‘Mean Girls’

April 26–28, 2024

Direct from Broadway, “Mean Girls” is the hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team, including book writer Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), composer Jeff Richmond (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), lyricist Nell Benjamin (“Legally Blonde”) and director Casey Nicholaw (“The Book of Mormon”).

Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.

‘Stomp’

May 10–11, 2024

This special bonus show is an international percussion sensation featuring an eight-member troupe that uses everything but conventional instruments: matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps.

You can see what all the noise is about.

A charter school in North Charleston will close its doors after this school year following a history of violations and instances of noncompliance.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A charter school in North Charleston will close its doors after this school year following a history of violations and instances of noncompliance, according to the Charter Institute at Erskine.

Gates School has been in operation since August of 2021, “founded to serve students with a primary diagnosis of dyslexia,” according to the school’s website.

The Charter Institute at Erskine’s Board of Directors, tasked with authorizing charter schools in South Carolina, voted Monday to revoke the charter of Gates School “due to systemic findings of noncompliance of state and federal special education law.”

The board had previously met Mar. 16, 2022 and voted to revoke Gates School’s charter for the same reason, but an appeal hearing from the school gave them a second chance at keeping their doors open and remedying “it’s ongoing noncompliance,” the Institute says.

Live 5 has previously reported on the school’s history of noncompliance, including when the Charter Institute at Erskine paused enrollment just months after the school’s opening due to staffing shortages, specifically special education teachers.

“The Board and our District are tasked with ensuring that every student’s rights are protected under the law and that our schools are complying with all legal and regulatory requirements imposed by our federal and state governments,” Dr. Steven Adamson, President of Erskine College and Chairman of the Charter Institute Board, said. “As we move forward, the Institute and the Board are committed to ensuring a smooth transition.”

As of April 24, 2023, about 95 students were enrolled at Gates School, according to the Charter Institute at Erskine. The Institute says it will notify parents of the closure and work with families to “provide a smooth transition for their students.”

Ashley Epperson, Director of Communications for the Charter Institute at Erskine, provided this statement regarding the school’s violations:

The Gates School’s history of noncompliance has been extensive. As a result of Gates School’s systemic noncompliance, their students with disabilities are owed more than 220,000 minutes of special education services that the school was required by law to provide. The Charter Institute, in an attempt to remedy this systemic special education noncompliance, provided ongoing support, trainings, and site visits to the school. In an effort to impress upon the administration of Gates School the seriousness of these matters, the Institute placed multiple sanctions on the school from 2021-2023, including the issuance of multiple notices of noncompliance, multiple corrective action plans, and multiple enrollment freezes.

Stephanie Sams, Founding Board Chair for Gates School issued the following statement after Monday’s announcement:

Gates School community is heartbroken and disappointed that the Charter Institute at Erskine Board disregarded the information from special education compliance experts that no statutory grounds for revocation exist. Gates School has always been dedicated to appropriate service and exceptional instruction and experiences for our dyslexic learners. Our focus will always remain on them and their best next steps. The Gates School Board and community will be taking under consideration those best next steps although I have been told that parents have already filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.

The Charter Institute at Erskine says this is the first charter the board has revoked. Over the past decade, 14 charter schools have been closed in South Carolina.

The Charter Institute at Erskine is compiling a full list of Gates School’s violations and instances of noncompliance.

Officials with Gates School have yet to respond to a request for comment.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

A 40-year-old laundromat in North Charleston has been recently transformed, but what’s special about it is more than just its appearance.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A 40-year-old laundromat in North Charleston has been recently transformed, but what’s special about it is more than just its appearance.

Erin and John Carpenter went on an RV trip around the country during the pandemic, and that’s when they realized how important laundromats were.

After the trip, they moved to Charleston and wanted to get involved in the community. That’s when they saw Reynolds Laundromat on Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston was for sale.

The old laundromat, which has been in business for over 40 years, looked less than desirable. There were broken machines, broken furniture, and lots of repairs that needed to be done.

“John was like let’s do it,” Erin said. “Let’s make it a better place.”

The couple got the laundromat in July of last year and let it exist the way it was for six months. During that time, they listened to feedback about what was wanted and needed by the community.

It took two and a half months to transform the space, and the new Reynolds Laundromat opened up two weeks ago.

They researched laundry prices in the Charleston area and made sure they were offering the lowest prices. They then made it into a place where people sleep, hang out, eat, watch television, use free Wifi and enjoy a safe, clean space.

The grand re-opening celebration was a free laundry day complete with free loads, food, and games. The couple partnered with Lowcountry Blessing Box Project to make it happen.

“Oh, the need for this is great,” Esther Smith, volunteer for Lowcountry Blessing Box Project, said. “This community here, they really do need to be able to come here and get their clothes washed, you know.”

The couple posted a Tik Tok video of their story, and it went viral, receiving 10.5 million views as of Wednesday.

The post got the attention of many in the community including local organizations, who are reaching out and want to get involved to have more free laundry days and events.

“It was really really cool to engage with people who you know maybe live in the area or have been like hey I live nearby, I’d like to donate or I want to help sponsor more free laundry days,” Erin said.

It’s been especially exciting for manager Steve P. Eddie, who has worked here seven days a week for nine years.

“It’s more than just laundry,” Eddie said. “It’s also been a place that no matter what they’re going through, they can come here, be at peace, be safe, safe knowing that we designed this place for them and knowing that it’s beyond laundry.”

The couple is now watching their project grow before their eyes. They hope that more free laundry days are in the future, with hopes of doing them every few months. They also are adding a kids area with books and toys, as well as creating a laundry pickup and delivery service.

“Now to see people sitting at the picnic tables and kids playing in the kid’s area and using the technology and eating at the different things it’s kinda fun to see it come to life,” John said.

Longtime employee Eddie hopes it’s just the beginning for the newly renovated laundromat.

“My vision for this place is for this place to be here a long time,” Eddie said.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.