Imani Charter in Germantown to close June 22

After a years-long fight to remain open, the Imani Education Circle Charter School in Germantown announced Wednesday it will close at the end of the school year.

The school announced in a press release it would not appeal a ruling from the state’s Charter Appeal Board, the final stop for charters facing shutdown. Imani will officially close on June 22.

“We are very disappointed that Imani is closing, yet hopeful that the foundation we have invested in our children will lead them into a brighter future,” said CEO Kimberly Clark in a statement.

Wednesday’s announcement ends a protracted battle over the fate of the Afrocentric charter school, which has 471 students.

The School Reform Commission accepted the school district’s recommendation not to renew Imani’s charter in the spring of 2013. The SRC then officially voted not to renew Imani’s charter 18 months later, in the fall of 2014. Imani’s latest decision comes another 18 months after the SRC voted 4-1 to shutter the school.

Among the city’s oldest charter schools, Imani opened in 1999. In its initial recommendations, the school district cited Imani’s academic performance as the impetus for non-renewal. It noted that Imani failed to meet “adequate yearly progress” — a since-discontinued measure of school effectiveness — in 2011 and 2012. It also cited lower-than-average scores on state tests.

Imani is working with the district on transition plans for current students, according to the school’s press release.