Join DCPS for a Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 10:30am for a live online chat where Abigail Smith, Chief of Transformation Management, and her team will be taking your questions live about the Out-of-Boundary lottery process.
 
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As most in the neighborhood surrounding the International Graduate University are aware, there is a pending application for a charter high school to be located at the site. When Councilmember Wells first heard about the proposal last month, he issued the following statement:

“I am extremely skeptical of this proposal from the International Graduate University. They have no track record of working with neighbors, the community or the city.”

He’s added:

“Nothing I’ve seen so far has changed my skepticism.”

IGU hosted a meeting earlier this week for residents with the assumption that questions would be answered. The listservs have covered summaries of that meeting, so we don’t need to re-hash the meeting, but one key tenant of application and Charter School Board’s consideration is that the University High Public Charter School is separate, and will remain separate, from the International Graduate University. Why is that important?

In December 2006, the IGU applied to the District’s Educational Licensure Commission (ELC) to be a licensed post-secondary degree granting educational institution in the District. In April 2008, the ELC held a hearing and found that there was not sufficient basis to approve the application. In July 2009, the ELC filed an official denial notice because “IGU had failed to demonstrate a basis for licensure”. The decision to deny IGU’s licensure became official on December 18, 2009.

This is important to demonstrate that IGU was determined by the educational licensure body of the District that it does not qualify and cannot demonstrate the ability to provide recognized quality educational services.

But does the application for University High Public Charter School’s demonstrate that the charter school represents a separate and distinct attempt from IGU to provide high quality education -- as it claims, to simply occupy and rent space from IGU? It doesn’t look so.

In reviewing the charter application documents, they suggest ties to IGU, its governance and management. Among the Board of Directors listed in the charter application, many have a direct connection to operations of IGU, including a former student, a current administrator of programs offered at IGU, as well as 5 that also serve on the IGU Board of Advisors. In addition, Dr. Walter Boek, President of IGU, signed the articles of incorporation and served on the initial Board of Directors for the proposed charter school.

All of this points to an effort that suggests a connection and relationship between the proposed charter school, and IGU, with its associated failures and denials of accreditation and licensure.

Are you interested in testifying at the public hearing on the proposal? Below are details on how to sign up.

Public Hearing Process

The Public Charter School Board will hold a hearing on the application for University High Public Charter School, to be located in the building occupied by the International Graduate University,1325 D Street, SE, on March 15 & 16 (we don’t know yet which of the two days nor what specific time of day). The Board began by reviewing 21 charter applications, and determined the University High Public Charter School to be one of 13 finalists for their further review and consideration.

The public hearings on March 15 & 16 will be held in the Public Charter School Board’s offices at 3333 14th Street, NW, Suite 210 have been moved and will now be held at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, 1100 Harvard Street, NW.  Anyone interested in speaking at the hearing must register by contacting the Board at 202-328-2660. The Board requires all individuals to register in advance. Also, according to the Board, the hearings will be designed to elicit information about:

• The expected benefit of the proposed charter school to students, parents, and the community;
• The impact the proposed charter school is likely to have on other public schools in the District of Columbia; and
• The impact of the proposed charter school on the quality of educational practice.

Yesterday, I spent some quality time with National Park Service representatives trying to solve the myriad of unshoveled sidewalks and crossings that are managed by the NPS across Ward 6. Their crews were out on the streets and in the parks yesterday, and will continue over the next several days. Mr. Carr, Chief of Maintenance, sent the following note that I thought would be helpful to share with residents: 

I would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused by the snow and ice on the walks in the Capitol Hill area, I have a crew working on the walks at Seward Sq. and the Pennsylvania Ave. median strip today.  It looks like they will be unable to complete the snow removal on the median strip today, and our plan is to do the entire median strip while we're in the area.  We will resume the snow removal on the median strip tomorrow morning and continue until completion.

After completing the median strip, our intentions are to move on to 1100 and Penn. Ave., followed by snow removal on the Lincoln Park sidewalk. Right now, we're focusing on opening the walks and making them passable, they will not be open 100% in width.  This will allow us a opportunity to get around to other sites for snow removal.

The process of removing this snow from the walks is a slow and demanding process, with the crews working long hours in a attempt to get the job done.  I assure you we will continue working hard and diligently in seeing that the walks are clear and safe for public use.

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at any time.

thanks,

Douglas Carr
Acting Chief of Maintenance
National Capital Parks East

On Wednesday, February 24th, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the District's Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization will host the second in a series of public meetings related to school modernization efforts at Brent Elementary School.

The meeting, titled "D.C. School Modernization: Lessons Learned & the Road Forward" will explore how DC's school modernization funds are being spent in Ward 6 schools, what lessons have been learned over the last year, and discuss changes in the modernization schedule.

Brent Elementary School is located at 301 North Carolina Ave., SE, two blocks from the Capitol South Metro Station.

The first meeting will be held 10 a.m. to 12 noon this Saturday, February 20th, at School Without Walls High School, 2130 G Street NW, two blocks from the Foggy Bottom Metro.