Month: March 2019

FOCUS Gala 2019: Building Our Future

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My wife Michele and I were extremely fortunate to be able to attend last Thursday evening the 2019 FOCUS Gala held at the elegant North Hall of the Eastern Market. The rain was coming down in cold cylindrical pellets outside but inside the space was warm from all the handshakes and hugs given and received from men and women who for years have worked day in and day out to transform public education in the nation’s capital.

Inducted in the FOCUS Hall of Fame on this night were David Domenici and James Forman Jr., co-founders in 1997 of Maya Angelou Public Charter Schools and The See Forever Foundation. They were provided with plaques from Irene Holtzman, FOCUS’s executive director, but in a sense there is no amount of recognition that would be too high for these individuals. We know that many charters enrolls students that other schools have found it impossible to educate, however Maya Angelou takes this mission to an entirely singular level. This school teaches those that have been in jail. From the school’s website, as described by the Washington Post:

“In the District of Columbia, Maya Angelou Public Charter School reaches out to students who have experienced substantial trauma in their lives by maintaining contacts with probation officers, social workers, special education advocates and community groups. Classes are small, expectations are high and a range of supportive services is in place to help kids make it.”

One of the schools that it manages actually sits inside D.C.’s long-term juvenile prison. In 2007, Mr. Domenici, after serving for a decade as both principal and executive director of Maya Angelou schools, became this facility’s founding principal. The narrative about Mr. Forman contained in the event’s glossy brochure states that the school, “which had been an abysmal failure, has been transformed under the leadership of the Maya Angelou staff; the court monitor overseeing D.C.’s juvenile system called the turnaround ‘extraordinary.'”

Also joining the esteemed group of individuals that comprise the Hall of Fame was Dr. Ramona Edelin, the long-time executive director of the DC Association of Chartered Public Schools. Her words on receiving this award are still echoing in my mind:

“We are under attack. If you don’t know it, please tune in to the mobilization that is taking place right now to avoid the erosion of your visions. The erosion of your autonomy. The erosion of the methodology you have chosen to make real – the promise you have given to your school family, your students, their families and the communities of which you serve. That’s what we are here for – that’s what I am here for. I am here for you because you do that better in the District of Columbia than anyone else does. Thank you. This is a centuries old struggle. It is not new. None of the obstacles, none of the issues will be a new one if you know your history. But we’re on the precipice of real change. You are having stunning success with the same students everybody else in this nation is ringing their hands and saying, “oh my, what can we do with them.” Well they were us, they are we and you know that and you are training, educating, developing leadership and making an impact. Now we need you to also answer a call to advocacy and policy when needed. It’s our job. We will do it. Everyday, day in and day out. But there are those times – and this is one of them – when we need you to join with us in that struggle. Let me just end with the words of the movement right now, ‘STAY WOKE.'”

Yes, we are under attack; from the unions, the press, politicians, and traditional school supporters. It has not been this bad since our local movement started over two decades ago. And what exactly are we being disparaged for doing? Here is how Maya Angelou characterizes its graduates:

  • Positive contributors to their families, communities and society
  • Young adults who possess mental-toughness and the skill-sets to be successful
  • Progress in future academic endeavors and compete in the work force
  • Leaders and change agents who will have the ability to compete in an ever changing society and beyond
  • Young adults who desire to excel and who are self-reliant
  • Young adults who are college and career-ready
  • Matured to become a well-rounded, culturally-aware adult
  • Adults who appreciate diversity
  • Self-sufficient members of society
  • Able to compete academically in an ever-changing environment

Enough is really enough.

Bowser administration admits that DCPS revenue outside of UPSFF is illegal

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser released her proposed 2020 budget this week and it has some good news for charter schools. First, she is requesting that the charter school per pupil facility fund be increased another 2.2 percent to $3,335. This would be the second year in a row that this number would go up by this proportion. The jump is important, because as Two Rivers PCS’s executive director Jessica Wodatch explained at last night’s 2019 FOCUS Gala, the cost of construction in the nation’s capital is rising tremendously.

Still, I’m not quite sure about the Mayor’s strategy here. It seems like instead of turning over vacant DCPS buildings to charters she is encouraging them to rent space in the commercial real estate market. Wouldn’t it be preferable to have these schools lease from the city instead of turning taxpayer money over to developers? What am I missing?

