- Maps: Where The Students Who Attend The City's Charter Schools Live [D.C. Prep PCS and KIPP DC PCS mentioned]
- Extra funding boosts programs at D.C. schools serving at-risk students
- Future of D.C. Council Education Committee is unclear with Catania’s departure
- D.C. Council approves Stevens School deal
Maps: Where The Students Who Attend The City's Charter Schools Live [D.C. Prep PCS and KIPP DC PCS mentioned]
The DCist
By Sarah Anne Hughes
December 2, 2014
A recent column written by Jay Matthews and published by the Washington Post put forth a question with heavy implications from a retired D.C. public school teacher: Are charter lotteries really random?
The release of quality ratings, showing that 22 D.C. charter schools are now considered Tier 1, prompted the question from retired Wilson teacher Erich Martel, who wondered aloud how some of these schools have a high percentage of white students.
He told me those school directors should produce evidence that “their student demographic data are the results of random lotteries” and not caused by sneaking more affluent white kids onto their rolls when the D.C. school admissions officials aren’t looking.
“I have enough experience documenting alteration of records [and] creation of euphemistic proxies of achievement . . . to question the integrity of the charter lotteries and the process of replacing students who have been transferred from charters,” he said.
The D.C. Public Charter School Board shot the "conspiracy theory" down: "Every one of the eight schools Mathews and former teacher cite currently participates in My School DC, the single, random lottery that determines placement for new public and public charter students. My School DC reports to a committee chaired by the Deputy Mayor of Education and made up of DC Public School and charter school leaders."
The statement also included maps showing where D.C. charter school students live in relation to their school.
Over 90 percent of students at D.C. Prep PCS-Edgewood Middle, the school with the highest Performance Management Framework score, are African American.
At Tier 1 school KIPP DC- KEY Academy PCS, 98.8 percent of students are African American and primarily live east of the Anacostia River.
Extra funding boosts programs at D.C. schools serving at-risk students
The Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler
December 2, 2014
D.C. public middle schools gained additional teachers this year, and dozens of schools got new computers and technology coaches. At Truesdell Education Campus in Ward 4, students are coming to school early or staying late for extracurricular activities that did not fit into the school day.
The new staffing, updated technology and longer school day are thanks to an infusion of funds that D.C. schools received this year for the city’s most at-risk students.
The D.C. Council approved $80 million to serve the needs of 36,000 students who are in foster care or are homeless, who are receiving welfare benefits or food stamps, or who are performing at least a year behind in high school. That’s about 40 percent of all of the city’s public school students.
“We know poverty affects the way children can succeed in school,” said Soumya Bhat, education finance and policy analyst for the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. “Children are more likely to come to school hungry or to be exposed to trauma or have health problems.”
The extra funding — $2,079 per eligible student — is meant to be a “reliable, stable source of funding” that schools can plan on to help mitigate the effects of poverty, Bhat said.
In the first year, D.C. charter schools are receiving the extra funds as part of per-pupil funding, as the law requires. But for D.C. public schools, the money was not apportioned according to school enrollment. Since the bill was passed late in the year, the funds were used to support Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s priorities, including improving middle schools, refining literacy instruction in low-performing schools and boosting student satisfaction.
John Davis, chief of schools, said that although the school district used its discretion, the spending “lines up with kids who are absolutely at risk,” he said.
The largest investments went to middle schools:
●The District spent $8 million to hire more than 80 teachers in the middle grades for newly required classes meant to ensure that schools have a base line of art, music, social studies and physical education. This has been challenging, especially for smaller schools or education campuses with low enrollments in middle grades.
●More than $4 million went to hire counselors, social workers and other staff to provide more social and emotional support to middle school students.
●To increase student satisfaction, the District invested $2.7 million in field trips, excursions and enrichment activities, such as clubs, sports and music for the middle grades.
●The school system spent an additional $4.7 million on its “Proving What’s Possible” initiative for programs designed to help students systemwide enjoy school more. The District funded after-school clubs, newspapers and field trips, and anti-bullying initiatives.
“We want students to love school, be proud of their school, and feel great about what their school has to offer,” Henderson said in a statement.
For the District’s lowest-performing schools, officials funded $2.5 million for reading specialists and a new reading intervention program.
And more than $5 million went to extend the school day in schools that opted to participate. The chancellor has been pushing for longer days to boost achievement, and this year, 26 schools, including Truesdell, signed on.
That extra hour gave students a way to keep playing in the band, which was close to getting squeezed out of the school day. But with the promise of extra funding, the band director agreed to come in an hour early. Now dozens of students have a noisy start to the day and a chance to play in an all-city band.
Truesdell Principal Mary Ann Stinson said her students were able to choose what they wanted to do with their “Proving What’s Possible” funds. In a survey, iPads beat out extra sports teams or robotics club. She plans to spend the money on technology so that students can each have a computer to use during the day.
The school also received funds for trips for its middle schoolers. Teachers are considering an overnight camping trip for one class, an excursion to New York City for another and a college tour in New England for eighth-graders.
Unlike Truesdell, some elementary schools or high schools that serve high-poverty communities did not initially see an increase this year, because of the way money was distributed and because separate funding for summer school was eliminated. The D.C. Council restored some of those funds with additional allotments for three dozen schools, ranging from $14,000 to $236,500, that were mostly used to pay for computers or technology coaches.
