- D.C., Montgomery schools named National Green Ribbon schools [Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School and Washington Yu Ying PCS mentioned]
- Evidence of widespread cheating leads to probe at D.C. charter school [Meridian Public Charter School and Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy Public Charter mentioned]
- Obtaining a facility is only part of the charter school story [FOCUS mentioned]
- Council questions push for special-ed students in D.C. public schools
D.C., Montgomery schools named National Green Ribbon schools [Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School and Washington Yu Ying PCS mentioned]
The Washington Post
By Emma Brown
April 22, 2013
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday honored five Washington-area schools and the Montgomery County school system as National Green Ribbon Schools for their exemplary environmental education programs and sustainable facilities. “These kinds of learning opportunities are what we all want for our children,” Duncan said during an Earth Day ceremony at Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School in the District, one of 64 individual schools honored nationwide. “The leadership here and the leadership we’re seeing around the country is pretty remarkable.” Mundo Verde — Spanish for “Green World” — opened in 2011 as the District’s first sustainability-focused charter school. Administrators purchase nontoxic and eco-friendly furniture, teachers design science and health lessons around the school garden and students take regular field trips to Rock Creek Park.
The school is trying to become trash-free, using composting and recycling to cut down on waste. “We are so incredibly proud of our students and our staff,” said executive director Kristin Scotchmer, who added that the school’s mission is to help children “grow up to be the kinds of stewards that our planet needs.” This is the second year the Education Department has awarded schools for their eco-friendly practices, and it is the first year that entire school districts have been eligible for the Green Ribbon award. State education agencies nominated candidates for the federal awards.
Montgomery County’s school system was one of 14 districts honored Monday. The system was cited for “setting an example with its sweeping green policies and procedures,” including buying enough green power to meet 20 percent of its electricity needs and establishing a systemwide environmental literacy plan. Two Montgomery County schools were singled out for the Green Ribbon award: Cedar Grove Elementary in Germantown and Summit Hall Elementary in Gaithersburg. Joshua P. Starr, superintendent of the Montgomery County schools, said he appreciated the recognition. “Montgomery County Public Schools has a strong commitment to green construction practices and minimizing our environmental footprint, including districtwide programs that encourage recycling and energy conservation,” Starr said in a statement. “We also make sure our students and staff understand the importance of being good environmental and ecological stewards at school, at home and in the community.”
Also recognized Monday were two other D.C. schools: Woodrow Wilson High School and Washington Yu Ying. Wilson’s historic building was renovated two years ago, and its new environmentally friendly building includes a green roof and a storm water management system to reduce runoff into Rock Creek. The school also features a suite of environmental science courses and a lab that can be used to create the conditions of any ecosystem on Earth. Washington Yu Ying, a Chinese-language immersion charter school, sits on three wooded acres in Northeast Washington, where volunteers have built a nature center, trails and an observation deck.
Evidence of widespread cheating leads to probe at D.C. charter school [Meridian Public Charter School and Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy Public Charter mentioned]
The Washington Examiner
By Rachel Baye
April 22, 2013
Meridian Public Charter School has begun an internal investigation into cheating on standardized tests after a District investigation found "strong circumstantial evidence" that cheating efforts were orchestrated throughout the school, officials announced Monday. Standardized tests across the school had 1,804 wrong answers erased and changed to right answers last year, one of the highest levels of changed answers in a single public school in the District, according to the investigation by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. A fourth-grade teacher at the school and that teacher's proctor suggested students rethink answers on questions they got wrong, according to the findings. A fifth-grade teacher told investigators he helped students with difficult words in questions.
In addition to hiring Arent Fox LLP to conduct an internal investigation into OSSE's findings, the school has removed last year's test chairman and the five teachers and five proctors who were flagged from administering this year's Comprehensive Assessment System, which began Monday, said school Board Chairman Christopher Siddall. The school has increased security of test booklets, forbidden teachers from administering tests to their own classes and hired Ten Square LLC to assist with security. Cheating has been a problem in the city since shortly after the school system began using students' performance on standardized tests to determine whether teachers get raises, earn bonuses, or even keep their jobs. Meridian was one of 11 schools -- four charters and seven traditional public schools -- with "critical" test security violations and one of 16 with some type of violation or anomaly in the report OSSE released just over a week ago.
Teachers were reported assisting students during testing by explaining questions or suggesting students reconsider answers at 12 schools, including Meridian. At Langdon Education Campus, a teacher overseeing three second-grade special education students was seen sitting at a student desk with a student's test booklet in her lap. "There was nothing on the student's desk," the DCPS observer reportedly told investigators. Teachers at Langdon also reportedly allowed students to take home copies of that year's CAS booklets to practice with before the test in each of the last several years, including 2012, and five test booklets disappeared after testing was over, according to the OSSE incident report. At Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy Public Charter, one teacher claimed that a second teacher taught his class to use hand gestures to communicate test answers, then used those hand gestures during the test administration. School officials did not return requests for comment.