In addition, the mayor’s budget blueprint also has the per pupil expenditure rising by 2.2 percent. However, Irene Holtzman, FOCUS’s executive director, stated that this number is insufficient:

“FOCUS is pleased that Mayor Bowser delivered on her commitment to increase the facilities allotment for public charter schools by 2.2 percent. The predictability of facilities funding is crucial to public charter schools as they plan to make needed improvements to their buildings or lease facilities to accommodate their student bodies. This is a wise long-term investment that helps ensure that the nearly 50 percent of students attending public charter schools have buildings that enhance, rather than hinder, their experience.
 
Simultaneously, we are concerned that the increase to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF) falls short of the needs of all D.C.’s students. The 2.2 percent increase in the base UPSFF does not keep pace with the District’s funding pressures or inflation, and increases the gap between the current level of funding and the city’s own definition of funding adequacy as defined in the 2013 report Cost of Student Achievement: Report of the DC Education Adequacy Study.
 
In addition, a broad coalition of advocates for children and youth have been working diligently to ensure that our schools have the mental health supports they need to manage the level of trauma experienced by our students. Not increasing the funding to support at-risk students  will leave schools scrambling to ensure that our most vulnerable students have the supports they need to be successful in school.
 
We urge the D.C. Council to remedy this gap in funding by making at least a 3 percent increase in the UPSFF, and, better yet, funding a 4 percent increase that, if followed annually, could get DC to ‘funding adequacy’ in five years. In addition, Council should prioritize increasing the at-risk weight to enable schools to continue to grow and strengthen the wraparound supports we know our students both need and deserve.”

I did some poking around the budget and I stumbled on something fascinating. Embedded in the document is an admission from the Mayor that all public funding for both charters and the traditional schools must come through the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula. Here is the exact language:

“The District’s public charter schools receive Local funding through the UPSFF. This system of funding was established by the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 and was designed to ensure that all public schools across the District receive the same level of funding on a per-student basis, regardless of what neighborhood the school is in or where students live. The UPSFF is intended to cover all local education agency operational costs for District public schools including school-based instruction, student classroom support, utilities, administration, custodial services, and instructional support, such as curriculum and testing. The UPSFF is based on a foundation amount, which is then enhanced according to different weights for higher-cost grade levels and supplemental funding weights for students with special needs. The FY2020 UPSFF foundation increased 2.2% from $10,658 per pupil to $10,891 per pupil. The average cost per student, based on the proposed enrollment of 44,486 and a proposed gross budget of $898,494,213, is $20,197.”

In other words, the very argument that charters have been making for years that is contained in the FOCUS engineered funding inequity lawsuit against the city is affirmed in the administration’s own budget. Can we now settle this thing and reimburse charters for the approximately $100 million a year in revenue provided to DCPS that the other sector did not receive?

What is the next step?

Exclusive interview with Wendy Edwards, executive director Early Childhood Academy PCS

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I had the great pleasure recently of visiting Early Childhood Academy PCS and sitting down for a conversation with the school’s executive director Wendy Edwards.  Ms. Edwards explained that ECA started in 2005.  She informed me that the Ward 8 charter is currently leasing space in two different small community centers with two different landlords.  One was built by former D.C. City Councilmember H.R. Crawford and is now managed by his son.  The Walter Washington Estates is located behind the school.  Ms. Edwards detailed that both locations of the school were opened simultaneously.  She recounted that the charter began with 110 students in grades pre-Kindergarten three and pre-Kindergarten four. The school has added a grade a year and now goes up to the third grade.  Approximately 254 students are currently enrolled at Early Childhood Academy PCS; one hundred percent of the children qualify for free or reduced meals.

This was the perfect time to pay a visit to ECA since the charter is currently building a brand-new permanent facility.  It is a fantastic story.  The Menkiti Group, a developer located in the Brookland community of Northeast D.C., purchased the long-vacant Johenning Baptist Church so that ECA could have a permanent home.  The situation reminds me of the Ezra Company that acquired abandoned warehouses at 705 and 707 Edgewood Street, N.E., so that the William E. Doar, Jr. PCS for the Performing Arts and D.C. Prep PCS, respectively, could operate at these locations.  Ms. Edwards wanted me to know that Karl Jentoft of TenSquare Consulting, was a tremendous help in securing the $19 million dollars in loans, including New Market Tax Credits, to secure this property and construct an addition.  She is also grateful for the great support from CityFirst and Chase National Banks.  The property will be a 38,000-square-foot facility and hold 300 students.  Since the new headquarters is located directly next door to one of the current classroom buildings, Ms. Edwards and I were able to take a walk over to observe the progress.  It is extremely impressive.  The new school, which ECA will own, will open this summer.

