Month: November 2018

KIPP DC PCS to takeover Somerset Prep PCS

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Multiple individuals involved in the transition have confirmed to me that Somerset Prep PCS has agreed to be taken over by KIPP DC, and that KIPP will be asking the DC Public Charter School Board to approve the change in the charter management organization overseeing Somerset at its December 2018 meeting.

Somerset is a sixth-through-twelfth grade charter that opened in the 2013-to-2014 school year. It currently serves approximately 424 students of whom 71 percent are classified as at-risk and 60 percent are economically disadvantaged. Last December, the PCSB conducted its five-year review of Somerset and determined that it was not meeting its academic goals. It permitted the school to continue operating under a list of academic conditions. The high school has consistently scored as a low-to-average Tier 2 institution on the PCSB’s Performance Management Framework, while the middle school has been ranked as Tier 3 for two out of three years.

The charter has a special place in D.C.’s charter school movement. Major support for this school opening here came from Joe Bruno, the president of Building Hope, who served as the school’s first board chair. It receives services from Academica, a charter school support organization, as the Somerset national charter management organization does in many localities in which it operates. Somerset and Academica operate many schools in Florida where Building Hope also has an office. I remember Martha Cutts, the former long-term head of school at Washington Latin PCS, informing me that Mr. Bruno asked her to consult with the principal of Somerset Prep in order to improve the operation of the school.

Due to Somerset’s low academic performance, especially around its middle school, its board of directors initiated a search for a new partner. The process included parent and teacher board members and included school tours, data reviews, and site visits. The decision by Somerset’s board to join KIPP DC was unanimous. The KIPP DC board has also approved the expansion of their network to include Somerset PCS.

KIPP DC now has 16 campuses in Washington, D.C., instructing almost 6,300 students and has 1,800 alumni. Eight of its schools are ranked on the PMF as Tier 1. The Promise Academy campus was recognized this year by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School for its high performance and for closing the academic achievement gap.

KIPP DC’s goal is to begin operating Somerset PCS during the Summer of 2019. It would also like to expand its offerings at the new location to start in the fourth grade. The current principal of Somerset, Lauren Catalano, will continue to have a leadership position at the new school.

Susan Schaeffler, the founder and chief executive officer of KIPP DC commented about the expansion of her CMO, “I am excited to be exploring a partnership with Somerset. A partnership between KIPP DC and Somerset would provide continuity to families and ensure they have education supports that will prepare them for college and rewarding careers. We’re eager to listen to students, families and the community in the coming months about what the school could look like in the near future.”

Look for the PCSB to quickly and easily decide to proceed with this change.

City Arts and Prep PCS forcibly rejects attempt by D.C. charter board to close its school

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Last Tuesday evening the DC Public Charter School Board held a public hearing to consider revoking the charter of City Arts and Prep PCS. The action was initiated as part of the board’s fifteen-year review of the school. I have witnessed numerous meetings over the years in which a school is facing closure, but I have never seen a stronger refutation of PCSB’s staff report precipitating this action than that provided by the representatives of City Arts.

This was an emotional session for me. I was a founding board member of City Arts and Prep, which when it was created was called the William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School for the Performing Arts. I also served as its board chair for about five years. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I was one of a small group of individuals who was involved in writing the original charter. Julie Doar was the initial board chair and first executive director. The school was named after her father who had passed years before I met her. We often met in Julie’s apartment in the evening or on weekends to work on the application and she would cook for us. Joe Smith, now the CEO/CFO of Eagle Academy PCS, was our charter school consultant, and Stephen Marcus, whose law firm is defending City Arts, was our lawyer. The room where the hearing was held was where my wife Michele and I spent considerable time watching student performances or sitting with guests enjoying the faculty talent show. I also helped secure the facility that houses this charter.

But I digress. If you want to go up against the PCSB in an exceptionally high pressure situation then there are no better people to bring with you than Brandon Daniels, the school’s current board chair; Sherry Ingram, an attorney with The Marcus Firm; and Lanette Dailey-Reese, the school’s executive director. Speaking in the order listed above, you could not help but appreciate the dedication, passion, and energy these individuals bring to this charter. Their knowledge about the school was unparalleled.

