| Page 2 of 2 < |
D.C.'s Charter Schools On the Outside Wanting In
Gonzaga sophomore Tyler Thornton and his teammates get a shot at a city title Tuesday while WCSAA champion Booker T. Washington finds itself without a shot at the D.C. crown.
(Joel Richardson - TWP)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Cole said he has instituted eligibility rules comparable to the DCIAA's -- players cannot turn 19 before July 1 of the subsequent school year, and they have eight consecutive semesters to complete their eligibility.
But even as the WCSAA works to improve its standing, perceptions remain that the league has a ways to go. This season, one of the best boys' charter school teams in the city, Friendship Collegiate, played as an independent for the second consecutive season after opting out of WCSAA; last year, Friendship's JV team played a varsity charter league schedule.
"When I had the opportunity to get the head job, one of the things I wanted to do was get out of the charter league because of the lack of competition," said second-year Friendship boys' coach Clinton Crouch, whose team had gone 29-6 entering last night. "A lot of it was a respect factor, as well. For some reason, not enough respect is given to charter school athletic programs. I want the Friendship name to be respected in the area. . . .
"There was a stigma that the charter schools were a notch or two below what everybody else was doing."
Cole said he does not like charter schools breaking away from the league, but maintains that the future of the league is "to remain its own entity" and not merge with the DCIAA. "We're not happy that they're independent," Cole said, "but we're not going to stop them from pursuing their own opportunities."
Charter schools also lack the facilities of DCPS, and Cole said teams had to play the majority of their home games this season at the Capital Sports Complex in District Heights, to which the league paid $87 an hour to rent court space. He wondered why charter schools couldn't share DCPS facilities. "All we're asking is that we receive some form of assistance," Cole said, "like if Wilson is playing an away game that we can use their gym."
Rhee wrote in her e-mail: "In terms of hosting charter school athletic teams on our campuses, we are open to hosting external organizations on our campuses as long as it does not limit the schools' ability to implement their own program."
Another step in the evolution of charter school athletics will come Saturday, the day Cole and Chin have agreed to match up their respective boys' and girls' champions. Friendship's girls, which did not opt out of the WCSAA, will play H.D. Woodson at 4 p.m., with Booker T. Washington and Theodore Roosevelt in the boys' game to follow. Both games will be held at Model School, the site Cole rented last weekend for the WCSAA championship games.
"We want to be legitimized," said Donald L. Hense, chairman of the board of Friendship Public Charter School. "If a school has to pay to be a part of [the DCIAA], we'll pay. I could deliver a check by this afternoon. We're not asking for anything for free.
"If this were a true city championship, then a true city championship would include all capable teams."