On our way back from the construction site I asked Ms. Edwards about the difficulties of teaching children living in poverty.  “Yes,” the head of ECA replied, “it definitely brings its own challenges.  If you are not able to tap into the social and emotional needs of the child, you will not get anywhere academically.  Many of these children have high ACE (Adverse Childhood Event) scores.  You must have a holistic approach with them.  Our staff has received Positive Behavior Facilitation training developed by Dr. Edna Olive.  But here is the bottom line.  It is your relationship with the child that dictates your bond with the child.  Your values and convictions drive the connection.  You have to be cognizant of who you are and your belief system.  If you don’t accept that these kids can learn like any other child, then it is not going to work.”

I then wanted to know more about Ms. Edwards.  “I came from DCPS beginning in 1978,” Ms. Edwards detailed.  “I’ve played a variety of roles.  I was an elementary school teacher, a special education coordinator, and an assistant principal.  I concluded my time with DCPS as the assistant principal of Raymond Elementary School in Northwest D.C.  In 2005, I learned that Early Childhood Academy had just been chartered and was seeking a head of school. I was hired as the founding principal.  The charter was actually opened by the Nation’s Capital Child and Family Development Center (NCCFD). At that time, NCCFD operated several Head Start programs throughout the city. We parted ways in 2007.  In 2010 I became the executive director and Thann Ingraham was promoted to principal.  I never thought that I would leave DCPS, but this opportunity has been absolutely perfect for me.” 

Our discussion then turned to learning from Ms. Edwards what her greatest challenge was once she transitioned into the executive director role.

“The biggest challenge,” Ms. Edwards answered without hesitation, “was comprehending that each charter school is a self-contained small business.  We had to be respectful of the public money we received and utilize it appropriately.  There were so many decisions to be made, it was really unbelievable.  I absolutely love the autonomy.” 

When I asked Ms. Edwards about her greatest accomplishment, she was also ready with a response.  “My greatest satisfaction,” the head of Early Childhood stated, “has been building a strong administrative team.  Most of these individuals have been with me for a decade; our current principal has been at ECA since we opened in 2005.”  Ms. Edwards added, “I’m confident this is why our school has been ranked as Tier 1 the last several years.  We have grown from where we were in 2005 but we have also had a lot of leadership stability.  The message has not changed over this period.  We want to provide developmentally appropriate models for our children.  Our goal is to teach the whole child.  Toward that end we want to attract teachers who have passion, compassion, and are smart.  We will then support them in continuing to mature and develop as instructors.”

I then requested of Ms. Edwards to provide me with other reasons for her school’s success.  “We talk about values a lot with the staff and with the children,” Ms. Edwards asserted.  “We know that you cannot talk about positive values if you do not display them.  The kids will pick up on this fact.  Kindness, respect, being able to politely express differences, these are hard lessons for our kids.  Our students don’t always come from neighborhoods where people talk things out instead of acting things out.”

“One of our efforts,” the ECA executive director opined, “is that we want our pupils to be in school.  Toward that end we provide free breakfast, free lunch, and a free snack for aftercare for all of our students.  Some of our parents didn’t grasp at first that their children needed to be here every day, especially in pre-Kindergarten.  For some parents, education did not serve them very well, so they don’t understand the importance of a good education for their children.  We are dealing with a very transient population.  About 45 of our families are homeless.  Others will change residences from the District to Maryland and back to the District again.”

Ms. Edwards revealed that the staff at the school will do whatever they can for the students.  “We have school uniforms,” Ms. Edwards remarked.  “But if the children come in without them we will provide them.  We also buy them for some families.”

Early Childhood Academy has two teachers for each classroom that range from a low of 13 children in a pre-Kindergarten class to 28 students per classroom in the third grade.  Differentiated learning is applied to all grade levels, according to Ms. Edwards.  “There is whole group and small group instruction in both reading and math,” the executive director offered.  “Every day between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. the Response to Intervention period is implemented in all classrooms, during which time most students complete activities reinforcing previously taught standards, while struggling students are provided with targeted instruction.”