Here is the bottom line of the current situation. City Arts and Prep has demonstrated uneven academic performance throughout its existence, at one point hiring The TenSquare Consulting Group to perform a turnaround. The most recent charter agreement with the school, coming at the end of its ten-year review, required it to score at least an average of 50 percent on the Performance Management Framework over the last five years. The charter board states that the school never exceeded this mark in any single year and has an average score of 46.6 percent across this period.

I will focus on the testimony of Ms. Ingram. She spoke as if she was defending a wrongly accused plaintiff and she was the only one on the planet who could get back this man’s freedom. Please don’t take my word for it, you can watch the proceedings here. Her main line of argument, more fully developed here, was the same one used to defend Excel Academy PCS when it was facing closure by the board. Her assertion is that when it comes to the education of at-risk youth, the PMF is biased against this population. She stated that the PCSB has its own report demonstrating this to be the case. City Arts and Prep has a student population that Ms. Ingram reported is approximately 98 percent black and includes 65 percent of kids that are economically disadvantaged. 75 percent of its students come to this Ward 5 school from Wards 7 and 8.

Ms. Ingram went on to explain that when the PMF is recalculated to account for the socio-economic factors of its student body it exceeds the 50 percent mark. Perhaps the most effective part of her presentation was in regard to the treatment of this school by the board in comparison to Harmony PCS. She explained that just last week Harmony, which like City Prep is ranked as Tier 2, was given the green light to continue operating after five years with a PMF total of 45 points. By the PCSB’s own calculation, she continued, City Prep’s results are higher but in this instance the board is talking about shuttering its doors. She also mentioned that City Prep has a student wait-list of about 200 students, while Harmony’s is one child.

I could go on and on regarding the effectiveness of the points made by the Marcus Firm attorney. In addition, I would be remiss if I failed to mention one particularly interesting comment by the school’s board chair. Mr. Daniels related that he is fairly new to this role and that when he first assumed his position at the school he met with Mr. Pearson, the PCSB executive director. This was before the latest PARCC scores were released that determine much of the PMF’s final calculation. At this session, Mr. Daniels stated that Mr. Pearson stated that his goal was to close City Arts and Prep.

The clarity and strength of the school’s remarks seemed to stun the members of the PCSB. While they asked questions of the witnesses it did not appear to me to be the same level of inquiry that I have seen at other forums of this type. At the end of this portion of the meeting, Saba Bireda, the board’s vice chair, observed that there are 11 D.C. charters that have higher proportions of their population of at-risk pupils than City Arts that in 2018 scored in the Tier 1 range of the PMF. She remarked that last year this number was 17, and she added that she is uncomfortable saying that this population cannot reach this level. Perhaps this was a hint of what the decision will be regarding this school at the December meeting.

D.C. charter board is eradicating limits on accountability

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I know that the DC Public Charter School Board, operating under the School Reform Act, has the power to close charters based upon poor academic performance, financial irregularities, a failure to meet its goals, and a violation of applicable laws. However, the mandates that it has been imposing on charters go way beyond a reasonable definition of oversight.  For examples, let’s just consider some of the demands placed on schools at last Monday night’s monthly meeting.  I want you to know that these are the actual conditions that the specified charters need to meet in order to continue to operate.

Imposed on Democracy Prep PCS during its five-year review:

“The school must achieve a PMF score of at least 40 for SY 2018-19 on a modified one-year PMF, with all measures using only SY 2018-19 outcomes and no re-enrollment rate, as calculated by DC PCSB, OR must improve by at least 15 points on the standard PK8 PMF between SY 2017-18 and 2018-19. If the school fails to meet at least one of these targets, it will close at the end of SY 2019-20.”

Imposed on Harmony PCS during its five-year review:

“Harmony DC PCS must decrease its enrollment ceiling from 480 students to a maximum of 250 students, and submit a five-year budget to describe how the school will remain economically viable with such enrollment; and Given the cost of the school’s turnaround and the reliance on philanthropic funds that largely come from a single source to pay for this turnaround, Harmony DC PCS must provide evidence that at least $500K per year has been secured for SY 2018-19 and SY 2019-20.”

