FOCUS DC News Wire 5/21/13

 

Gray releases 16 D.C. public school buildings for reuse by charters [FOCUS mentioned]

The Washington Post

By Emma Brown

May 20, 2013

 

The District plans to allow public charter schools to enter into long-term leases for a dozen old public school buildings, some of which are traditional public schools that are slated to close by next year, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Monday. Officials are making available four other buildings for short-term rental by charters and community organizations, with the school system retaining ownership of the buildings, giving the city school system the ability to expand in case of future enrollment growth. “This process reflects my commitment to helping more public charter schools gain access to appropriate space for their programs,” Gray (D) said in a statement. The announcement comes after years of complaints from charter advocates that the city hoards its empty school buildings, leaving fast-growing charter schoolsstruggling to find appropriate and affordable facilities.

 

“We’re pleased,” said Robert Cane, executive director of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools. “This is a large number of buildings we’re talking about here.”

Charter critics said the mayor’s effort to turn over shuttered buildings could fuel the decline of the traditional school system, which has struggled to compete for students in recent years. When Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced her intention to close 15 schools by June 2014, she cited low enrollment as the primary reason but said she did not anticipate releasing any buildings from her inventory. Now eight of those schools are among those to be made available to charters, fueling activists’ concerns that the school system’s erosion has reached a tipping point. “It’s beyond worrisome,” said Virginia Spatz, who co-hosts an education-themed talk show on community radio. “We will become a full charter system without ever having had any conversation about that.” Charter schools are growing quickly and enroll 43 percent of the city’s students.

 

District residents also have expressed concerns that the loss of neighborhood schools threatens community identity. Charters that take over neighborhood school buildings can draw students from all over the city, while neighborhood children would go to other schools. Henderson said Monday that she is proud that the process turned around quickly and believes it is in the District’s best interest. “As a city, we are committed to increasing the number of high-quality seats we offer to families, especially in our high-poverty neighborhoods,” Henderson said in a statement. Buildings subject to 25-year leases include Langston and Sharpe Health in Northwest; Benning, Hamilton, Ron Brown, Shaed and Young in Northeast; and Ferebee-Hope, M.C. Terrell-McGogney, Shadd, Wilkinson and Winston in Southeast. Those available for short-term lease are Gibbs, Kenilworth, Mamie D. Lee and Marshall, all in Northeast.

 

At least two of the schools, Benning and Shadd, house charters on short-term agreements and will become available for long-term leases. All of the buildings to be released are east of Rock Creek Park, where enrollment losses have been greatest in recent years. Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith will oversee the process of releasing the buildings for bids. Smith’s office has established a Web site to serve as a clearinghouse for information about the surplus buildings. Bidders have until June 30 to submit a “reuse inquiry form.” Officials will gauge interest in each facility and then will release a first batch of schools for bids by July 15. Smith said she anticipates making available between four and seven schools in that first batch, depending on interest. Applicants will be evaluated according to criteria that include academic performance and ability to pay for building renovations and maintenance.

 

If a building stays vacant, it could be released for other uses. Cane said he hopes the buildings are put in a trust and reserved for educational purposes. “We don’t think any buildings should be sold off for condos,” he said. “They should be held and maintained by the government for when we do need them — and we will need them.”

 

D.C. to make up to 16 vacant schools available for charters [FOCUS mentioned]

The Washington Examiner

By Matt Connolly 

May 20, 2013

 

District Mayor Vincent Gray announced Monday that 16 former public school buildings would be made available for public charters and other community organizations to use.

The move comes amidst growing demand for charter school spots in the city. Roughly 22,000 students were on public charter waitlists this year, up from about 15,000 last year, the Public Charter School Board announced earlier this month. Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith said that financial stability and academic achievement are the top criteria in determining which schools get buildings. Interested schools must outline their proposals by submitting an inquiry form.

 

"We're looking for charter schools that are serving kids well," Smith said. "We want schools that have some kind of record for performance." Charters have to find their own facilities, which can leave them operating out of less-than-optimal locations like storefronts and churches. Charter elementary schools on average have 53 percent less square feet per student than traditional public schools, according to the DC Public Charter School Board. Charter middle schools average 72 percent less square feet per student, while charter high schools average 39 percent less.

