Public Charter Schools in the District of Columbia
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S. HRG. 108–774 PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SPECIAL HEARING MAY 4, 2004—WASHINGTON, DC Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 97–827 PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky TOM HARKIN, Iowa CONRAD BURNS, Montana BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama HARRY REID, Nevada JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire HERB KOHL, Wisconsin ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah PATTY MURRAY, Washington BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota LARRY CRAIG, Idaho DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois MIKE DEWINE, Ohio TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana JAMES W. MORHARD, Staff Director LISA SUTHERLAND, Deputy Staff Director TERENCE E. SAUVAIN, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MIKE DEWINE, Ohio, Chairman SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois TED STEVENS, Alaska (ex officio) ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia (ex officio) Professional Staff MARY DIETRICH KATE ELTRICH (Minority) (II) CONTENTS Page Opening Statement of Senator Mike DeWine ....................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Mary L. Landrieu ............................................................... 2 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 4 Statement of Senator Richard J. Durbin ............................................................... 7 Statement of Thomas Loughlin, Chair, District of Columbia Public Charter School Board ......................................................................................................... 8 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 10 Historical Context .................................................................................................... 10 Obtaining Facilities in a Competitive Real Estate Market .................................. 11 NCLB Concerns ....................................................................................................... 13 Board’s New Initiatives ........................................................................................... 13 Statement of Josephine Baker, Executive Director, District of Columbia Pub- lic Charter School Board ..................................................................................... 14 Statement of Peggy Cooper Cafritz, President, District of Columbia Board of Education .......................................................................................................... 15 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 16 Statement of Ariana Quin˜ ones-Miranda, Executive Director, District of Co- lumbia Public Charter School Association ......................................................... 29 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 30 Statement of Joe Nathan, Director, Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota ..................................................................... 33 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 35 Why Did Legislators Adopt Charter Legislation? ................................................. 35 What Is the Charter Idea? ...................................................................................... 36 What Is Known About the Impact of Charter Schools on Students? .................. 36 What Is the Impact of the Charter Movement on the Larger District Sys- tem? ....................................................................................................................... 38 How Can Congress Maximize the Positive Impact of This Movement? .............. 39 Statement of David Domenici, Co-founder, Maya Angelou Public Charter School, Washington, DC ...................................................................................... 48 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 51 Statement of Eric S. Adler, Founder, SEED Foundation, Washington, DC ....... 53 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 55 The SEED School of Washington, DC Offers a Comprehensive, Visionary Solution to Previously Intractable Educational and Social Problems ............. 56 Issue No. 1.—Development of a Solid Operating Business .................................. 56 Issue No. 2.—Facilities ............................................................................................ 57 Issue No. 3.—School Size and Culture ................................................................... 57 Issue No. 4.—Meeting the Non-educational Needs of Students and Families in Order to Make it Possible for Students to Focus on School ......................... 58 Issue No. 5.—Entrepreneurialism .......................................................................... 58 Issue No. 6.—Student Assessment and Promotion ............................................... 58 Statement of Joshua Kern, Co-founder and President, Thurgood Marshall Academy, Washington, DC .................................................................................. 59 Prepared Statement ......................................................................................... 61 (III) PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2004 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 10:05 a.m., in room SD–138, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Mike DeWine (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators DeWine, Landrieu, and Durbin. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKE DE WINE Senator DEWINE. Good morning. The subcommittee will come to order. Today, we will hear some good news about the success of public charter schools here in the District of Columbia. There are 43 char- ter schools, serving about 12,000 students, in our Nation’s Capital. Starting in 1995, it has been one of the fastest growing charter school movements in the country. In fact, about 15 percent of all public school children in the District now attend public charter schools. To provide a bit of background, charter schools are non-sectarian public schools that are free from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The charter establishing each school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, programs, goals, student served, methods of assessment and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are for 3 to 5 years. At the end of the term, the entity grant- ing the charter may renew the school’s contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor, usually a State or a local school board, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the char- ter contract. That is the basic concept. Forty-one States and the District of Columbia have passed public charter school laws, often in response to the demands of parents. Parents can send their children to public charter schools that focus on fine or performing arts, foreign language immersion, math, science and technology, or college-prep liberal arts. There are also charter boarding schools, charter schools for students who have dropped out of traditional schools, and charter schools for children with disabilities. This subcommittee has been very supportive of the District’s charter school movement. When Senator Landrieu chaired this sub- committee 2 years ago, she worked very hard to provide $17 million (1) 2 in Federal funds for a credit enhancement fund to allow charter schools to borrow money to construct and renovate facilities. This was in recognition that the number one challenge for charter schools is finding and renovating appropriate classroom space. This subcommittee continued to support charter schools by providing $13 million in last year’s D.C. appropriations bill to expand the number of charter schools here in the city. Today, our first panel will discuss challenges facing charter schools as they expand in the District of Columbia. The witnesses on our second panel are all founders and directors of innovative charter schools in the District. They will share some exciting suc- cess stories about their schools, as well as the individual issues and challenges facing their respective schools. Witnesses today will be limited to 5 minutes for their oral re- marks in order to leave time for questions and answers. Copies of all written statements will be placed in the record