News Releases
Howard Road Academy PCS Selected to Assume Washington Academy Operations
For Immediate Release: February 14, 2008
Contact: Nona Richardson 202-328-2670
Washington, D.C. - During a special meeting called on February 13th, the D.C. Public Charter School Board (PCSB) selected Howard Road Academy PCS to assume the operations of Washington Academy PCS, a public charter school that is planning to close on February 29, 2008. Washington Academy currently serves 250 students on two campuses, in preschool through sixth grades. During its January 28th board meeting, the PCSB accepted Washington Academy's decision to close, due to insufficient finances to finish the school year. Shortly thereafter, the PCSB issued a request for proposals (RFP) for existing schools to assume the school's operations. The PCSB had voted to consider revoking the school's charter during its December 2007 meeting, after a fall review of the school's finances uncovered serious financial mismanagement, substantial net asset deficits, and unpaid payroll taxes.
Four public charter schools responded to the RFP with proposals by the February 8th deadline. Representatives of those schools gave short presentations before a packed audience of parents, teachers, students, and PCSB members; they responded to questions from board members and parents, before the Board voted unanimously in favor of Howard Road Academy's (HRA) proposal. Fellow board members agreed with Will Marshall's assessment that, "While all of the proposals were good, and all of the schools have the capacity, I feel that Howard Road Academy is the best match for the current needs of the Washington Academy school community."
Prior to the meeting, PCSB board and staff members carefully studied the proposals and considered input from parents. They had concluded that all of the schools addressed parents' concerns that the students be allowed to remain at Washington Academy 's existing campuses for the remainder of the current school year, and the next school year. All of the schools agreed to retain most of the teaching and administrative staff through the end of the current school year, and evaluate them individually before offering contracts for the next school year. All four schools had academic programs and results that had exceeded Washington Academy's performance. Board members shared after the meeting that Howard Road Academy stood out from the other schools because it had turned around a struggling student population in Southeast Washington with a proven academic program, making AYP two consecutive years; the school has a committed and highly functioning board of trustees; and, it has a substantial budget surplus enabling HRA to immediately transition the school population without immediate need for city funds, which might be delayed.
Washington Academy was one of 18 charter schools the PCBS began overseeing after Mayor Fenty's education reform legislation gave the PCSB responsibility for charter schools that were previously authorized by the D.C. Board of Education. PCSB staff and consultants began extensive reviews of those schools at the beginning of the school year, and continued its regular reviews of PCSB-authorized charter schools. The D.C. Public Charter School Board currently oversees 56 public charter schools on 82 campuses, serving more than 22,000 students in every ward of the city.
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