Posts tagged Pcsb
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Mystery callers try to ensure that DC charters admit special needs students
Nationally, public charter schools serve fewer students with special needs than traditional public schools do, and some charge that charters are screening such students out. But for the past three years, DC’s Public Charter School Board has been deploying a “mystery caller” program to prevent that from happening here. Over the past couple of months, DC… Keep reading…
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Residents feel mayoral control has muffled the public’s voice in education
Mayoral control of DC’s schools may have speeded reform, but many residents feel they have less input into education decisions than they used to, according to a new report. The report also found that people are worried charter school growth is threatening the stability of DC Public Schools. Community members interviewed for the report complained that it was often hard… Keep reading…
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Some see the DCPS-charter relationship breaking down, but charter leaders disagree
Shortly before the advisory committee on school boundaries and feeder patterns released its final proposal, the DC Public Charter School Board’s representative resigned in protest over one of the committee’s recommendations. Does that move reflect a deepening rift between the charter and traditional public school sectors? It depends on who you ask. There’s… Keep reading…
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Do Henderson’s remarks at Stanton Elementary signal a more harmonious phase in DCPS-charter relations?
This morning’s announcement of a slight rise in standardized test scores wasn’t exactly earthshaking. More intriguing was the backdrop: Stanton Elementary in Ward 8, a DCPS-charter collaboration that DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson said today she’d like to replicate. It’s about time. Henderson’s statement comes in the wake of signs that… Keep reading…
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Morning Bell: Charters take DCPS to court
DC charters allege unfair funding: A charter association and two charter schools have filed a lawsuit contending DC has shortchanged them $2,150 per student for the past six years. Public education advocates counter that regular schools bear added costs of serving all students and the larger community. (Post) Keep reading…
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More coordination between DCPS and charters? Not if it threatens charter autonomy, says DC’s top charter official.
How much coordination should there be between DCPS and the charter sector? Probably more than there is now, says the Public Charter School Board’s executive director, but not so much that we return to the era of centralized planning. The DC education scene has no shortage of anomalies. Expensively modernized DCPS buildings that are half empty sit near vastly oversubscribed… Keep reading…
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Private school says it could have taken over troubled special needs charter if it had been asked earlier
A troubled DC charter school for kids with special needs will stay open for one more year under the management of a court-appointed receiver. But a private DC-area school with experience in special education could have taken over the school if it had been contacted earlier, according to an official at the school. The Public Charter School Board (PCSB) voted yesterday to allow… Keep reading…
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With more data, parents can make better decisions about changes in education policy
Most government decisions are imposed from above, with ordinary citizens having only limited knowledge of the data that went into them. The current reassessment of DC’s school boundaries and feeder patterns is different. But how can we ensure that all families are engaged in the process? Government efforts to involve citizens in major changes seem to follow a predictable… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: An Arabic immersion charter school in Ward 3 and other possibilities
New charter schools?: The DC Public Charter School Board heard proposals for 8 new schools, including an Arabic immersion school for Ward 3 and two boarding high schools. Some proposals fared better than others. (Post, Examiner) Career academies: High-school-based career-training programs are increasing in Maryland and Virginia schools, thanks to federal funding. (Post) Higher… Keep reading…
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Does DC have for-profit charters? Yes and no
DC law requires that charter schools be organized as nonprofit corporations. But some of them have legally turned over management of the school to a for-profit company. Is there anything wrong with that? Critics of charters, including some in DC, sometimes depict the schools as money-making enterprises and argue that the profit motive has no place in education. Apparently… Keep reading…