The top two school leaders at ReNEW SciTech Academy charter school abruptly resigned last week amid questions about internal testing procedures at the Irish Channel elementary school, a network leader confirmed Monday.
Head of School Tim Hearin and Principal Alex Perez resigned May 27 and 28, respectively, just days after the end of the school year, said ReNEW charter network Chief of Staff Colleen Mackay.
“These tests were unrelated to grant funding or the state’s accountability system,” she wrote in an email responding to questions from The Lens.
Attempts to reach Hearin and Perez were unsuccessful.
Mackay said the five-school network will hire a new school leader for SciTech internally for the upcoming school year. Disha Jain, who has worked as a school administrator at ReNEW previously, is currently listed as the school’s leader.
Hearin and Perez ran the 750-student elementary school located on Jackson Avenue.
Both were budgeted to earn $77,000 this school year according to data from the Louisiana Department of Education. SciTech received a C letter grade from the state for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years.
The network’s website deleted this announcement regarding Hearin’s selection as a Louisiana Principal of the Year semi-finalist. The state Department of Education has removed his name from their list of nominees.
