FOCUS D.C. Public Charter School Bulletin

November 12, 2002

In this issue:

Charter School Enrollment Jumps Again; Fifteen Per Cent Now Attend

Administration Maintains that DCPS Needs Vacant Bruce and Addison School Buildings In Spite of Steep Enrollment Declines

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Charter School Enrollment Jumps Again; Fifteen Per Cent Now Attend

Charter school enrollment has increased for the 6th consecutive year, growing nearly 9% to approximately 11,500 students. Meanwhile, DCPS enrollment, which stood at more than 77,000 when the first three charter schools opened in 1997, this year has dropped below 65,000, according to DCPS's enrollment report. The jump in enrollment demonstrates the continuing acceptance of charter school education by D.C.'s parents, who have made D.C.'s charter school movement one of the most successful in the United States.

Almost all the charter school enrollment growth came from the expansion of existing schools; only two new schools opened their doors this year, together enrolling approximately 100 students. The slowdown in new chartering is of serious concern to FOCUS and to many others interested in the success of school reform in the District. For the charter school movement to achieve its promise, many new schools need to open each year and existing charter schools that are not performing well need to be closed down. Unfortunately, the chartering boards have become increasingly conservative about chartering, making it extremely difficult in the last few years to obtain a charter. This fact, along with the shortage of facilities in which charter schools can operate (see below), discourages potential applicants and frustrates parents, many of whom cannot find space for their children.

Administration Maintains that DCPS Needs Vacant Bruce and Addison School Buildings In Spite of Steep Enrollment Declines

Deputy Mayor Herb Tillery made clear at a recent hearing on surplus school properties held by Council Member Graham that the administration intends to return two more vacant surplus buildings to DCPS. The Bruce School, much sought after by a number of charter schools, is to be used by DCPS to house students whose schools are undergoing renovation (schools that serve
this function are known in school-system parlance as "swing" schools). Addison, vacant for the first time in decades, will ostensibly be used for the DCPS special education program. This brings to five the number of surplus school buildings returned to DCPS in the last two and one-half years, during which period it lost several thousand students.

The first DCPS students to be moved into Bruce will be those from Ross Elementary School, whose enrollment is only 168 students (Bruce holds upwards of 400). Meanwhile, the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, which would like to move into Bruce, houses 240 students in commercial space suitable for around 100; the Bruce school would be ideal for accommodating its
growing enrollment. What's worse, DCPS intends to demolish a soon to be vacant 445-student school just five minutes away from Bruce. This school could be used to house the Ross students, leaving Bruce for the charter schools.

Because of enrollment declines, many DCPS school buildings are significantly underutilized (the most recent survey, done in 1999, indicated an excess of approximately three million square feet. Since then, DCPS has lost five thousand students but has closed no school buildings). Yet DCPS refuses to use any of this wasted space for new programs or swing space, preferring instead to grab up yet more empty space, to the detriment of the public charter schools

DCPS can perhaps be forgiven for seeking the easy way out, but no such rationale applies to the administration. The latter should use its best efforts to help the charter schools find decent space in which to house their growing number of students,
who as public school students are entitled to equitable treatment. An excellent start would be to rescind the decisions on Bruce and Addison.

Friends of Choice in Urban Schools

1530 16th Street, NW #001

Washington, DC 20036

(202) 387-0405 phone

(202) 667-3798 fax