- The sound of children playing bothers some Columbia Heights residents [AppleTree Early Learning PCS, Inspired Teaching PCS, and Creative Minds PCS mentioned]
- School choice is more than you might think
The sound of children playing bothers some Columbia Heights residents [AppleTree Early Learning PCS, Inspired Teaching PCS, and Creative Minds PCS mentioned]
Greater Greater Washington
By Julie Lawson
January 5, 2015
Some condo residents in Columbia Heights want to dismantle the playground for the preschool in their building because, they say, the children make too much noise.
The board of the Lofts of Columbia Heights, at 14th and Girard Street NW, made plans to dismantle the playground behind the building that serves the AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School, the Washington Post reported over the weekend.
My 3-year-old son is a student there. The kids visit the playground once or twice a day. They go outside for 30 minutes mid-day to meet the curriculum requirements for "gross motor skills development" and in the afternoon for the after-school care program.
Reporter Michael Allison Chandler interviewed a resident, James Abadian, who believes the playground constitutes common space that the board can control. But school officials disagree. Reached by phone, Jack McCarthy, CEO of the AppleTree Institute, said that the school actually owns the space and that the development agreement for the building included an early childhood center, which includes the playground as well as the school.
The condo board had planned to tear down the playground over the Thanksgiving break without informing the school, and posted an RFP soliciting a company to remove the playground equipment. A letter from the school's attorneys stopped that action.
Playground conflicts are a familiar refrain in DC
AppleTree has seven campuses. Its Lincoln Park facility has also had issues with neighbors and cannot use the backyard of its own building for recreation. Ross Elementary experienced similar conflicts with its Dupont Circle neighbors as more families started staying in DC once their kids entered school.
My son's school only serves the 3- and 4-year-old pre-kindergarten grades. All children then move on to enroll at other public and charter schools around the city for elementary school. AppleTree is determined to overcome the achievement gap, with strict requirements for attendance and classroom behavior. It's known for rigorous academics and lots of testing; children are assessed five times a year to support curriculum development.
Teachers trained by the larger AppleTree Institute go on to many of the highly sought-after charter schools in the city, like Inspired Teaching and Creative Minds. It's been great for my son, who has not only adapted to the concept of "circle time" but is also close to reading and is adept at basic math skills.
Kids need outdoor space
I know of kids in the school whose parents forbid them from playing outside at home, fearful of their neighbors. They are grateful for a safe, affordable place to send their children to learn.
The playground at AppleTree Columbia Heights is small. It's nestled between buildings and there is no green space. Parents consider the limited space a negative when choosing schools in the lottery. But 3- and 4-year-olds need space to run and move.
A larger DC Department of Parks & Recreation playground is just down the street, but taking a whole class of young children down there once or twice a day is demanding on the teachers, the children, and on all the neighbors in between. Also, the DPR playground is not as secured as the AppleTree playground, with litter and public access all day and night.
Chandler wrote in the Post that the condo board would like to instead turning the space into a barbecue lawn or an area for "silent study" for AppleTree students, an absurd concept for normal development of preschool-age children.
The school has already limited playground hours out of deference to resident complaints. Kids also don't go outside when it's colder than 40 degrees, so this issue is moot for at least the next week or two, and much of the winter. AppleTree also has agreed with the condo board not to host evening events, limiting parents' ability to get to know each other and get involved in school activities.
But one source of noise will never stop: the bustle of 14th Street. The building is a couple of blocks south of the Columbia Heights Metro station and amidst dense development, so there is heavy foot and vehicular traffic. I regularly see emergency vehicles. These are normal urban noises, and the sounds of children playing fit right in with that.
On the other hand, across 14th Street at Girard Park I regularly see drugs and stolen bikes exchanged, along with boom boxes, street harassment, and other loud adult activities. The residents may not be able to control that with a lease, but which source of noise is a greater detriment to the community at large?
It's clear that finding appropriate space for charter schools is a growing challenge in the District, particularly in the dense neighborhoods where they are most needed. I hope the condo residents can "play well with others" and help the school and its students succeed. Taking away a playground from preschoolers is not the answer.
School choice is more than you might think
The Hill
By Andrew Campanella
January 7, 2015
Sometimes, when I tell people that my career has focused on promoting school choice, I am met with some confusion.
“But what about public schools?” I am asked.
Indeed, what about them?
For some people, the concept of school choice is pretty narrow. To them, school choice means focusing on the benefits of a private education at, somehow, the expense of the traditional public school system.
The reality is far different. The modern-day effort to promote school choice across the country has nothing to do with taking one type of school and elevating it above the rest. It is about pairing students with schools that work best for them, regardless of the type of school or how it is funded.
In fact, most of the choices that parents can, and will, make for their children, are actually in the public sector.
And the biggest untold secret of the school choice movement – and one that I hope to talk about more during the upcoming National School Choice Week (January 25-31, 2015) is that public school choice has grown enormously – and savvy school districts are embracing school choice as a benefit to families in their area.
Consider this: millions of children across America now attend traditional public schools that are not in their “zone” – meaning the geographic area where they live. Some states even allow parents to choose schools for their children outside of their school districts. Why is this? Because leaders in more than 20 states across the country recognized the need to provide parents with greater options.
More than 4,000 magnet schools also dot the American landscape. These themed schools, which are fully public and created by school districts, are tailored to meet the needs and interests of students. For example, in Jacksonville, Florida – the host city for the official kickoff celebration of National School Choice Week – I will be visiting three magnet schools. One is focused on science, one on performing arts, and another is focused on medicine.
Of course, there are also charter schools in 42 states and Washington, DC. In fact, there are 6,000 of them across the country – a 90 percent increase in new schools over just a decade. The biggest misconception about charter schools is that they are somehow private or partially private. That is not true. Every charter school in America is a fully public school, accountable to authorizers, regulators, and taxpayers. Charter schools have become wildly popular and demand is extraordinary, with the names of 1 million students on charter school waiting lists.
The advent of advanced technology has also brought a new type of public school option to American parents: virtual academies. Thirty states and the District of Columbia have full time, public, online schools – allowing students, in settings that meet their individual needs, to learn from some of the best educators in the world.
Are private schools still a part of school choice? Absolutely, and they are an incredibly important component. After all, there are many students who would benefit enormously from a private education. Homeschooling, which is sometimes not mentioned as a “school choice” for parents, is also an essential piece of the overall school choice puzzle.
But again, school choice is not now, nor ever was, just about one type of school. It is about raising awareness of all types of education environments that parents can – or should be able to – choose for their children.
The growth in school choice, which 25 or 30 years ago would have been considered unfeasible or unlikely at best, is changing the lives of millions of American children.
Now that’s something to celebrate.