- More coordination between DCPS and charters? Not if it threatens charter autonomy, says DC's top charter official. [Washington Global PCS, Achievement Prep PCS, Hospitality High PCS, Two Rivers PCS, Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS and KIPP DC PCS mentioned]
- E.L. Hayne's 3rd Annual Toast to Transformation [E.L. Haines PCS, KIPP DC PCS and Washington Latin PCS mentioned]
- D.C. school system is losing at least eight veteran principals
More coordination between DCPS and charters? Not if it threatens charter autonomy, says DC's top charter official. [Washington Global PCS, Achievement Prep PCS, Hospitality High PCS, Two Rivers PCS, Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS and KIPP DC PCS mentioned]
Greater Greater Education
By Natalie Wexler
May 22, 2014
How much coordination should there be between DCPS and the charter sector? Probably more than there is now, says the Public Charter School Board's executive director, but not so much that we return to the era of centralized planning.
The DC education scene has no shortage of anomalies. Expensively modernized DCPS buildings that are half empty sit near vastly oversubscribed charter schools that are scrambling for space. Parents who labor to improve their neighborhood schools sometimes feel their efforts are undermined by an exodus to higher-performing charters. With the approval of 3 new charters and the expansion of two others this week, those challenges could get more pronounced.
The Deputy Mayor for Education, Abigail Smith, recently said that the time has come for joint planning between the traditional and charter public school sectors. But Scott Pearson, executive director of the Public Charter School Board (PCSB), says that while his agency supports cross-sector collaboration on a school-by-school basis, more systemic coordination could jeopardize the autonomy that is essential to charters' success.
Some have suggested that the PCSB should refrain from authorizing charters in locations that might hinder DCPS's efforts to revive struggling schools or create new ones. One commentator recently pointed out that parents in Ward 4 are urging DCPS to reopen the former McFarland Middle School, but that the PCSB was about to consider applications for two charter middle schools "that might compete directly with a reopened McFarland."
In the end, the PCSB approved only one of those schools, Washington Global, at its meeting Monday night. And it's far from clear that school will locate in Ward 4. Like most charter applicants, the founding group has yet to identify a building for the school, and the application says it will be in Ward 4, 5, 7, or 8.
But Pearson dismissed the idea that the PCSB should take into account something like the McFarland plan when it considers charter applications.
"We wouldn't have had a charter anywhere in the city if we'd done that," he said in an interview. "And I think the charter sector is one of the most beneficial things that has happened for education in DC."
Exodus after 4th grade
Parents also complain that students leave some DCPS schools in droves after 4th grade to attend charter middle schools, many of which begin at 5th grade instead of the usual 6th. They have urged the PCSB to require middle schools to begin a year later. But Pearson said that, while he had sympathy for those parents, "the charters will give valid reasons for why they have to start at 5th."
Those reasons include the argument that adolescence is beginning earlier than it used to, and "they need to start at 5th to run an efficient middle school," Pearson said. He asked rhetorically, "Are we going to make a unilateral, centralized decision because we don't like the impact it has on some other schools?"
More generally, some say that the growth of the charter sector has drained students from DCPS and made it harder for the school system to improve. But to that argument, Pearson responded: "Why can't DCPS build a school as attractive and competitive as the charters?"
Pearson added that DCPS is "getting better." And he pointed out that the student population in DC is growing overall by about 3000 students a year, "so it's not a shrinking pie we need to be fighting over."
Indeed, some DCPS schools, particularly in Ward 3, are overflowing with students. When asked whether the PCSB saw that as a reason to encourage charters to locate in that ward, which currently has no charters, Pearson said he did not.
"I'd like to see charter schools in every ward," he said, "but we do not coordinate opening a charter around special needs [DCPS] can't fill."
Collaboration in specific cases
But Pearson said the PCSB has been supportive of cross-sector collaboration in specific instances, citing the plan for a high-achieving charter, Achievement Prep, to take over a struggling DCPS school that would otherwise have been closed. And recently the PCSB coordinated with DCPS to have a struggling charter, Hospitality High, become part of a DCPS school.
At Monday's meeting, Pearson also announced that the PCSB will arrange meetings for the 3 newly approved charter applicants with the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME). And in the interview, he said that the PCSB will probably add a planning position to its staff next year.
Both of these moves are designed in part to promote the flow of information between the charter sector and DCPS. But neither would result in the kind of coordinated overall planning that some are urging. And in both instances, one important objective is to help new charters identify available buildings, always a major challenge in DC.
The new PCSB planning official would also focus on trends in supply and demand, but in the charter sector alone rather than in DC public schools overall. To some extent the PCSB is engaging in that inquiry already, by looking at the length of waiting lists and other indicators.