Imposed on LEARN PCS during its application process to open a new school:

“By May 15, 2019, the school will develop and submit a plan to engage non-military connected families in DC (especially Ward 8). The plan will include i. reliable, recent, and comprehensive data demonstrating that there will be sufficient demand among non-military families to sustain the school, and ii. a description of recruiting strategies that have been successful either in DC or other jurisdictions with competitive charter markets serving a similar target population.”

“Enrollment—due to the mixed historical performance of LEARN schools, and lower quality and lack of demand at LEARN 10, enrollment at LEARN DC will be limited to the current enrollment numbers of LEARN 10. . .”

“The school’s opening year may have a maximum enrollment of 180. Enrollment each year may grow by 45 students to a maximum enrollment of 495 students.”

“By December 14, 2018, the school will sign an agreement committing that the following condition will be included in the school’s charter: If the performance on the PMF at the five-year review is below an average of 40%, the school agrees to relinquish its charter. If the school earns a Tier 3 in any three of five years, the school will relinquish its charter.”

And here is my personal favorite:

“The LEARN Network will open no additional schools until at least one year after the opening of LEARN DC.”

The PCSB is now dictating what this charter management organization can and cannot do on a national level in order to open in D.C.  If I was running this school, and if I wholeheartedly believe in school choice for those much less fortunate than myself, and if a vital part of my sworn mission is to provide a high quality education for the offspring of men and women who sacrifice their lives for the protection of this country, I would tell the board “no.”  Actually I would tell them “hell no.”

However, this is what our local movement has become.  Autonomy and accountability.  But the autonomy part is disappearing.

D.C. charter board lives up to reputation as tough authorizer

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The headline for a story about the DC Public Charter School Board’s November monthly meeting is obvious to anyone watching the session: LEARN PCS was approved by a unanimous vote to open on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB). But nothing about last night’s proceedings was this simple and so it goes with LEARN. While the new charter was given the green light, it is facing an extremely long list of conditions imposed by the PCSB that covers everything from engagement of Ward 8 families to changes to the governance structure of its board. The requirements also include the following statement regarding its future academic performance:

“By December 14, 2018, the school will sign an agreement committing that the following condition will be included in the school’s charter: If the performance on the PMF at the five-year review is below an average of 40%, the school agrees to relinquish its charter. If the school earns a Tier 3 in any three of five years, the school will relinquish its charter.”

In addition, the granting of a local campus has national implications for this charter management organization:

“Enrollment—due to the mixed historical performance of LEARN schools, and lower quality and lack of demand at LEARN 10, enrollment at LEARN DC will be limited to the current enrollment numbers of LEARN 10 and the LEARN Network will not open additional schools prior to opening LEARN.”

In other words by agreeing to come to JBAB, LEARN cannot open another site anywhere across the United States before the 2020-to-2021 school year. I think this requirement could be the definition of strict.

It was easy to anticipate a challenging evening for LEARN. The staff’s report regarding the charter’s application was published ahead of time and it included mixed findings regarding meeting the board’s standards. The representatives from the charter must have been concerned because no one from the school testified during the open comment period in favor of opening at the military complex.

The same approach was applied to Harmony PCS, a Texas charter school that faced its five-year review. While the school was able to land in the Tier 2 Performance Management rankings in 2018, its prior two scores on this report card had it in the lowest category. Therefore, the charter board applied an equaling grueling set of goals for this school to meet in order to continue teaching kids.

The most interesting discussion revolved around Democracy Prep PCS. After being a PMF Tier 2 school during the 2015-to-2016 term, it now finds itself with the lowest score on this measure of any local charter at 21.0 percent. Its board wanted to jettison its Brooklyn, N.Y. – based centralized office and have a high performing D.C. charter take its place. While Rocketship PCS did respond to a request for proposal, instead the school went with the TenSquare Consulting Group to perform a turnaround. It would be an understatement to say that the board was not too sure that this was the right decision. While it would be highly unheard of to have the PCSB close a school at the five-year mark, that is exactly what may happen. The members split three to three as to whether to allow the charter to continue with conditions and so the matter will be taken up again at the December meeting.

The bright side of night came from a proposal from Lee Montessori PCS to replicate in Ward 7 and 8. Yes, I did use the work replicate. The four-year old Tier 1 institution desperately wants to increase the proportion of low-income students that it serves. It now teaches about 177 children in grades pre-Kindergarten through five, eventually going to sixth, and it would mirror this offering at a second location. It currently has a wait list of over 750 pupils. The new school would enroll 400 kids and open in the 2019-to-2020 term. The board will make the decision next month and at that time the charter will have something to celebrate.

D.C. POST parents conduct media campaign ahead of charter board vote to approve LEARN PCS

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Next Monday evening, the DC Public Charter School Board will vote on whether to allow LEARN Charter School Network, a Chicago charter management organization, to open a school at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.  In anticipation of the decision, the POST, the Ward 8 Parent Operator Selection Team, has conducted a social media campaign to have their selection of a charter operator approved.   Its members write:

“The entire process we participated in was designed to put parents in charge. So we were especially pleased to find that not only did LEARN present well, they listened to us and asked us some great questions. We wanted a school operator that would listen to the needs of the parents and children and our two communities—not just while we are evaluating them, but during the planning and after they open. We feel that LEARN will do that.”

I’ve documented in the past the highly detailed and lengthy work the parents involved in the process to select a school conducted, a project that was facilitated by Irene Holtzman, the executive director of FOCUS, and Maya Martin, executive director of PAVE who would become the new school’s board chair.  I especially enjoyed reading the case study of the POST’s effort.  The team has been highly engaged, evidenced by the fact that my skeptical comments about the charter’s academic results were met by two different uncoordinated communications to me by prominent members of the school choice community.  These resulted in my participation on a conference call with a couple of the leaders of LEARN.

It’s an interesting concept to have parents make the decision about the selection of a school.  The argument reminds me of the position I’ve heard many times asserted by Jeanne Allen, the founder and chief executive officer of The Center for Education Reform.  She consistently states that whether a charter school is permitted to operate should be determined by its popularity with parents and students, and not by an authorizer that has established accountability standards, particularly around standardized test scores.  She believes that charters should develop their own goals and it is the successful meeting of these objectives that should be judged by the body that oversees these schools.

This is not how the movement has operated here in the nation’s capital.  Many charters have been closed, the most recent being Excel Academy PCS, despite the strong belief by parents that this is where they want to send their children.  The DC PCSB has insisted that it knows best which schools should be open and closed, and it has made these decisions under its authority through the School Reform Act, which have revolved around academic and financial results.

It will be fascinating to see whether this tradition continues next week.

 

D.C. charter school lawsuit continues; a second one should be filed

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The Washington Post’s Perry Stein reported last week that the ruling issued almost exactly a year ago by a federal judge against the FOCUS coordinated charter school funding inequity lawsuit brought by Washington Latin PCS, Eagle Academy PCS, and the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, has been appealed.  A federal judge heard oral arguments on November 5th that mostly revolved around whether it is appropriate that the matter be heard in federal court.  The original legal action by the plaintiffs claimed that charter schools receive less money in revenue from the city compared to the regular schools, a figure that has totaled $770 million from 2008 to 2015, and equates to $1,600 to $2,600 per pupil every year.

The supplemental payments to DCPS have come mostly in the form of services the regular schools receive for free that charters do not, such as building maintenance and legal assistance.

The most significant information coming out of Ms. Stein’s story is that legal representation for the charter schools is now being provided by an attorney from WilmerHale, a law firm handling the case on a pro bono basis.  The attorney replaces Stephen Marcus, who was intimately involved in this lawsuit even before it was brought before the court four years ago.

The charter school argument is based upon the School Reform Act.  Passed by Congress and incorporated into local law by the D.C. Council, it states that all financial support for public schools, both charter and traditional, must come through the Uniform Per Student funding formula.  This means that the additional no-charge benefits that DCPS has been receiving over the past twenty years are illegal.

The current situation is unjust and is harming charter schools’ ability to care for the almost 44,000 children sitting it its classrooms.

It is, in fact, difficult to find a more straightforward public policy.  However, you are in luck.  Because on this dark and cold November morning I have found one more, a legal rule that I consider practically a tie in clarity with the dictate on the manner in which our schools receive their operating cash.  Ready, here it is:

All excess DCPS buildings will be offered to charter schools on a right of first offer basis.

