D.C.'s Charter Schools On the Outside Wanting In

Antwan Lowry expects to feel a little uncomfortable tonight sitting in the stands at Verizon Center. Three days ago, he clutched a trophy that said he and his teammates from Booker T. Washington Public Charter School in Northwest Washington were city champions.

How is Lowry going to reconcile watching tonight's City Title Game between the top-ranked Gonzaga boys' team of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, and No. 20 Theodore Roosevelt, the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association champion, knowing the District's top public school team might not be represented on the court?

"It's going to be real, real hard," Lowry said Saturday, moments after he led Booker T. Washington to a 68-62 victory over C¿sar Ch¿vez in the championship game of the Washington Charter School Athletic Association tournament. "We've gotten to be like back-seat riders. We can't get the same treatment as the DCIAA. Maybe we'll be equal one day. I hope so. We're the same. We're a public school."

Tonight's City Title games juxtapose the event's tradition, which dates from 1957, with the rapidly changing face of public education in the District. Charter schools continue to see their enrollments rise as those of public schools decline, yet charters remain ineligible to compete for a berth in the City Title or a DCIAA championships. The situation has raised concerns that the best public school basketball team might not be represented on the city's biggest stage.

"The long and short of it is, [charter schools are] part of the city's children," D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said. "We need to find a way to include the charter schools. It disenfranchises the children in the public charter system."

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee wrote in an e-mail: "I support charter schools having a full complement of extra-curricular activities for their students. I certainly also think that they should be included in postseason play amongst leagues."

Charter schools receive public funding but operate without DCPS supervision. Many coaches and administrators in DCPS believe the act of enrolling in a charter school, however, is a forfeiture of some of the benefits unique to DCPS, such as membership in the DCIAA.

"You can't have it both ways," said outgoing DCIAA executive director Allen Chin, who noted there is no way to include charter schools in the DCIAA's $3.188 million budget from DCPS, which funds competitive sports for students beginning in fourth grade.

But the numbers are changing. According to a report by the D.C. Council's Office of Policy Analysis, enrollment in the 146 D.C. public schools as of Oct. 5 was 50,270, while the city's 56 public charter schools housed 22,200 students. If the charter schools' enrollment grows at their current average rate of 13 percent annually, they will have more students than DCPS by 2014.

Don Cole, a residential real estate agent, recognized the need for charter athletes to have representation five years ago, when he formed the Washington Charter School Athletic Association before the 2002-03 basketball season. As the league's commissioner, Cole said each school pays him $3,600 each year to cover operating costs, such as facilities, insurance and referees.

The league is sanctioned by the National Federation of State High School Associations, but Cole acknowledges that self-regulation continues to be a concern.

"That's one of the biggest issues we have -- governance," Cole said. "We don't want a 15-year-old playing against grown men."