At Monday's meeting, the charter school with the longest waiting list after the first round of the school lottery, Two Rivers, applied to expand to a second campus, increasing its total enrollment from 750 to 1,700, which was about the size of its waiting list this year. Pearson said that the PCSB encouraged that application.
But, he added, long waiting lists aren't the only indicators of need. High-performing charters that serve a largely low-income population usually have shorter waiting lists than more diverse schools that offer dual-language or other programs that appeal to middle-class families. Some even have vacancies. But the PCSB also encourages those schools to expand.
At Monday's meeting, one of those schools, Thurgood Marshall Academy, also put in a request for a second campus, again at the urging of the PCSB. And previously, the PCSB approved an increase in KIPP DC's enrollment from 3700 to 5900 by 2018-19.
Consequences of charter expansion
Viewed in one light, those increases are good news for the DC families who will benefit from them. But the consequences for DCPS schools, and the possibly shrinking number of students who will remain in them, could be negative.
While it's true that the DC school population as a whole is increasing, it's not clear to what extent that will continue. And by Pearson's own estimation two-thirds of the increase has gone to charters. In DC, dollars follow pupils, so if DCPS schools lose students they lose funding as well.
Nor is it clear that an expansion in the charter sector will give parents all that they want. Yes, parents want high-quality schools, and the PCSB is focused on filling that demand.
But, as the surveys done in connection with the review of school boundaries show, parents across the District also want predictability. And, especially at the elementary level, they want a school that is nearby. As it's currently constituted, the charter sector doesn't provide those things.
Pearson's aversion to centralized planning is understandable. It didn't work well for the old pre-charter DCPS, and the current DCPS is still sometimes hamstrung by the unwieldiness of its bureaucracy. But a lack of coordinated planning could leave us with shiny new DCPS buildings that are devoid of students, or families who live next door to good schools they can't get into.
We need to find a way to bring rationality to the public school sector as a whole, without clipping the wings of high-flying charters or preventing DCPS schools from getting off the ground.
E.L. Hayne's 3rd Annual Toast to Transformation [E.L. Haines PCS, KIPP DC PCS and Washington Latin PCS mentioned]
The Examiner
By Mark Lerner
May 22, 2014
Last week my wife Michele and I spent an evening among a packed roomful of people gathered to learn about two organizations that are trying to make the world a better place. We had the fantastic opportunity to attend the third annual Toast to Transformation fundraiser for E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. The event honored Joe Bruno, president of Building Hope. His talk on that Wednesday night was fascinating.
Mr. Bruno described the highly innovative educational program being offered by E.L. Haynes, which was created in 2004 by head of school Jennifer Niles. For example, the charter now educates over 1,200 students from Pre-Kindergarten to twelfth grade on two campuses. It was the first charter to win Fight for Children's Quality School Award. Several years ago E.L. Haynes started the Capital Teacher Residency program in a partnership with KIPP DC, which trains fellows alongside experienced teachers. It is estimated that by 2016 over 30,000 students will have been taught by a CTR instructor. He explained that the charter has played a leading role in D.C.'s Race to the Top U.S. Department of Education award and in preparing schools for implementation of the Common Core Standards.
Mr. Bruno spoke about the E.L. Hayne's Power of Planning project, a one year program designed to increase academic achievement through effective school planning. Mr. Bruno mentioned its student data platform that is available to all facilities. Professional development is shared amongst citywide educators through the school's Learning Communities. He stated that the charter is now focused on special education and competency-based graduation. Not brought up by the Building Hope president is the fact that E.L. Haynes was one of six schools recently awarded the first Breakthrough Schools: D.C. grants through a partnership of the CityBridge Foundation and Next Generation Learning Challenges. The charter won for its entry on its high school redesign which will focus on academic improvement of those students who are behind grade level and preparing their pupils for college.
The record of Building Hope is no less impressive. Since 2003, when it was created by Sallie Mae CEO Al Lord and general council Marianne Keler, the organization has provided over $150 million in facility financing. It has issued over $40 million in loan guarantees. Building Hope has aided in creating over 5.5 million square feet of school space which has accommodated more than 60,000 students. To understand the span of these accomplishments consider that Building Hope has created charter school facility space equivalent to filling the Sears Tower in Chicago.
In addition, Building Hope is a full-service firm. It provides pro bono technical assistance and consulting nationally, assisting over 600 schools. The organization offers business services including accounting and employee benefits to more than 40 sites. As it did with Washington Latin Public Charter School, upon whose board of directors I serve, Building Hope provides project management services from property identification, building design and development to financing. Moreover, Building Hope, in partnership with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, currently operates six incubator facilities with three more in the works. In Florida, Building Hope, together with the Florida Department of Education, manages a program that provides intensive and targeted support for new charter schools in the areas of school administration, curriculum, finance, and governance. The organization now has offices in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Idaho. Building Hope supported E.L. Haynes acquiring its second campus through $5 million in financing.