In other words, according to Ms. Edwards, “when you work at Early Childhood Academy, you are sort of all in.”

Eerie quiet at monthly meeting of D.C. charter board

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Last night’s meeting of the D.C. Public Charter School Board can only be described as strange. Missing from the public comment segments of the last few months were the throngs of people supporting the teachers’ union from Cesar Chavez PCS’s Prep campus passionately demanding that the charter board force its schools to adhere to open meeting and Freedom of Information Request laws. I do not even think Christian Herr, the Prep teacher behind the collective bargaining agreement effort, was in attendance. It was as if the decision to close two Chavez schools and pass a transparency policy lacking two key components was a fait accompli. The charter school opponents must have decided that their time was better spent before the National Labor Relations Board or in front of the D.C. Council trying to place their stamp on the transparency legislation being introduced today by Charles Allen.

The session started with a longer than usual introduction by board chair Rick Cruz. He has now been in his volunteer position for one year. Mr. Cruz announced that his organization has received 11 applications to open new schools in the 2020-to-2021 school year, a gigantic increase over previous cycles. He said that in April there would be presentations by each of these groups. Mr. Cruz also informed the audience that last Friday a group of students from National Collegiate Preparatory PCS had come to the PCSB headquarters in an effort to reverse the decision to shutter their school. The board chair stated that he appreciated their efforts but that they could not now change a ruling that was based upon the poor academic performance this school has demonstrated over its history.

Lastly, Mr. Cruz revealed that the term is coming to an end for board member Don Soifer who had joined this body in December 2008. I have always greatly appreciated Mr. Soifer’s thoughtful and respectful questions of school representatives, and his strong defense of the autonomy of our local charter school movement.

At the conclusion of Mr. Cruz’s comments the board navigated through its agenda with few delays or detours. The most interesting part to me was the discussion around Friendship PCS’s takeover of WEDJ PCS. It turns out that this is not the typical assumption of management of one LEA by another as we have seen, for instance, with Friendship PCS’s decision to acquire IDEAL PCS. What is transpiring in this case is that the arts-integrated program of City Arts and Prep PCS is being transitioned over to Friendship’s Armstrong campus, along with many of its arts staff. Friendship will do this without needing to request an enrollment ceiling as it has space to incorporate the students from the site that is being closed. The move will result in some extremely fortunate charter being able to move into a truly beautiful school building at 705 Edgewood Street, N.E.

As foreshadowed, the discussion around the plan by Cesar Chavez PCS to close two campuses and consolidate high school students at its Parkside site was anti-climatic. With hardly a whimper the board unanimously went along with the plan, and just like that the first charter school in the nation’s capital to become unionized will become history this June.

Also passed without objection was the revised school transparency policy.

The longest dialog of the night involved an agreed-upon notice of truancy concern issued against Ingenuity Prep PCS. There is a recognized issue at this Ward 8 elementary school around ensuring that kids show up for class each day. It was mentioned by Aaron Cuny, a co-founder of the school and past CEO, when I interviewed him last October, and it was admitted to yesterday by the other co-founder and interim head Will Stoetzer present with board chair Peter Winik. I have to say that the school’s leadership gave little sign that they have a handle on this problem despite the expressed desire of this charter to reverse its slowly declining Performance Management Framework scores and become a Tier 1 facility so that it can replicate. The situation calls for the creation of a solid action plan that incorporates strategies utilized by other institutions teaching this highly at-risk population of kids.

In April comes the review of new school applications.

D.C. public charter board staff goes along with changes at Chavez PCS; chastising the way it was done

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Tonight the DC Public Charter School Board is scheduled to take a final vote on the proposal by Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy to close its Capitol Hill High School and Prep Middle School campuses and consolidate its students at its Parkside High School location. The current Parkside Middle School will close at the end of next year due to low academic performance. The highly controversial move would eliminate the only unionized charter school in the District when Chavez Prep closes its doors.

The PCSB staff is in support of the decision by the school’s board of directors. They write:

• “It is within the school’s exclusive control to close campuses provided the school’s enrollment ceiling is commensurately reduced.

• It is within the school’s exclusive control to reconfigure campuses provided it remains within its enrollment ceiling and serves grades for which the local education agency (LEA) has been approved to serve.

