The Phoenixville Area School Board has approved a five-year renewal of Renaissance Academy’s charter, writes Evan Brandt for the Daily Local News.

The recommendation to renew the charter for the school that first opened its doors 21 years ago came from the district administration, but it did not come without conditions.

Board member Jeesely Soto, head of the board’s finance committee, said the recommendations call for trying to increase the percentage of English-language learners at the school.

At this time, enrollment of English-language learners is at .05 percent. However, Norristown and Phoenixville, the two districts that send the most students to the charter school, are diverse communities with 39 percent and 29 percent English-language learners, respectively.

“It’s surprising to me that the English-language learner enrollment is so low,” said Soto.

The district also recommended moving more of the charter’s teaching staff to “level two” certification and increasing spending on special-education students.

Phoenixville Superintendent Alan Fegley did not foresee any issues arising from the district’s recommendation, as the last time the charter was renewed, “they complied with all of our recommendations.”

Read more about Renaissance Academy Charter School in the Daily Local News here.