THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 Page 11 Mystic Valley fi les Complaint against Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education VALLEY | SEE PAGE 13 Special to Th e Advocate M ystic Valley Regional Charter School recently fi led a complaint in Suff olk Superior Court against the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in response to a draft report issued by DESE which will impact Mystic Valley’s application for reauthorization in 2023. Summary of the Complaint Mystic Valley filed a complaint on September 20, in Suff olk Superior Court against DESE seeking to enjoin the Department from evaluating the school based upon what the school contends are newly created, unlawful, vague and targeted “cultural proficiency” criteria that would put the school in breach of its Charter and potentially cause it to be shut down. Mystic Valley is a widely respected, successful charter school that has been regularly rechartered over the last two decades by the state without issue. Mystic Valley employs a dress code and bases its curriculum on a commonality and “melting pot” approach to education that is hyper-focused on excellence in academic achievement. Mystic Valley alleges in its Complaint that it has unearthed internal DESE emails showing that DESE is directly targeting Mystic Valley and its Charter, including by appointing at least one member of a review panel who openly described the member’s bias and intention to go after Mystic STUDENT-ATHLETES | FROM PAGE 8 A trio of senior captains, Arath Hernandez, David Marquez and David Paiva, lead the way along with fellow seniors Alex Diaz, Emerson Pineda Mejia, Joshuan Flores, Kayo De Souza Lopez, Keny Guerrero Alvarez, Karlot Quiroz, Luis Marquez, Brayan Hanao, Christian and Mateo Norena. Juniors include Matt Rivera, Brian Novoa, Kevin Rivas Flores, Alejandro Garcia, Felipe Maia, Albino Lopez and Santiago Grajales. Sophomores are Bryan Peña, Joao Victor Cunha, Juan Chavarria and Latrell Ashby. Bryan Medina is the only freshman. Assistant coaches for Revere Boys Soccer are varsity assistant coach Gerardo Rodriguez, junior varsity coach Khalid Ahrati, and freshman coach Roberto Tobalino. Valley before the review even began. At very same time, internal DESE email conceded that DESE had no formal complaints pending against Mystic Valley from anyone. Mystic Valley strenuously objects to the draft report and issues the following statement from its Board of Trustees “This is a case about academic freedom. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted Mystic Valley’s charter more than twenty years ago, and the School has successfully followed its charter ever since. However, DESE is now clearly working to try and undermine Mystic Valley’s charter and approach to education. DESE’s biased actions are an existential threat to our continued operations, jeopardizing the very core of Massachusetts’s legal obligation to protect charter schools and their autonomy. That is why we have gone to court. “We are proud of our school, its mission, its values, its diverse community and the achievements of our thousands of students and alumni. We will continue to defend our community against baseless attacks. If we do not, thousands of students of all races, ethnicities, incomes, and backgrounds will lose the opportunity to attend a nationally recognized school with a remarkable record of student achievement. We cannot let that happen. “It is clear that the DESE officials who conducted the site visit did so with a pre-existing bias against our school and
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