• The amendments to the charter are technical and conforming changes that ensure the school’s charter reflects actions taken by the school that are within its exclusive control.”

While the charter has the authority to make these changes, the PCSB is not too happy about the way it has been carried out. It takes note of the public testimony against the campus consolidation and closures, and makes the following recommendation:

“As noted in the testimony, and further described below, the Cesar Chavez PCS board’s decision was made late and without any opportunity for community input. While this is within the school’s prerogative, the DC PCSB Board may wish to express through a resolution its disapproval of the manner in which the decision was taken, while taking note of the extraordinary time and effort invested by the school’s volunteer board as it sought alternatives to insolvency.” The staff continues:

“The LEA faces financial challenges, as further described later in this memo. The campus closure and reconfiguration decisions and communications were very close to the My School DC lottery deadlines of February 1, 2019 for high school applicants and March 1, 2019 for PK-8 applicants. This timing was difficult for families, as they were forced to evaluate other school options and make decisions for a new school in a minimal time frame. However, rising 9th, 10th, 11th and 12 grade students from both Chavez Prep and Capitol Hill are allowed to re-enroll directly into Parkside, rather than enter the lottery. DC PCSB enrollment specialists began working with families at both campuses on January 25, 2019.”

The proposed charter amendment that will be considered this evening includes an enrollment ceiling decrease from 947 to 847 students. It would also allow Chavez to re-open a middle school at the Parkside location beginning with the 2020-to-2021 school term, starting with the sixth grade only for that year.

In response to questions late last month from Ward 1 D.C. Coucilmember Brianne Nadeau about the lack of transparency and whether Chavez Prep could stay open another year to seek an alternative to closure, PCSB executive director Scott Pearson wrote back:

“We asked the board about the option of keeping Parkside Middle open for an additional year and were told that the school’s dire financial condition, caused by high debt and low enrollment, would not permit this option. We also asked about the reasons for the last minute decision and the lack of transparency around the making of this decision. The school’s board replied that they had been in difficult negotiations up to the final hour with the school’s bondholders over the school’s risk of default, and pursued every possible avenue to avoid foreclosure on the entire LEA. The school’s board reported that they were reluctant to make these deliberations public given the destabilization of enrollment and staff that they feared would occur as a result.”

The Chavez board has made the right decision in order to protect the future existence of the school. This charter management organization has been having academic difficulties for years and is now at risk of defaulting on its loans. It appears that it expanded too fast without first developing a deep bench of leadership capacity, a pattern we have unfortunately seen repeated many times within our sector.

Friendship PCS to takeover WEDJ PCS

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Three sources confirmed yesterday that Friendship PCS will be taking over City Arts and Prep PCS in the fall. The former William E. Doar, Jr. PCS for the Performing Arts (WEDJ), City Arts lost its charter last December when it failed to meet its Performance Management Framework target after demonstrating a weak academic track record for years. As a founding board member of the school and its chair for four years, I watched as a charter that started with so much promise fell apart not only in the classroom but also at the management level. This is definitely an institution with nine lives as it traveled a path that began initially with it being led by Mr. Doar’s daughter Julie, to an engagement with TenSquare Consulting, and even included a stint with John Goldman as its executive director, the gentleman who went on to work for the DC Public Charter School Board until he ran into trouble over blog posts written under an alias. Its recent history included the most vigorous defense yet by the legal team of the Stephen Marcus firm, with a claim of bias of the PMF against at-risk children, and it was in fact Mr. Marcus who negotiated the initial lease for its Edgewood N.E. location with Fred Ezra of the Ezra Company. At one point the school operated on two campuses and included a high school, teaching as many as 660 students. The current elementary and middle school has about 430 pupils.

It appears that the focus on the arts will be maintained at the new Friendship location. Let’s hope that the school is also able to keep its current highly impressive executive director Lanette Dailey-Reese.

The move by Friendship demonstrates for all to see the stamp that its dynamic and kind chief executive officer Patricia Brantley plans to place on the charter management organization. It was also this year that Friendship agreed to takeover IDEAL Academy PCS beginning next term, adding about 300 students to the 4,200 it already instructs. Five out of its current 12 campuses are ranked as Tier 1 on the PMF, the most in its history. Therefore, the recent moves are making the future strategic direction of Friendship clear. It will continue to expand in the belief that bringing more children under its umbrella will greatly improve the quality of a public education in the nation’s capital.

