This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
A federal judge has ordered the heavily indebted Mosaica Education Inc., a for-profit charter school management organization, to accept a turnaround receiver.
Mosaica, which contracts with more than 100 schools — including one in Philadelphia — to serve 25,000 students in the United States and abroad, carries a $20 million debt load with its lender, Tatonka Capital.
Tatonka sued Mosaica Education Inc. in September after it defaulted on its debt. In a ruling last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten authorized Katie Goodman of GGG Partners LLC to be Mosaica’s turnaround receiver.
Does this spell trouble for Mosaica’s individual schools?
"No. I do believe Mosaica is sound," said Tanya Glenn-Butler, who heads Birney Preparatory Academy, Mosaica’s lone school in Pennsylvania.
"We’re actually working collaboratively with them, keeping our focus on student achievement," she said.
The Philadelphia School District turned Birney Elementary over to Mosaica in 2011 through its Renaissance initiative, which asks charters to serve all children who live within defined neighborhood boundaries.
Birney’s transition has been mixed. Math and reading standardized test scores have risen, but so has the rate of violent incidents and offenses.
Glenn-Butler said the K-8 school is still a good bet for the 720 students it serves.
"We have exceptional faculty. We have a wonderful, outstanding leadership team, and we are very much supported in a positive way by Mosaica," she said.
A spokesman for Mosaica’s corporate offices could not be reached for comment.