As I pointed out yesterday, it is estimated that there is approximately one million square feet of vacant or underutilized DCPS facility space to which charters cannot get access.  An empty site has not been turned over to charters for about four years.  This is severely negatively impacting their ability to expand and replicate.  Now I will ask you a really simple question.  It is early so I don’t want to make it too difficult.  If charters can sue over illegal funding should not the sector also mount a court battle over access to physical structures?

I’ll await your response.

 

 

 

Blockade of turning vacant school buildings over to charters is a problem in many other cities besides D.C.

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Writing in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago C.J. Szafir, executive vice president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, and Cori Peterson, a researcher and writer at the Institute, in a piece entitled “This Building Is for Sale, but Not to a Charter School” tell the exceedingly frustrating story of charters trying to obtain the use of vacant traditional school buildings in Milwaukee and other localities.  They explain:

“The Milwaukee Public Schools currently have at least 11 vacant school buildings and 41 schools operating below 70% capacity—and, according to a report by a consulting group hired by MPS, empty seats are expected to increase by 63% over the next 10 years. Many parents have turned to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, passed in 1990, which provides low-income children with vouchers for private schools. Over the past decade, enrollment has increased 45% at MPCP schools and by 47% at the city’s charter schools. Many charter and MPCP administrators would like to expand by acquiring vacant public-school buildings.

St. Marcus Lutheran, which has a student body of around 900 and ranks in the top 1% statewide among schools with a majority of low-income and minority students, offered $1 million in 2013 to buy Malcolm X Academy, a large public-school campus that had been closed since 2008. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors said no and instead chose to sell the site to 2760 Holdings LLC, a newly formed corporation registered to a pair of construction-business operators. That deal fell through, and in 2016 the school district opted instead to spend $10 million relocating the struggling Rufus King Middle School and its roughly 400 students to the Malcolm X campus.”

Sound familiar?  It should.  Last June D.C. Mayor Bowser announced that five surplus DCPS buildings were being turned over to developers.  In the nation’s capital there is an estimated one million square feet of space that could be utilized by charters to grow and replicate.  Yet, not one former classroom building has been offered to a charter for almost four years.

The authors of the Wall Street Journal editorial continue:

“In November 2016 Rocketship, a charter school that performs in the top 5% statewide, attempted to buy an MPS building. In the final stage of the negotiation, MPS demanded that Rocketship, which is chartered by the city, obtain a charter from MPS instead. This would allow the district more control over the school. In 2017, because of the ultimatum and protests by the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, the deal fell through. (MPS declined to comment.)”

On to Detroit:

“In 2017 Detroit ranked last in proficiency out of 27 large urban school districts with a measly 5% of fourth-graders proficient in math and 7% in reading. The Motor City is home to one of the largest charter systems in the country; more Detroit students are enrolled in charters than in traditional public schools. The Detroit Public Schools have 22 vacant buildings, but as in Milwaukee, the education establishment isn’t eager to sell.

In 2017 DPS did everything it could, even manipulating deed restrictions, to block charter school Detroit Prep from buying an abandoned building. ‘It seemed that Detroit Public Schools’ perspective was that they could use their size and power to wait us out and, ultimately, put us out of business,’ said Kyle Smitley, Detroit Prep’s co-founder and executive director. The sale was completed only this summer, after litigation, public outrage and the enactment of legislation to prevent deed restrictions on schools.”

Lastly they point to Indianapolis:

“In Indianapolis, only 1 in 4 students passed the state proficiency test last year. From 2006 to 2016, Indianapolis Public Schools’ overall test scores declined 22%. The district announced in June that it would close seven schools. Purdue Polytechnic High School, which is chartered by Purdue University, tried to buy the vacant Broad Ripple High School building but received pushback from Indianapolis Public Schools. Elected officials convinced the district to consider Purdue’s offer, but the school’s leadership announced in August that they were no longer interested.”

Just last month, New York City’s Success Academy called out Mayor de Blasio for severely curtailing the use of vacant regular school system buildings by charters.  As reported by Selim Algar in the New York Post, “Citing a study from the Manhattan Institute, Success Academy said Thursday there are 192 DOE buildings with at least 300 available seats and that some schools have up to 1,000 empty spots.”