Only the 18 classrooms across the city with critical violations -- in the case of Meridian, for example, the five classrooms flagged for signs of cheating -- had their test scores invalidated, OSSE said. DCPS' new security measures were used Monday during test administration, and any people named in OSSE's investigation were barred from testing procedures, said spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz. "We take test security incredibly seriously," she said. "When instances of cheating are confirmed, we move swiftly to take the appropriate personnel action. We are conducting a review of the OSSE's findings and will make determinations about their 2012 findings and terminations accordingly."
Obtaining a facility is only part of the charter school story [FOCUS mentioned]
The Examiner
By Mark Lerner
April 23, 2013
"I believe public charters should have the right of first offer on excess school buildings. Having visited over 70 public and public charter schools, I’ve seen great disparities that exist at charters especially relating to facilities. It does not make sense that the District Government continues to hold onto vacant school buildings that could be used for the education of children." - Patrick Mara, At-Large D.C. council candidate in a response to a survey question on charter schools given by FOCUS. Not only does it not make any sense for the Mayor not to turn vacant DCPS buildings over to charters but there is another part of the inequity issue between the two school systems that is rarely talked about. Even if charters get a shuttered facility they must pay the city rent for the privilige of occupying the site. In addition, all of these locations need multi-million dollar renovations that are also the responsibility of the occupying school.
DCPS does not pay rent for the buildings in which they operate and renovation costs do not come out of school budgets. On top of the unfairness of charters having to spend almost all of their energy trying to locate space, if they are fortunate enough to be provided with access to a closed DCPS facility they then must exhaust hours negotiating rent payments and bank loans for construction. You see there is no set formula for the 25 year lease with a renewal option for another 25 years that is offered by the Deputy Mayor of Education. It is a wonder that charter ever get around to educating children. So when people bring up the requisite comparison of the performance of each school system against the other please remember that one of them is working with almost two hands tied behind its back.
The Washington Post
By Emma Brown
April 22, 2013
D.C. Council members, advocates and parents raised questions Monday about Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s push to reduce the number of special-education students who attend private schools at public expense. The effort has saved tens of millions of dollars and reduced segregation of students with disabilities, but it has triggered concerns that some students are being made to attend city schools that aren’t equipped to handle their needs. “We all want to believe that [D.C. Public Schools] is getting stronger and has the capability to do this, but it’s time for us to peek behind the curtain a little bit,” said Council member David A. Catania (I -At Large), education committee chairman, who called the recent reduction in private placements of public school students “a point of great suspicion for me.” Under federal law, students with disabilities can be sent to private schools when the public system cannot adequately serve them, which has often been the case in the District’s long-troubled special-education system.
Gray (D) entered office in 2011 promising that he would improve the public schools enough to halve the number of such private placements from 2,204 to 1,102 by the end of his first term. He is on track to achieve that goal: As of last fall, fewer than 1,500 students were enrolled in private schools, according to documents Gray administration officials submitted to the council in February. Further reductions in private placements will shrink how much the District must spend on private school tuition, from about $109 million in this year’s budget to $80 million next year, according to Gray’s proposed budget. The $30 million savings will be used to strengthen special-education programs in the city’s public schools, Gray administration officials said.
But advocates challenged that claim Monday. Nearly $7 million of the savings will go toward expanding public special-education services for babies and toddlers. But advocates said it appears the rest of the money will boost general funding for all students, raising questions about how and whether schools are prepared to receive more students with special needs. Gray administration officials said schools have been receiving more money for special-education students since the per-pupil funding formula was adjusted two years ago to reflect the greater needs of children with disabilities. Officials said the push to bring students with disabilities back into the public schools allows those children to be educated, as required by federal law, in the “least restrictive environment.” The public schools also give those students exposure to the general curriculum and a wide range of peers.
“I think everyone can agree that students are better served by being in the schools with their peers and their communities,” Gray spokesman Pedro Ribeiro said. Some parents say their children’s needs are being ignored because the government is intent on meeting the mayor’s mandate. Greg Masucci said his son, a 5-year-old with autism, has regressed since enrolling in public school more than two years ago. The student was assigned a teacher with no special-education certification or experience, and the boy wandered away from school three times, Masucci said. Once, after the boy escaped from the playground, Masucci found him standing in a field adjacent to a busy road. Masucci filed a complaint and formally requested a private placement, arguing that the school system was unable to serve his child. A hearing officer with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education denied the request.
“Thus far they haven’t even proven they can keep track of our son or keep him safe, and yet they claim everything is just fine and that he is progressing,” said Masucci, who called on the council to investigate whether the superintendent’s office is making placement decisions in the best interest of students. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) said the issue of private placements is “something we need to get a handle on.” “This is about struggling families who need the government to perform at the highest level we can for them,” Grosso said.
Mailing Archive: