NEWS
- Inequity in D.C. charter school fundraising caused by inequity in city financing [FOCUS, E.L. Haynes PCS, KIPP DC PCS, and Maya Angelou PCS mentioned]
- D.C. schools attracted record amounts of philanthropy in recent years
Inequity in D.C. charter school fundraising caused by inequity in city financing [FOCUS, E.L. Haynes PCS, KIPP DC PCS, and Maya Angelou PCS mentioned]
parentshavechoicekidswin. com
By Mark Lerner
August 27, 2015
The Washington Post’s Michael Allison Chandler this morning focuses on fundraising in D.C.’s charter movement and brings to our attention what she describes as “a serious inequity between schools that raised millions of dollars and many that raised little or none.” In fact between 2012 and 2014 just three charters, E.L. Haynes, KIPP DC, Maya Angelou raised a total of $14.5 million, almost half of what all 60 charter schools brought in during this period.
I know what the leaders of all the other schools are saying to themselves because I have mouthed these words as well. “We should be so lucky.”
Running a charter school in the nation’s capital is like being placed into jail for helping a senior citizen cross the street. You start out with no place to begin operating. Shuttered DCPS facilities are off limits. Commercial space is too expensive and frowned upon as an option because it is seen as lining the pockets of private developers with public money. After you have gone through the seemingly requisite failure of three potential deals you face neighborhood opposition to the building you have identified. In addition, you better not locate near an exiting traditional school due to the fear that you will steal their kids. This total lack of faith in the programs being offered by DCPS is all you really need to know about education in Washington, D.C.
Of course, the structure you find will need to be renovated. Here you have to convince a bank that the $3,072 per pupil is sufficient to borrow $20 million. These days that amount of money doesn’t go nearly as far as you would think when you have to replace air conditioners and water lines. This is why charters often have to open without gymnasiums, or libraries, or sufficient space for teachers to be able to plan their lessons. Also do not forget that no charter opens with their final enrollment and you have an all encompassing puzzle that can only be described as possessing an intractable solution. Finally, the DC Public Charter Board states that academically you need to be Tier 1 on their Performance Management Framework on day 1. The fact that so many school leaders have been able to figure out how to do all of this proves there is a heaven.
There is much Mayor Bowser and Deputy Mayor for Education Jennie Niles could do to help this situation so that charters don’t need to resort to fundraising. Can we reach a settlement in the FOCUS coordinated funding equity lawsuit so that charters receive the same operating dollars that the regular schools get? The shortfall is estimated at about $100 million a year.
Could we please get access to closed DCPS facilities? This is such an easy part of the solution that it is a total mystery why it has not already taken place. People are confused because the Deputy Mayor directly faced this issue as the founder and executive director of E.L. Haynes PCS.
Lastly, we need to being some fairness to the dollars the city spends on school renovations. Charters are public schools like the traditional ones and it cannot be that the Mayor and D.C. Council plan upgrades to their system’s schools in the hundreds of millions in cash while charters are restricted by the facility allotment tied to enrollment.
Perhaps if we tackled the problems detailed above charters would not have to ask anyone for an additional dime.
D.C. schools attracted record amounts of philanthropy in recent years
The Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler
August 26, 2015
Washington, D.C., became a magnet for philanthropy after 2007, when former mayor Adrian Fenty took control over the schools and appointed Michelle Rhee as chancellor.
In 2010, the District brought in more than $31 million from national foundations, according to an analysis by two professors at Michigan State University of grants by the 15 largest philanthropies funding kindergarten through 12th grade education that year. The total represented an extra $705 per student — far more than any other school district in the country.
More than two-thirds of the funds raised went to the D.C. Public Education Fund, which was created in 2007 to support reform efforts in the public school system. At least $ 7 million went to specific charter schools or to organizations, including the New Schools Venture Fund, that support charter schools.
The report, which has not yet been published, found that grantmaking from the largest funders increased from $486.6 million to $843.7 million between 2000 and 2010. The researchers found a growing preference among funders to invest in cities with reform-oriented policies and environments. Cities that had a Teach for America site or laws that encourage the growth of charter schools, for example, were more likely to receive foundation funding.
Sarah Reckhow, a professor of political science at Michigan State who coauthored the report, said more philanthropists are thinking nationally about policy priorities when they make funding decisions, and many are interested in growing charter schools and challenging traditional methods for evaluating and rewarding teachers.
In 2010, D.C. public schools rolled out a new teacher contract, including teacher evaluations that could lead to termination or significant bonuses. The increased costs associated were funded at first by a three-year, $64.5 million grant from a group of national philanthropists, including the Walton Family Foundation and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.
That expense was eventually absorbed by the local budget, and District education officials said philanthropic investments in the schools have fallen since 2010. The D.C. Education Fund raised $5.7 million in fiscal 2014, down from more than $17 million in fiscal 2012 and $24 million in 2010.
Fundraising has picked up again, with about $11 million raised so far this year, said Jessica Rauch, executive director of the D.C. Education Fund. She said the mood among foundations remains “positive.” National foundations are enthusiastic about D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s leadership and progress in the city’s schools, she said, as well as in some new programs, including the chancellor’s Empowering Males of Color initiative that aims to invest $20 million in private funds for support programs for black and Latino male students and in an all-boys college prep high school scheduled to open in 2016-2017.
The fund also announced a $4 million investment by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation to support more rigorous lessons in all District classrooms tied to Common Core standards.
D.C. public schools also gets direct contributions — in-kind and cash — from individuals, businesses or community groups that often go directly to schools. For fiscal 2014, the schools received about $3.1 million in contributions on top of funds received through the DC Ed Fund, according to D.C. public schools officials. Such funds include dictionaries donated to every third-grader by the Rotary Club, or a library redesign sponsored by Heart of America and the Washington Redskins at Leckie Elementary School in Southwest Washington, which included about $52,000 in services and materials and technology.
Not included in the total is PTA funding, which brings a significant additional stream of funds to some schools in more affluent communities. The PTA at Maury Elementary School in Capitol Hill increased its fundraising dramatically in recent years. Its budget for this school year is $157,000, up from about $15,000 in 2009-2010.
The PTA asks families to make a contribution at the beginning of the year, and it hosts fundraisers, including a yard sale and an auction. The funds go toward school supplies and professional development. The largest share goes toward funding instructional aides, said PTA President Elsa Huxley. The school system provides extra staffing in the youngest grades, but the parents think it’s important for all grade levels, she said.
Some parent groups raise more money and provide funds for extra teachers or library books. But many parent groups struggle to get people simply to sign up or pay annual dues. Parent Teachers Associations or Parent Teacher Organizations are independently run and their fundraising is not tracked centrally through the school system.
Because of the various sources of private funds in D.C. public schools, it’s difficult to get a picture of how much each school receives annually in additional private funds and how equitable that funding is.
The D.C. Public Charter School Board reports philanthropic revenues for each charter school organization. Charter schools reported $44 million in private revenue — or 6 percent of their overall funding in fiscal 2014. The median amount was $377 per student, but the range was very wide. Seven schools reported at least $1 million in donations in fiscal 2014, while at least 20 schools reported less than $100,000.
_________
FROM FOCUS
 |
Upcoming events
Click Here > |
__________