NEWS
- I’m afraid public school reform in Washington D.C. is stagnating
- National Alliance president testifies in support of increased funding for the Charter Schools Program before House Appropriations Subcommittee
- Dwan Jordon to Lead Collegiate Academy in D.C. [Friendship PCS and Cesar Chavez PCHS mentioned]
I’m afraid public school reform in Washington D.C. is stagnating
The Examiner
By Mark Lerner
May 7, 2015
There are clear signs to me that the pace of public school reform is slowing in Washington, D.C, which is particularly sad because for so long we have been leading the nation in this area. Allow me to walk you through the reasons for my conclusion.
The DC Public Charter School Board is focused on approving applications for new schools that will be “Tier 1 on Day 1.” This development means that numerous charters that were approved in the past would most likely not be approved today. For example, if a school proposes a curriculum that is original and imaginative, the charter may not be given the green light because of a lack of a proven track record for high academic achievement using this specific pedagogy. A particularly negative outcome considering the initial concept of charters was to be schools of innovation.
The Tier 1 on Day 1 mantra also places a greater emphasis on replicating quality schools or bringing high performing chains to our market. But replication has proven to be an exceptionally slow method of adding seats, and it is excessively difficult to bring CMOs to the nation’s capital because of the difficulty in identifying permanent facilities.
Finally, and I’ve written about this before, there appears to be a new weight placed on leaders in the reform movement getting along and avoiding controversy. This trend may result in the charter movement taking steps to diminish the competition for students that has resulted in the rise of standardized test scores that we have experienced over the last 20 years. I can imagine scenarios such as not allowing charters to open near existing neighborhood schools or the end of calls for poor performing traditional schools to be closed or restructured. We may also get a neighborhood admission preference requirement for charters which would have these institutions begin to resemble the very schools they were meant to supplant.
Don’t get me wrong. The elevation of quality as the centerpiece of the work of the PCSB is the right path. But slowly diminishing is the excitement of the last two decades that anything is possible when it comes to this revolutionary structure for forming our public schools. We may come to the conclusion that all the tremendous effort to get them going is just not worth it.
National Alliance president testifies in support of increased funding for the Charter Schools Program before House Appropriations Subcommittee
Sonoran News
May 6, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public charter schools need federal support. That was the message from Nina Rees, president and CEO at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools as she testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education about the importance of the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP). In her testimony, Rees outlined the success of the charter school movement and its impact on communities across the country, and addressed the urgent need for increased funding for the Charter Schools Program.
The CSP is a federal program, currently funded at $253 million, which provides funds to help new charter schools open, replicate and expand the most successful of charter school models, and support the financing of charter school facilities. CSP has provided start up funds to more than 4,200 schools so far.
“Today, nearly 3 million children are attending more than 6,700 public charter schools in 43 states and D.C. Most recently, Oklahoma enacted a law to expand charter schools throughout the state and Alabama authorized charter schools for the first time, becoming the 43rd state with a charter school law,” said Rees. “Charter schools have become a prominent component of the public school landscape in many communities because they offer students and parents high-quality educational options.”
However, there is a great unmet demand for seats in charter schools, and Rees urged public officials at all levels to do more to meet that demand. For example, last year, there were more than a million student name on wait lists but could not attend a charter school because there were not enough spaces. Rees explains that increased CSP funding will help charter schools to get off the ground and enable replication and expansion of successful charter models.
“In addition to opening new charter schools, charter schools also need support in financing and securing adequate facilities,” said Rees. “State and local programs often do not provide charter schools with the same support for capital expenses as is available to traditional schools. In those cases, charter school operators typically have to scramble to find acceptable facilities.”
Rees commended the Administration for including $375 million for CSP in its budget and asked Congress to support this funding level to ensure sufficient funding to open new charter schools in as many states as possible.
Dwan Jordon to Lead Collegiate Academy in D.C. [Friendship PCS and Cesar Chavez PCHS mentioned]
The Washington Informer
May 6, 2015
Officials at Friendship Public Charter School have appointed Dwan Jordon as principal of Friendship Collegiate Academy in Northeast.
Jordon, a longtime educator and administrator, joins Friendship following a successful tenure at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School in Parkside.
"Dwan is a proven change agent whose career has been defined by making a real difference in the lives of his students," said Donald Hense, founder and chairman of Friendship Public Charter Schools. "He is focused on readying students to succeed in life, emphasizing diligence, hard work, character and civic responsibility — values that align with Friendship's mission."
Last year, Jordon guided the Chavez Parkside campus to a high-performing "Tier 1" designation by the D.C. Public Charter School Board. Most notably, he served as principal of Philip Sousa Middle School in Ward 7, which was nationally recognized by the Department of Education as a transformation school, dramatically increasing students' proficiency in reading and math.
Following his tenure at Sousa, Jordon was principal of Suitland High School in Prince George's County before ultimately returning to D.C.
A 2010 graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Principals Center National Institute for Urban School Leaders, he also serves on the advisory board of the graduate school's Principals Center.
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