Back in D.C., Ms. Bowser offered this justification last summer to United States Senator Ron Johnson to explain her failure to comply with the law that states that charters get right of first offer for empty DCPS facilities:

“As you noted, District of Columbia law gives public charter schools the right of first offer when school facilities are designated as excess.  However, the law does not require the District to designate every vacant or underutilized school as excess.”

But then what about the five buildings she sold?  If you want to know why our children may become confused as to what constitutes the truth or a falsehood you just have to follow the twisted logic of our city’s chief executive.

 

Growth of D.C. charter school sector comes to a screeching halt

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Yesterday, the Office of the State Superintendent for Education released the audited enrollment data for the 2018-to-2019 school year, and for the first time since the charter school movement began teaching its first students in 1998, the percentage of pupils being taught in this sector compared to those enrolled in DCPS declined compared to the previous year.  The change is small but the implication is humongous.  47 percent of all public school children in the District of Columbia attend a charter school.

This year 43,958 students have signed up to go to a charter school compared to 43,393 during the 2017-to-2018 school term, representing a one percent increase over the last 12 months.  However, DCPS saw its student body increase by two percent, going from 48,144 pupils on the count last October to 49,103 this fall.  92,994 students now attend public school in the nation’s capital, which represents ten years of growth.

The reaction to this news yesterday by Scott Pearson, the executive director of the DC Public Charter School Board, may not be the one you would expect.  He posted on Twitter:

“For the 10th yr enrollment has increased in public schools but the 1st time the percentage of DC charter school students has gone down. This slight decline reflects our commitment to opening good schools and closing low-performing ones. It’s about quality and choice, not numbers.”

My blood pressure is going up so much right now that I can hardly sit in my chair to write these words.  Yes, of course, public education reform is about quality and choice but it is fundamentally about providing each and every child a good education no matter where they live.  However, we are so far away from this goal despite the fact that so many of us have been working and fighting and arguing and sweating and giving our hard-earned money to turn this situation around.  This is the civil rights struggle that I’m afraid will never be corrected.  Not when the leader of our sector states that we don’t have to worry about the numbers.

In 2012, The Illinois Facility Fund estimated that our city was in need of approximately 40,000 quality seats in our schools.  Last April, the DC PCSB reported there were 11,317 students on charter wait lists.

I have spoken to so many frustrated parents who cannot get their children into a high-performing school.  I have spoken to so many frustrated parents that cannot get their children into a high-performing school.  I have spoken to so many frustrated parents that cannot get their children into a high-performing school.

Charters teach their kids but they don’t get the same amount of money that the regular schools receive.  The founders have to beg to obtain a building in which teachers can practice their profession.  Then, on top of all this, they get to provide information on every detail of their operation to the PCSB.

We have to start over.  We need someone, anyone, who will go to bat for these alternative schools that are literally closing the academic achievement gap for the first time in the history of public education.  We need to figure out how every child, even if they are poor or black or disabled, can get access to what others have been so fortunate to be able to obtain.

 

 

 

 

Negatives and positives of D.C. charter board 2018 Performance Management Framework rankings

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Last week the DC Public Charter School Board released the results of the 2018 Performance Management Framework charter school rankings and, as usual, there were fascinating findings.  Let’s start with where the board does in announcing the scores, with the fact that there are more students than ever, estimated at 20,717 or 47.3 percent of all students enrolled in charter schools, that attend Tier 1 institutions.  The number has gone up from 19,498, equating to 45.0 percent of pupils, the year before, and approximately 17,385 pupils, a proportion of 41.3 percent, that attended Tier 1 charters during the 2016-to-2017 school year.  All of this is great news.  The charter board also pointed out that nine schools have moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1 and that “nearly nine out of the ten public charter high schools either earned a Tier 1 rank or improved overall from the previous year.”  This is another strong trend.  Now let’s dive into the individual school results.