 

"Whenever [charters] go into the commercial market, it's costly, and they frequently aren't able to afford enough space for their students," said Robert Cane, executive director of charter advocacy group Friends of Choice in Urban Schools. "They can have crowded classrooms, no playgrounds or playing fields, often no cafeteria or gym." He added that schools must often move around multiple times before finding a permanent home, which can take its toll on students' academic achievement. The schools will be doled out in phases, and interest will determine how many are given out at one time, Smith said. The first round is scheduled to start in July.

 

Cane called the move "a good thing," but said he was waiting to see how many schools would be in each phase. In the past, he said, schools have all been released at once, with those that don't garner charter attention sold off for commercial use. "If the mayor were to offer all of these buildings for the charter schools in one lump, they couldn't use all of them," Cane said. "The next year, somebody could have used them, but of course, they're not there anymore." Public charter schools currently operate in more than 30 D.C. Public Schools buildings. The District has never before released this many former school facilities, Smith said.

 

Process for Charters to Inherit Vacant DCPS Buildings Gets a Wee Bit Easier

Washington City Paper

By Aaron Wiener

May 20, 2013

 

A year ago, my redoubtable predecessor chronicled the hurdles charter schools face when they try to move into vacant D.C. Public Schools buildings. The administration of ex-Mayor Adrian Fenty closed 23 DCPS schools, but managed to get around rules giving charters top priority on the buildings, and at least 18 were handed over to city agencies or developers, leaving charters scrambling to build or lease other spaces. Now the Vince Gray administration is going through its own round of school closures, with 15 slated to be shuttered. That ought to mean 15 good options for charters looking for space—if the process runs like it's supposed to this time around.

 

Well, today the offices of the mayor and the deputy mayor for education announced a change that ought to make it ever so slightly easier for charters to find new homes, a Web portal that will serve "as a centralized place for interested parties to find information and express interest in the use of vacant school buildings," according to a press release. The announcement was accompanied by a list of 16 former DCPS schools that will be made available to charters and other community organizations.

 

So what's actually different this time around? Not the policy: As before, charters are supposed to have top priority, but there's little reason to think that policy will be better enforced now than it's been in the past. Instead, it's mostly a matter of transparency and ease of information for charters seeking spaces.

 

"The difference is that we’re putting it all together in one place, we’re doing it earlier than we typically do, and we’re trying to be as transparent as possible," says a D.C. government official who's not authorized to speak on the record. The official says that while after the previous round of closures, some DCPS buildings weren't made available for charters and instead went to D.C. agencies, "we do not have that same situation this time," but declined to elaborate on exactly why.

 

Twelve of the 16 schools will be made available for long-term leases of 25 years or more. The remaining four—Gibbs, Kenilworth, Mamie D. Lee, and Marshall—are available only for short-term use, "in order to preserve space that, in the long term, will allow DCPS to accommodate growth and anticipated programmatic opportunities," according to the press release.

 

D.C. charter board approves two new schools [Academy of Hope PCS, Lee Montessori PCS, and Rocketship PCS mentioned]

The Washington Post

By Emma Brown

May 21, 2013

 

The D.C. Public Charter School Board on Monday approved two new schools and rejected seven others, citing concerns ranging from inconsistent budgets to overly vague academic goals and curriculum. “We’re setting a tough, high bar,” said Chairman John H. “Skip” McCoy, speaking at the outset of the board’s evening meeting. “Running these schools is a really arduous task, and we’re getting a little bit better at spotting red lights — things that are signs to us that a proposal is not quite ready.” The two schools that won approval — a Montessori elementary and an adult education program — will open in fall 2014. Both successful applicants had been rejected in previous years and returned this year with stronger applications, board members said.

 

Academy of Hope is an existing nonprofit with a mission to help adults learn to read, earn general equivalency diplomas and build skills they need to get and keep a job. It currently operates two campuses in Wards 5 and 8 that rely largely on volunteer teachers and tutors. As a charter school, the academy will be able to hire full-time qualified teachers and use volunteers to bolster support services. Board members said they were impressed with Academy of Hope’s record of making a difference for adults in need.