I’m sure Donald Hense is smiling right now.

Reaction to D.C. Councilmember Allen’s charter school transparency bill has been highly disappointing

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It is less than 24 hours since D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen announced he was introducing a bill to sidestep efforts by the DC Public Charter Board to increase the transparency of information available about the schools it oversees. The PCSB is set to vote on its version of a new policy as soon as this coming Monday. But at the urging of EmpowerED DC, a group which apparently over the last three-quarters of a year has been trying to impose open meeting and FOIA laws on our city’s charters, together with the American Federation of Teachers, Mr. Allen could not find a way to respect the work of the nation’s leading charter school authorizer and felt the need to circumvent their efforts. In the aftermath of his decision, I’m frankly disheartened by the reaction of our city’s charter public policy leaders.

Cordilia James and Ingalisa Schrobsdorff of WAMU state that the charter board referred to Mr. Allen’s proposed legislation as “misguided,” adding that it “fails to take into account the extraordinary transparency measures already taken by the Public Charter School Board … Nothing in this bill will help close the achievement gap, reduce the number of students living in poverty, or reduce truancy. We support a smart, reasonable approach that provides the transparency parents need, but does not divert school efforts, attention, and funds away from educating students.”

Next up is Irene Holtzman, the executive director of FOCUS. She commented, according to the WAMU reporters, “We’re already funded at just 70 percent of traditional public schools. Another unfunded mandate is unreasonable. Where is the focus on outcomes? How will these requirements help parents or anyone else evaluate how effectively and equitably all our public schools are serving students?”

It appears from these quotes that people are simply trying to change the subject. There is only one point that needs to be made at this crucial moment: stay out of our business. The School Reform Act is clear. The PCSB oversees charter schools in the nation’s capital. This is not the job of the Mayor, and certainly does not fall under the purview of the D.C. Council.

Perhaps the reaction to Mr. Allen’s law is a symptom of what is wrong with our local movement. By law, the city must turn over surplus DCPS facilities to charters, but when it refuses to do so there are no consequences. Charters are required to receive funding equal to the traditional schools through the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula. When this does not occur we reluctantly bring a lawsuit while prioritizing collaboration with the same individuals and groups who are biding their time setting up roadblocks in our ability to care for our students.

Where is Robert Cane when you need him?

Councilmember Allen aligns himself with teachers’ union fighting to end D.C.’s charter school movement

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Today, D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen will declare his intention to introduce a bill that among other things will force charter schools to comply with open meeting and Freedom of Information Act regulations. He will announce his legislation, the Public School Transparency Amendment Act of 2019, on the steps of the Wilson Building at 10:30 a.m., and will be joined by none other than Christian Herr, the Cesar Chavez Prep PCS science teacher who was behind the disastrous move to unionize the Bruce Building campus. Checking the Chavez calendar demonstrates that school is in session on this Wednesday. In fact, this week is Prep’s spirit celebration. I guess Mr. Herr is playing hooky.

The proposed law contains other requirements intentionally included to divert charter school attention from their mission of providing a world-class education to children, most of whom are living in poverty and are at risk of not making it alive to their eighteenth year.

Here a few disgusting nuggets:

  • Charter school boards must include two teachers and, in high schools and adult learning schools, must add a student;
  • Charter schools must include a list of all contracts in their annual reports;
  • The DC Public Charter School Board must make public all contracts initiated by its schools that are over $25,000 and therefore subject to a request for proposal, to include the vendor selected, and the reason behind the choice. It also removes an exemption for schools, requiring them to issue an RFP for contracting with management organizations. This provision is implicitly directed at the union’s declared enemy TenSquare Consulting but the unintended consequence of this rule will be to strongly discourage high performing CMO’s to come to our city;
  • Annual reports of charter schools must include the amount of money donated to a charter school by name when the contribution is over $500. Currently, those giving over $500 must be listed by name but not the specific number of dollars gifted; and
  • Charter schools must list the names of all employees and their salaries, also in the annual report.

A highly interesting bit of information about the draft directives is that they are a complete surprise to chairman Phil Mendelson and education committee chairman David Grosso.