The fair-funding bill was introduced last year by D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the education committee, and approved unanimously by the board. At the same time, a study commissioned by the deputy mayor for education also recommended adding a new “at risk “ category in addition to extra funds that flow to students receiving special education and learning English.
As Henderson begins assembling budget priorities for the new year, Bhat said she hopes the District can maintain its investments in middle schools and accelerate high school improvements, as the chancellor has promised, while also funding schools according to their at-risk populations.
“We just want to make sure that these resources are targeted to the students that need them most,” Bhat said.
Future of D.C. Council Education Committee is unclear with Catania’s departure
The Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler
December 2, 2014
As Mayor-elect Muriel Bowser (D) prepares to take office next month, there are many questions about what changes the transition will bring to the city’s efforts to reform public schools.
One of the biggest unknowns is what will happen to the D.C. Council’s two-year-old Education Committee that has been chaired by council member David A. Catania (I - At large).
Catania built his bid for mayor around his record on school reform. Following his loss, he will be leaving the D.C. Council after 17 years, with the future of the chairmanship and the committee unclear.
A group of education advocates recently sent a letter to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) urging him to maintain the stand-alone Committee on Education and appoint a chair “with the experience, enthusiasm, and energy to work on behalf of schools and communities in all four corners of our city.”
“It is important to maintain momentum of the progress made in the last two years with the Education Committee,” the letter said.
Mendelson could not immediately be reached for comment.
He tapped Catania to lead the committee in December 2012 to intensify the District’s school improvement efforts. For the six years before that, education issues were handled by the Committee of the Whole, comprised of all 13 members.
“I’m so excited, I can’t stand it,” Catania told my colleague Mike DeBonis in 2012 when he took on the assignment. “It is the last and greatest hurdle this city faces.”
He said he planned to have a “heavy focus on evidence and data and accountability.”
In the two years since, the council member visited about 150 schools and drafted multiple bills, including a series of special education reforms and a controversial crackdown on truancy.
Cinque Culver, a Ward 7 father and schools advocate who supported Bowser for mayor, said having a separate education-focused committee has been very helpful. “The dialogue on education reform in D.C. was moved forward by leaps and bounds,” he said.
In the past, he said, working with the Committee of the Whole at times was like working with a “Committee of None.”
Unless the education issue had a “ high public profile” and had “captivated the city at the moment,” it was easy to get lost, he said.
Many advocates say the education committee is a critical outlet for addressing policy questions and providing oversight in a city where the mayor has direct control of the schools, and the State Board of Education plays a limited role.
The letter was signed by more than 20 individuals, including Culver, and education advocacy organizations, including the Community Foundation for the National Capitol Region, Children’s Law Center, and Advocates for Justice in Education.
D.C. Council approves Stevens School deal
Washington Business Journal
By Michael Neibauer
December 2, 2014
D.C. Council on Tuesday approved emergency legislation authorizing the renovation of the historic Stevens Elementary School on the West End and the redevelopment of a neighboring lot as a commercial office building.
Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, D-Ward 4, D.C.'s mayor-elect and chair of the economic development committee, moved the emergency legislation under which developers Akridge and The Argos Group will renovate Stevens, at a cost of up to $18 million, for use by the nonprofit Ivymount school, and develop a 10-story office building on an adjacent lot.
"We think this is a great deal for the city in every respect," said Matt Klein, Akridge president. "We're thrilled that it's finally been approved. It took a long time to get all of the pieces of this deal together."
Ivymount is a program for children with special needs. The renovated Stevens, 1050 21st St. NW, will also be used as a training ground for D.C. Public School teachers.
Bowser expressed dismay that Akridge will only put up $2 million in cash (lease payments) for a property appraised at $38 million, but she "thought it was important for the council to be able to vote on the deal," especially given the West End community's overwhelming support for the arrangement. The $38 million comes down to $2 million, Bowser said, as a result of various credits — $18 million for the school renovation, CBE and First Source requirements, land use and other considerations.
"In order to accommodate that request for the school, this was the arrangement that the government came up with," the mayor-elect said. "It doesn't make me happy."
According to the land disposition agreement between D.C, Akridge and Argos, the parties agreed that the gross land value — taking into account public ownership, future educational use and historic restrictions — would be $22.1 million. The $38 million, to which Bowser referred, was the appraised value if Stevens were privately owned and fully developable.
The Stevens bill was adopted by the council's government operations committee in September. Bowser declined to move it out of her committee, and has yet to explain why. Ivymount and others have suggested she was holding it up in order to extract a better deal out of Akridge at Buzzard Point, where D.C. needs two of the developer's acres for the D.C. United stadium. Using the hashtag #delinkkids on Twitter, they launched a social media campaign to demand that Bowser move the bill.
Under the approved deal, Akridge will hold a 99-year lease on the commercial parcel, and Ivymount a 25-year lease on the school building. Ivymount will have an option to extend for an additional 25 years, and Akridge will have an option to buy once its office building, and the school renovation, are complete.
As part of the deal, Akridge must erect a statue commemorating Thaddeus Stevens, implement a program to familiarize students with the development process, construct a wall celebrating the legacy of Thaddeus Stevens and the school, introduce a rotating art gallery celebrating the work of African American artists, fund a $10,000 per year scholarship, and provide $570,000 for an Ivymount school operational fund.