The Future of D.C. Public Schools: Traditional or Charter Education?

On the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress, D.C. charters once again outperformed non-charters, according to an analysis by Todd Ziebarth, senior policy analyst for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Overall, Ziebarth said, D.C. charters -- like schools across the country serving low-income students -- produce subpar scores.

More than 70 percent of D.C. charter students are from low-income homes, compared with about 60 percent of students in traditional D.C. schools. And hidden behind the averages are individual charters that range from excellent to incompetent.

One middle school, the KIPP DC: KEY Academy in Southeast, has the highest test scores of any middle school in the city and has recorded some of the largest gains in achievement by low-income students in the nation.

But other charters have been plagued by fraud and mismanagement. For example, the New School for Enterprise and Development in Northeast had its charter revoked in the spring as charter officials and D.C. auditors raised questions about board member Charles E. Tate.

Tate, who also served as school president, was receiving an annual salary of $100,000 and had a contract that required the board to pay him $500,500 for work he had done before the school's 2000 opening. In addition to alleging financial improprieties, teachers and other staff members said the school's principal tried to alter transcripts to inflate academic performance. The school closed in June, shortly after it was raided by federal agents.

The problems extended into the classrooms, according to teachers and students, who described a school plagued by violence, disorganization and a lack of textbooks. Twelve percent of students tested "proficient" in reading, and 24.5 percent met that standard in math. The principal blamed the problem on the poor schools that students previously attended.

Then in July, the independent charter board closed Sasha Bruce, a school serving grades seven through 11 on Capitol Hill, saying the school had overspent its budget in three years and was projected to have a $150,000 deficit this year. Also, reading and math test scores didn't meet annual standards under federal law.

"The charters stink, too. That's what nobody wants to talk about," said Gina Arlotto, an activist whose children attend public schools on Capitol Hill and whose organization, Save Our Schools, is the lead plaintiff in the Two Rivers lawsuit. Parents with children in charters "are wearing it as a badge of honor -- 'Well, I'm going to the charter school' -- as if this was a really good decision. And, man, it's not. People really are choosing very blindly."

Working to Improve

Supporters argue that charters are spurring improvements in the traditional school system.

This spring, Janey and the Washington Teachers' Union signed a new contract with a number of innovations, including pilot programs at up to 10 schools where teachers will work longer hours and earn bonuses tied to student performance. Union officials said they agreed to the changes to help traditional schools compete with charters.

Meanwhile, KIPP's newest middle school charter, the WILL Academy, is sharing space with Montgomery Elementary in Northwest, where the two staffs will collaborate on teaching practices, discipline and curricula.