The Current
Ensuring accountability
Editorial
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The D.C. Public Charter School Board will hear testimony tonight as it considers whether to close Young America Works Public Charter School, which board members say has been plagued by violence while also racking up "profoundly" low test scores.
Neighbors have complained about safety issues that surround the Ward 4 school, located in a neighborhood - Lamond-Riggs - that is home to seven charters. Another high school sits just steps from Young America, and residents say students at the two institutions clash.
In a news release, the charter board pointed out that only 12.7 percent of Young America's students tested proficient in math on the 2009 D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System, and 25 percent tested proficient in reading. "We found that we kept going back to the same things - that nothing seemed to change," said the board's executive director, Josephine Baker. "And some things had digressed or gone downhill."
All these factors are worth consideration, and we're pleased that the charter board is taking the time to examine them. One of the strengths of the charter school system is this built-in opportunity to close schools that don't live up to their missions. Shuttering a problematic traditional public school would be far harder.
Leaders of charter-school advocacy group Friends of Choice in Urban Schools even put out a news release cheering the board's action, which the organization says underscores the body's emphasis on accountability. We agree. The board's decision to consider closing a poorly performing school strengthens our confidence in the city's other charters.