More Poor Results For Charter Schools; Janey to Intervene

Legality of Chief's Plan Is Questioned

Only one of the D.C. Board of Education's 13 public charter school campuses reached academic targets in both reading and math, prompting Superintendent Clifford B. Janey yesterday to announce his intention to intervene and mandate remedial steps to improve scores.

Janey's proposal to introduce and oversee special programs at 42 troubled charter school campuses was immediately denounced by charter school advocates as illegal. They assert that the law authorizes the Board of Education and a second chartering agency -- not the superintendent -- to manage the publicly funded, independently run schools.

The plan could exacerbate a heated debate over whether the school board should relinquish its role of authorizing and monitoring charter schools. But Janey said so many schools had mediocre scores that drastic steps are needed.

Data released yesterday showed generally dismal results for charter school students. Only the Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers Public Charter School in Northwest Washington made adequate yearly progress in reading and math on the April assessment. The Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Northwest made adequate progress in reading. The 11 other campuses overseen by the school board made adequate progress in neither subject.

The results are similar to scores posted recently by the traditional public school system and schools under the second chartering agency, a shortfall some school officials attribute in part to a new, more rigorous exam. In the traditional system, 118 of 146 schools failed to make adequate progress, as did 30 of 34 campuses overseen by the D.C. Public Charter School Board.

Applicants for charter schools may seek authorization from either the Board of Education or the Charter School Board. The two boards monitor the schools they charter and can close those failing academically and financially.

Janey has authority over charter schools as chief state schools officer, a role typically held by a state school superintendent overseeing local school districts. He said he intends to introduce teacher training programs and quarterly assessments at the 42 troubled charter campuses overseen by both authorities. He also said he would monitor improvement plans drafted by principals and teachers and put one of the Board of Education charter schools on a year-round calendar.

"I want to get much more involved in the charter schools authorized by the Board of Education," Janey said in an interview. Peter G. Parham, Janey's chief of staff, later said the superintendent intends to intervene in all troubled charter schools.

"This will happen in October," Janey said. "We will have an approach consistent with what we do with [failing schools] in DCPS as a school system."

Robert Cane, executive director of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools, a charter school advocacy organization, questioned whether Janey has the legal authority to do that. The charter school law, he said, gives oversight power only to the authorizing board.

"This is illegal, and we'll fight against that," Cane said. Moreover, he added, "It is unethical for the superintendent to involve himself in the operation of a charter school with which he competes."

The debate over the school system's dual roles and its authority over charter schools ignited during the summer.

In June, the school board imposed a moratorium on charter school applications and decided to start discussing whether to relinquish its authority over charter schools. Some members have agreed with criticism by the U.S. Government Accountability Office that the board lacks the resources and expertise to supervise charters.

This year, the board closed the Jos-Arz Therapeutic Public Charter School, and the board's charter school office is under federal investigation into possible misuse of public funds. Brenda L. Belton, who headed the office and is the target of the investigation, is on paid administrative leave.

In July, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation requiring the school board to give up state-level functions, including setting proficiency levels.

Sponsors of the legislation, who serve on the D.C. appropriations subcommittee, said they acted because of the school system's designation in April by the U.S. Department of Education as "high-risk" for mismanaging federal money and because of concerns that the dual role is a conflict of interest. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this fall.

School board member JoAnne Ginsberg, who serves on a committee overseeing charter schools, said Janey's proposal for charter schools is not a takeover.

"We have schools that need help now," she said.