To President Pestello and Dean Ritter,

We, the undersigned, are writing to you to express our disappointment in Saint Louis University (SLU)’s decision to sponsor Ali Academy charter school. Given the University’s mission to pursue truth for the service of humanity and the School of Education’s mission to seek excellence in all academic pursuits, we urge you to reverse this decision.

By sponsoring Ali Academy, SLU’s actions are in conflict with the desires of the greater St. Louis community. The City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a resolution in support of a moratorium on new school openings by a vote of 24-1 just over one year ago. This resolution followed and mirrored one passed unanimously by the Board of Education of the City of St. Louis (BOE) in February 2021. By virtue of their position as democratically elected officials, the alderman and BOE members who voted in support of these resolutions reflect the positions of their constituencies. Additionally, St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams, the Missouri School Boards’ Association, and the American Federation of Teachers, Local 420 endorsed the call for a moratorium on new St. Louis schools until a citywide plan for K-12 education was developed and implemented. The BOE, along with a diverse array of community partners, is currently engaged in the process to develop that plan and expects to issue a series of recommendations by Summer 2023. Sponsoring a new charter school before that process is complete demonstrates a lack of willingness to support and serve our St. Louis community which has shown widespread opposition to opening new schools without a citywide plan.

Further, we fail to see the logic of sponsoring or opening new schools at a time when other schools in the City are closing. Most recently, the Archdiocese announced the closure of two high schools due to low enrollment and the potential for more closures exists as they finalize recommendations from the All Things New initiative. Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) voted to close seven schools in January 2021, the latest of more than 50 SLPS schools to close since 2003. In that same time period, 15 charter schools have also closed.

St. Louis’ long history of school closures is connected to a city population that has been shrinking since the 1950’s. It does not seem prudent to open new schools in a city that has seen its total population decline by over 10% and its child population decline by 40% in the past 20 years. Creating a new school in the current context will do nothing but siphon resources away from current education options and perpetuate the inequalities that already exist within the system.

We urge Saint Louis University to reverse its decision to sponsor Ali Academy in light of the provided information and in the spirit of the University’s mission to pursue truth for the service of humanity and the School of Education’s mission to seek excellence in all academic pursuits.