“When you walk in there, you see students really engaged. You see teachers really committed,” said board member Emily Bloomfield. The school’s supporters erupted in applause when the board voted unanimously to grant it a charter. “That was a gauntlet,” said Lecester Johnson, Academy of Hope’s executive director.

 

The board also gave conditional approval to a proposal submitted by teachers who currently work in a Montessori program at the District’s Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, which is slated to close in June. That new charter, Lee Montessori, will win full approval after it beefs up its curriculum for older students and wins certification from the Association Montessori Internationale. Its founders aim to open an elementary program in Ward 5 or Ward 7.

 

The board rejected an application for the proposed One World Public Charter School,whose organizers boasted strong connections with the elite Sidwell Friends School — including an executive director who recently retired as the principal of Sidwell’s lower school. Board members said that application was marred by multiple grammatical and spelling errors and contained far too little detail about plans for a promised ongoing relationship with Sidwell. The application also failed to explain how the arts-focused school would actually integrate arts into daily lessons, board staff said.

 

Nexus Academy, a “blended learning” high school that would combine online and face-to-face instruction, was rejected after board members expressed concern that the school’s schedule — four hours a day, four days a week — would not offer enough support for city students. The board also denied applications by three alternative schools seeking to serve struggling and at-risk students, citing a failure to offer details about how the schools would improve academic outcomes for such difficult-to-reach populations.

Crossway Community, which operates a Montessori charter school in Montgomery County, was turned down for failing to adequately describe how its program would work in the District. And board members said Nannie Helen Burroughs, a private school seeking to convert to a charter for financial reasons, failed to show that its leaders possess the experience and ability to succeed.

 

The board was unanimous in each of the nine decisions. The board also voted unanimously earlier this year to allow Rocketship Education, a California-based nonprofit, to open up to eight schools in the District serving more than 5,000 students. The first two Rocketship schools are slated to open in 2015.

 

Charter board approves two new schools and renews two established ones [Community Academy PCS, Friendship PCS, Lee Montessori PCS, and Academy of Hope PCS mentioned]

The Examiner

By Mark Lerner

May 21, 2013

 

At a D.C. Public Charter Board monthly meeting that nearly lasted into the following day the body approved two new schools out of nine accepted applications. Lee Montessori was the first charter given the green light to open in the fall 2014, a PreK3 to 6th grade school that will enroll 228 students and be located in Ward 5 or Ward 7. Academy of Hope was also approved. This school will serve 260 adult learners in Wards 7 and 8 and represents a conversion from anexisting non-profit that has provided the same mission as the new charter for over 28 years.

 

Both of these schools received enthusiastic applause from the audience when the final votes were cast. A charter that was not approved was One World PCS, proposed by alumni of Sidwell Friends that received some publicity in the Washington Post. Another applicant that had I predicted would not be granted a charter was Nannie Helen Burroughs, an institution that had operated for over 100 years as a parochial school but closed due to a lack of private school voucher funding. All of the decisions on proposed charters were unanimous as is PCSB's long standing pattern. This trend included the votes of two board members absent from the evening's meeting.

 

Usually, the rulings on proposed new schools are the highlight of the month's meeting, however, not yesterday. You see after the charter for Community Academy was approved for another 15 years it was Friendship Public Charter School's turn, and of course this means that Chairman Donald Hense will take the stage. And take the stage he did. In no uncertain terms he laid out the case for his school's right to continue educating over 6,000 students. He pointed out that Friendship includes the largest charter high school in the nation. The graduate rate at Collegiate Academy is over 91 percent of all children in four years and the charter teaches some of the most difficult at-risk pupils in the nation's capital. The college acceptance rate is 100 percent, with Mr. Hense pointing out that each student must be accepted to more than one school so that we are not talking about admission to "some rinky-dink place down the street." Over 80 percent of all college accepted scholars have either graduated or are currently enrolled.

Friendship has created this track record despite the fact that the schools will accept any student in any grade, in sharp contrast to plenty of other charters that do not admit students after a particular level.

 

The renewal conversation included a long discussion on whether Friendship was required to have two non-profit boards; one to handle the charter and the other to oversee Friendship's schools in Baltimore and the one that it manages in contract with DCPS. Mr. Hense would have none of the bureaucratic squabbling. He pointed out that he is just doing what's best for the kids. Boy, I wish I could be like Donald Hense.