Mr. Allen seems to know that he is doing something unseemly. In his press release about today’s event he writes, “Still, recognizing that charter schools are structured and run differently than traditional schools, the bill includes measures to evaluate any administrative challenges so the Council and the Mayor can adjust in future years.”

The evaluation he is referring to is just another unfunded mandate on charters. The initial year this statute is in effect, schools would need to report to the Council the number of FOIA requests they have received and the expenses related to complying with them.

The one glaring advantage charters have in this situation is that the D.C. Council has no authority over them in regards to the specifics of Mr. Allen’s rules. So now this representative has drawn a red line in the sand over the self-determination granted to charters as part of the 1995 School Reform Act.

Who will be brave enough to defend charter school autonomy once and for all. FOCUS? The DCPCSB? Education Forward DC? CityBridge Education? Charter Board Partners? PAVE? Democrats for Education Reform?

Those of us who believe in educational freedom will be watching.

U.S. Education Secretary offers freedom to America’s students

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Last week, United States Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced the introduction of legislation in Congress by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Alabama Congressman Bradley Byrne to create federal Education Freedom Scholarships. The scholarships would allow individuals and businesses to make a financial contribution to a state nonprofit that would award these dollars to students for tuition or other expenses to fund their elementary or secondary school education. Those making contributions to these nonprofit entities would receive a dollar for dollar reduction in their federal tax obligation.

As stated in USA today, Ms. DeVos, Mr. Cruz, and Mr. Byrne explain the rationale behind their proposed law entitled the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act.

“We recognize that each student is unique and deserves an education personalized for them. Scholarships could help students access a whole menu of opportunities, including dual enrollment, special education services, advanced or elective courses not available in their assigned school buildings, transportation to out-of-zone opportunities, among many others. All Americans need to be equipped for successful careers, and vital workforce preparation is in high demand. That’s why students could use scholarships to access career and technical education and apprenticeships, as well.”

They also explain in their commentary why a new approach is necessary regarding the education of our children:

“Today, too many young Americans are denied those opportunities. The numbers tell a grave story. We’re 24th in reading, 25th in science and 40th in math when compared with the rest of the world.

That’s not because our students aren’t capable of being No. 1. They are. But our government’s antiquated approach to education limits their ability to achieve their true potential.

A series of administrations on both sides of the aisle have tried to fill in the blank with more money and more control, each time expecting a different result.”

The plan is exactly the one that was promoted by Joseph Overton, a friend who was the senior vice-president at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy before he died in a plane crash in 2003. It comes a few days after the birthday of Joseph E. Robert, Jr., the Washington D.C. area businessman and philanthropist who was a major proponent of the nation’s capital’s Opportunity Scholarship Program. Mr. Robert passed away at the end of 2011. The OSP, since being establishment by Congress in 2009, has provided scholarships to private schools for kids living in poverty in the nation’s capital.

The main driver behind the act is freedom, which is what has led to all of the major accomplishments in this world. The authors’ write:

“The key element of the proposal is freedom for all involved. Eligible students, families, teachers and schools, as determined by their states — all can participate at will and any can elect not to participate if that’s the better choice for them. This is what freedom is all about.”

 

Exclusive interview with Deborah Dantzler Williams, head of school, Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School

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When I first entered this Ward 5 charter’s permanent home, the third space that it has occupied, the atmosphere seemed different from many of the other schools I have visited.  Children were everywhere.  The pupils were moving, and talking, and sitting, and eating.  The activity level was high.  Obviously contributing to my perception was that school had just let out and aftercare activities were starting.  But please take it from me; this was not the strict and orderly silence that has greeted me upon my arrival to several other classroom buildings.  I was immediately intrigued to know more about the educational approach of the adults leading these students.

I was soon greeted by Ms. Deborah Dantzler Williams, Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS’s head of school.  The first thing Ms. Williams did upon meeting me was to bring me to a board located in the school’s lobby containing pictures of the staff.  She is extremely proud of the diversity of the school’s team.  Ms. Williams explained that diversity is an intentional goal for the student body as well as for the employees.