On the worrisome side, Breakthrough Montessori PCS, in its first PMF ranking, came in at 28.8 percent, which is a solid Tier 3.  DC Scholars PCS dropped from 54.1 percent to 37.4 percent, which makes it a low Tier 2 facility.  Eagle Academy PCS Congress Heights Campus, its primary location, dropped a staggering 26.2 percent, going from Tier 2 to Tier 3 at 34.2 percent.  I know school leader Joe Smith and I’m sure that this number will not be allowed to stand for his young scholars in Anacostia.

National Collegiate Preparatory PCS is now a Tier 3 school for three years in a row, so look for this charter to be closed.  Paul PCS Middle School went from 45.3 percent, a Tier 2 school, to 34 percent, now ranked at Tier 3.  Sela PCS, which changed leadership this year, lost its Tier 1 status after two consecutive years to fall to 60.7 percent, a Tier 2 number.  Summerset Preparatory Academy PCS is also at Tier 3 for three years in a row, so its future does not look promising.  Finally, and surprisingly, Two Rivers PCS Young Campus came in at 51.4 percent, a Tier 2 ranking, from 73.6 percent or Tier 1 in 2017.

Now on to the good news.  Achievement Prep PCS Walter Place Elementary, jumped out of Tier 3 status to Tier 2, improving from 32.3 percent to 46.6 percent.  I cannot help recognizing AppleTree Early Learning PCS Columbia Heights Campus that scored an amazing 80.9 percent, Tier 1 territory, after being at 68.6 percent last year, which is still at the Tier 1 level.  For the same charter management organization, the Southwest Campus grew from 58.8 percent in 2017, which equates to Tier 2, to 72.9 percent this year, which makes it a Tier 1.  Bridges PCS left Tier 3 at 34.5 percent going to Tier 2 at 42.3 percent.  Capital City PCHS improved to a Tier 1 83.6 percent from a Tier 1 65.3 percent last year.  DC Prep PCS Benning Middle Campus joined the Tier 1 group at 68 percent after being at 59.1 percent or Tier 2 twelve months ago.  Its Edgewood Elementary School was Tier 1 last year at 74.7 percent and now is at a bright 85.1 percent.

Friendship PCS Technology Preparatory High recorded a tremendous 77.9 percent at Tier 1 going from a Tier 2 54.5 percent in 2017.  Its Woodridge International Middle changed from a Tier 2 54.5 percent to a Tier 1 74.7 percent or Tier 1.  I count five out of 12 Friendship campuses being at Tier 1 with the remainder being at Tier 2.  I wonder what founder Donald Hense says about the PMF now?

Harmony PCS said goodbye to Tier 3 at 30.8 percent in 2017 and landed in Tier 2 at 45.4 percent.  Perry Street Preparatory PCS went up 9.1 points to a Tier 2 60.9 percent, and its PMF score has gone up three years in a row.  Washington Latin PCS Upper School, the charter for which I was once board chair, increased its Tier 1 status to 93.4 percent.  Washington Leadership Academy PCS, in the first year that it was ranked, scored at a Tier 1 84.8 percent, and finally, the National Alliance of Public Charter School’s Hall of Fame inductee Washington Yu Ying PCS, came in at 93.8 percent, a Tier 1 score.

In all of these figures I also could not help noticing that the schools that are working with Josh Kern’s TenSquare Consulting Group all showed signs of improvement, including Cesar Chavez PCS whose Prep Middle School has received so much press due to its union activity.  A TenSquare press release states,  “After a full year of implementing TenSquare’s multi-year school improvement strategy, ratings for the charter support organization’s clients in the District Columbia have increased 7-9 points, and 15-20 points within two years. At TenSquare’s partner schools in DC, between one-half and three-quarters of students are at-risk, and 12%-20% receive special education services.”

I have only highlighted the significant changes in PMF scores here and I do not want to take away from the great work that many of our city’s charters are doing to educate our children.  Here is the list a the top ranked charters.  Please do yourself a big favor and get your day off to an excellent start by reviewing the outstanding standings of these schools.

 

 

 

Fight Night D.C. 2018 was the place to be

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I have to give tremendous credit to Fight for Children CEO and President Keith Gordon and his team.  I don’t know how they do it, but each year Fight Night gets better and better and last Thursday night was no exception.  Please allow me to take you inside.

