FOCUS D.C. Public Charter School Bulletin

August 7, 2003

--FOCUS Launches Charter School Startup Drive
--SY 03-04 Enrollment to Reach 17% of Public School Students
--Previous Editions of "Bulletin" Now Available on FOCUS web site

FOCUS To Recruit, Train Charter School Hopefuls

FOCUS is undertaking a major new effort to increase the number of charter schools in D.C. by recruiting qualified charter school applicants and helping them to produce winning applications.

FOCUS will reach out to potential applicants through mailings, advertisements, community information sessions, and meetings with
universities, charter management organizations, and community-based and other non-profit organizations.

Applicants will receive FOCUS's Guide to Starting A Charter School in the District of Columbia, currently in preparation. The Guide will contain D.C.-specific information on such charter school startup matters as the application process, charter school
law, finding and developing facilities, facilities finance, business operations, and special education. FOCUS also will sponsor a two-day seminar in November covering these and other issues in more detail, and a spring follow-up program to help applicants refine their applications.

The Guide will be supplemented by materials in FOCUS's Charter Startup Library, which will bring together the best information available nationally on developing charter schools.

Finally, FOCUS will link applicants to organizations and individuals who can help them to design their schools, find a school building, and get their schools open on time.

Questions about the startup program should be directed to Alicia Daugherty at FOCUS, 202/387-0405.


Charter Enrollment Continues to Grow; Estimated at 17%

With three new charter schools opening in the fall, nearly 17% of all D.C. public school students are expected to be enrolled in
D.C.'s public charter schools.

The three new schools are D.C. Preparatory Academy, which will provide 4th and 5th-graders with an education focused on academics, character, and leadership in a caring, orderly, and inspirational learning environment; Eagle Academy, which features a
child-centered, activity-oriented academic curriculum for 3-5 year-olds; and Latin American Montessori Bilingual, which will provide preschoolers with Spanish-English dual-language immersion in a Montessori environment.

Previous Bulletins Available on FOCUS Web Site

Back issues of the D.C. Public Charter School Bulletin are available on the "Background, Issues, and Data" page of the FOCUS web site, www.focus-dccharter.org. Also available there are FOCUS newsletters going back to 1999 and comprehensive information about major issues faced by D.C.'s public charter schools.



Friends of Choice in Urban Schools
1530 16th Street, NW #001
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 387-0405 phone
(202) 667-3798 fax
www.focus-dccharter.org