In an email last Friday, Lena Pope CEO Ashley Elgin, Ph.D. announced the closure of Chapel Hill Academy citing changes in the educational landscape.
“Today, the educational needs of our community are different than when we opened CHA 16 years ago. The rise of numerous quality charter schools has added new options for families, coinciding with CHA’s enrollment numbers beginning to decline in 2019. This, paired with shifts in educational funding, has posed significant challenges. In response, Lena Pope’s leadership and advisors have conducted thorough evaluations and sought various remedies to sustain operations at CHA. Despite these extensive efforts, it has become clear that Lena Pope must make the incredibly tough decision to close CHA effective August 31, 2024,” wrote Elgin.
Elgin also shared that the organization is assisting its current students and families in making alternative educational arrangements for the next academic year as well as assisting current Chapel Hill Academy staff with “career progression, whether through an open position at Lena Pope or offering resources for new opportunities.”
Elgin indicated Lena Pope’s intention to concentrate its efforts on counseling services, early learning and behavioral intervention services, writing ” We are entering a phase where our resources and expertise in these services areas need to be expanded, and we remain financially solvent and capable of investing in high demand services as we enter this transition.”
source: public email