Ms. Williams then filled me in regarding her past professional career.  She has over 30 years’ experience as a teacher and administrator in some of the Washington, D.C.’s finest private schools, including Beauvoir and Sidwell Friends.  Along the way she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Sociology from Howard University, a Master’s Degree in City/Urban Community and Regional Planning from the same school, and a Master’s of Organizational Leadership at the Teachers College of Columbia University.  She enjoyed all of her instructional experiences but wanted to have an impact in some of the schools that were instructing more typical D.C. students, such as those living in poverty.  An associate of hers went to work for a small 20-year-old nonprofit named The Center for Inspired Teaching and spoke to her about coming along.  The organization provides professional development, leadership training, and an Office of the State Superintendent approved teacher certification program specializing in placing the child at the center of all educational efforts.  Ms. Williams joined the group as its director for strategic partnerships.

The Center for Inspired Teaching provides a teacher residency that covers two years, the first year residents are placed in DCPS and public charter schools working directly with a Master Teacher, and the second year residents lead their own classrooms with the support of a mentor. When a school accepts a resident, the Center often encourages it to add another so that there is more synergy around the pedagogical philosophy utilized by Inspired Teaching.  A question that naturally arose out of the program was whether an entire school made up of Inspired Teaching-trained teachers would succeed.  Since Inspired Teaching is focused on a methodology around engagement, it was only natural that it would eventually seek to create its own school.  In 2010, the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School was chartered by the DC Public Charter School Board after the Center brought together a founding group.  Ms. Williams has been its head of school from the beginning.

Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS opened its doors with 137 students in seven classrooms from Pre-Kindergarten three to the third grade.  While it utilizes the Common Core Curriculum, it concentrates, according to Ms. Williams, “solely on the needs of the students by emphasizing wonder, experiment, and learning.”  There are now approximately 470 students, with about one thousand on its waiting list.  It is no secret why so many families want to send their kids here.  When looking at its results on the DC Public Charter School’s Performance Management Framework, the score has risen for each of the four years that it has been evaluated.  Since the 2016-to-2017 term it has been ranked as a Tier 1 institution.

But test scores are not the only reason for this school’s popularity.  Ms. Williams detailed, “We are committed to diversity and equity among our students.” As a demonstration school, Ms. Williams related, Inspired Teaching offers a progressive style of education based upon the following principles:

  • Children are inherently good and have an innate desire to learn
  • Every child can be successful in school
  • Children’s energy, unique talents, and individuality are assets, not obstacles.
  • Every student possesses the ability to think critically, learn and understand information, and solve complex problems
  • Every student should spend their time in school engaged primarily in these kinds of activities

The standards-based curriculum, the head of school informed me, is based upon the four “I’s” of Intellect, Inquiry, Imagination, and Integrity.  “You will hear kids’ voices when you come into the school,” Ms. Williams boasted.  “You will see them moving.  We believe that children need validation for who they are as individuals.  We show the students that they have power and we want them to invest it here in their education.  We want them to understand the benefit of the methods we are using to further their learning.” 

 Ms. Williams is especially proud of the teaching residents from the Center for Inspired Learning.  She says that the Inspired Teaching Charter School currently has eight residents that are paired with Master Teachers.  These residents also have a mentor based at The Center for Inspired Teaching.  The head of school detailed that after these residents are in the classroom for about six weeks, they gradually begin to pick up responsibilities delegated by the Master Teachers such as running the morning meetings.  Ms. Williams stated that there is a rigorous process in place for selection of those that want to become residents.  All are interviewed so that an understanding can be gained about their approach toward working with students.  For example, an interview question might be “tell us about an interaction with children that demonstrates your philosophy toward them?”

The Inspired Teaching head of school stated that there are currently 10 residents in the program, and approximately 65 who have completed the program and are still in the field teaching.  One particularly positive aspect of the residency is that after the teachers complete their two years of training they are eligible to earn a Master’s Degree from Trinity University. 

Ms. Williams remarked that at the school there are generally two classes per grade Pre-Kindergarten three through sixth grade, and  one class currently in the seventh and eighth grades.  You will typically find two adults, including a master teacher and a resident, in a class of 25 students.  But this is hardly the rule. “There may be other educators in the classroom depending upon the unique needs of the students,” Ms. Williams instructed.

Ms. Williams is a Washington native whose children were also educated in this city.  She and her husband live in the house she grew up in.  Her entire professional life has been dedicated to preparing the successive generations of children to be successful in this world.  The Inspired Teaching Head of School informed me that she is not through making improvements in the way kids are taught.  “We are still honing our craft,” Ms. Williams stated, “and therefore our team will continue to work hard to place our children at the center of what we do on a daily basis.”