Both E.L. Haynes and Building Hope believe they can be doing more. It became clear to me and my wife that this is how we should be spending our time. One glorious night in the nation's capital, present among heroes who are doing all they can to assist those less fortunate than themselves.
D.C. school system is losing at least eight veteran principals
The Washington Post
By Emma Brown
May 22, 2014
At least eight veteran D.C. Public Schools principals have announced that they are leaving their jobs, reviving what has become an annual debate about turnover among the system’s school leaders.
The departing principals include two key figures in arts education: Patrick Pope, who used a heavy emphasis on dance, music, theater and visual arts to spur a turnaround at high-poverty Savoy Elementary in Anacostia; and Rory Pullens, the highly regarded principal of Duke Ellington School of the Arts since 2006.
Other schools that will have new leaders in the fall are Lafayette, Hearst, Hyde-Addison and H.D. Cooke elementary schools, all in Northwest Washington; Oyster-Adams Bilingual, a K-8 school also in Northwest; and Hart Middle in Southeast.
The list is sure to grow in coming weeks, with some principals announcing voluntary departures and the school system firing others via letters of “non-reappointment.” Principals work on one-year contracts, and administrators can choose not to renew them without giving a reason.
About 20 percent of schools had to replace their principals last year, a somewhat lower percentage than in the previous two years but still much higher than in neighboring suburban school systems. Parents and activists have long said the level of turnover leads to instability and stagnation in too many city schools.
A schools spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Morale among principals suffered this year when more than half were rated less than effective on new evaluations that gave significant weight to students’ standardized test scores. DCPS officials acknowledged that they should have done a better job explaining how the evaluations would work. They have since tweaked them and say they plan to look at further changes in the future.
A task force is considering whether and how to offer multiyear contracts in an effort to give principals some measure of job security as they try to improve their schools, work that often takes years to show results.
D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), who chairs the Education Committee and is running for mayor, said he wants the school system to implement 360-degree evaluations that would give principals a chance to rate their supervisors and to voice frustrations without fear of reprisal.
“There’s something amiss when we have such a high degree of turnover among our most talented principals,” Catania said.
Pope is retiring after more than 30 years as an educator in city schools, including a turbulent period in 2009 and 2010 during which he was removed from Hardy Middle School by then-Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, spurring an angry backlash among parents and teachers.
During the past three years, Pope has begun a transformation at Savoy, operating on the principle that art and music can motivate students to engage in school. In partnership with a White House arts initiative, Savoy has hosted — and Savoy students have performed for — the likes of first lady Michelle Obama, actress Kerry Washington and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
“I remain in awe of the potential our children have and the heights to which we know that they can aspire,” Pope wrote in a letter to the school community announcing his departure and promising that support for Savoy’s arts programs will continue.
Pullens — who worked for decades as a writer, director and producer in the entertainment industry before switching careers — is widely credited with improving Ellington’s academics and arts programs. He is headed west to serve as the executive director of arts education for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Los Angeles is Pullens’s home town, and the school system there has been courting him for years, nearly luring him away in 2011. In an e-mail, Pullens said he is moving now to be closer to his aging parents.
John Payne, Ellington’s director of student affairs, will take over as principal in July and will serve in that role as the school building undergoes a complete renovation.
Ellington is led by an autonomous board of directors, which had the authority to promote Payne immediately. But the school system will choose other principals with the help of panels of teachers, staff and community members.
Lynn Main, a 2012 recipient of the school system’s Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Leadership, announced in January that she would retire after 13 years at the helm of Lafayette, one of the city’s highest-performing and most sought-after schools.
Two other Rubenstein winners are among those leaving: Billy Kearney at Hart and Monica Liang-Aguirre at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School.
Liang-Aguirre, whose husband is Jesus Aguirre, the District’s state superintendent of education, has won a fellowship in school system leadership.
Kearney announced this week that he intended to leave Hart, according to a person in the school system who is not authorized to speak to the media and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Kearney has led Hart since November 2008, when Rhee tapped him to replace a principal who was fired after a surge of violence and disorder.
Kearney did not respond to a request for comment.
Hearst’s Deborah Bergeron said this week that she has taken a job as principal of Manassas Park High School, which is closer to her home in Virginia.
Dana Nerenberg, who has led Hyde-Addison in Georgetown for eight years, is moving to Oregon to live with her fiancé, according to a letter she wrote to parents that was reprinted in the Georgetown Metropolitan.
And Kathleen Black, of H.D. Cooke in Adams Morgan, recently received a doctorate in education and is the mother of a 13-year-old girl and an 8-month-old baby.
“It’s just time for a different pace of life,” she wrote in an e-mail. “ The principalship is fast-paced and highly-charged. It’s given me great rewards and learning experiences over the past 7 years and I will miss my school and students tremendously.”