The gala started with the reception and silent auction.  This part of the evening has customarily served as the prelude to the main event inside the Washington Hilton’s ballroom.  However, the initial portion of the festivities has become more substantial, and now competes for utter enjoyment with the formal program.  First of all, several attendees commented to me positively regarding the Code of Conduct that greeted them at the entrance.  It was a classy touch that seemed perfectly appropriate in the wake of the #metoomovement that had the organizers replace the women hostesses in red gowns of previous years with male and female waiters in sports officiating attire.

In the middle of this hall was an elevated square stage with a disc jockey in the middle spinning high-energy tunes.  On each of the four corners were individuals in the waiter’s uniform providing interpretive dancing to the music.  Throughout the room were a plethora of open bars plus the availability of signature drinks from a wide variety of liquor purveyors.  Since I felt that my job as a reporter was to completely experience the offerings I tried the “Dominicana” from Brugal Rum.

The theme of the event was “Progress in Play” that echoed Fight for Children’s new strategic direction around supporting high-quality organized sports activities for low-income youth.  Therefore, found interspersed between the items for bid were placards highlighting the work of six recent grantees that support this mission, as well as other posters extolling the academic benefits of participating in athletic activities for students.  This information was also available on rotating basis on a gigantic screen located at the back of the room.

Naturally, professional team mascots filled the room such as Screech from the Nats.  Wizards cheerleaders posed for pictures with the attendees, and as has been the case recently, there were games that guests could play stationed along the perimeter while enjoying refreshments including hot dogs and hamburger sliders with hot pretzel nuggets.  Participants tried their hand at shooting baskets, sinking golf balls on a putting green, becoming a boxer hitting a punching bag, or driving hockey pucks into holes on a target.  One of the most fascinating was one station that used virtual reality to simulate being a batter at a baseball game.

At one point I ran into Hilary Darilek, the CEO of E.L. Hayne PCS.  I was excited that it was recently revealed that her high school and elementary school are ranked at Tier 1 on the DC Public Charter School Board’s Performance Management Framework and I congratulated her on this achievement.  I was also able to say hello to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.  In addition, I caught up with Fight for Children board chair Raul Fernandez, vice chairman and owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment.  He was obviously in a tremendously good mood.  “I want to sincerely thank everyone who comes here and supports our work,” Mr. Fernandez exclaimed.  “We are on year twenty nine and going strong.  We are really looking forward to our thirty year anniversary celebration in 2019.”

I also had the fortunate opportunity to speak to Michela English, past president and CEO of Fight for Children and current board member, who over a decade has been absolutely gracious to me.

Everyone at this sold-out black-tie fundraiser appeared to be having fun.  Soon it was time to move to the dining room.  I’ve described the appearance of this space so many times but it never fails to take my breath away.  The monitors everywhere you look, all of the well-dressed men and women who prefer socializing over taking their seats, and the center stage that also serves as the forum for boxing matches is almost too much for the senses to handle.  Here I found my friend Bret Baier, host of Special Report with Bret Baier on the Fox News Channel, who is also the chief political anchor for Fox.  Mr. Baier was close personally to Fight for Children founder Joseph E. Robert, Jr during Mr. Robert’s lifetime.  He was seated near Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States.  Mr. Robert had been instrumental in arranging a $150 million grant from the UAE to Children’s National Medical Center.  Standing next to us was Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd.

The meal that included a foot-long steak was excellent as always as were the Women’s Jr. Welterwight and USBA Jr. Welterweight championship bouts.   The schedule included a moving singing of the National Anthem by Caleb Green and Bob McDonald, performances by the New Century Dance Company, a live auction, and dinner music by E3.  During this period I sat for an extended period with Ward 7 Councilmember and former Mayor Vincent Gray.  We discussed the future of Anacostia regarding public education and healthcare.

Rapper FLO RIDA was the headline entertainer.  I had no idea who he was but that was not the case with the throngs of younger audience members.  The cell phones came out excitedly from the guests, and in addition to providing a high-energy spectacle, it appears from experience that the singer excels at taking selfies with his fans from the dais.

In all the event went off as if it was a fine-tuned symphony lead by a perfectly synchronized conductor.  Fight Night, since 1990, has raised for than $65 million for at-risk children.