This is the first of a two-part series looking at the history of charter schools in our nation's capital.
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| The number of charter schools in the District of Columbia has risen dramatically since the passing of the Public Charter Schools Act in 1996. |
The charter school movement in the District
of Columbia has become one of the most noteworthy stories in the recent history
of American public education. The school system in Washington, D.C. has shown
the best and worst of leadership at all levels, as the District has been run by
the Federal government, “home rule,” and a combination of the two. As a system, the government of the District of
Columbia is different than most other forms of city government, and this has
led to many of its problems. However, the uniqueness of the District structure
has also led to a great deal of the autonomy practiced by many of the recent leaders
behind the school system in Washington, D.C., as well as the charter school
movement. Despite criticism of the charter school model, educators such as
Diane Ravitch agree with opinions, such as the ones expressed in the movie
“Waiting for Superman” which support the movement of students from failing
public schools to charters. (Ravitch, 2010)
History
The public school system for the
District of Columbia was founded in 1804 and originally chaired by President
Thomas Jefferson. At its inception, the objective was for the District system
to be a leader among school organizations. One example of this innovative style
was the District forming the first secondary school for African-Americans, a
feat which was accomplished before 1870 (Sullivan, Campbell, Kisida, 2008).
In spite of its best efforts, there
were cultural and sociological factors which complicated progress in the D.C.
school system. Attempts to desegregate schools caused families to move to
nearby suburbs in Maryland and Virginia, coining the term “white flight.”
Enrollment in private schools in the District rose because of the racial friction
in the public schools. The Civil Rights era saw an increase in violence within
and outside of the District schools, culminating in the burning of buildings on
and near the U Street corridor after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther
King in 1968.
By the 1970’s, the public school
system in the District was disjointed. The student enrollment was over 90%
African-American and reflected the poverty problem within the District borders
(2008). By contrast, the African-American population of Washington was 70
percent.
The events which followed over the
next 35 years have led to the transition of a school system which by the end of
the 2006-2007 academic year had almost 20,000 students enrolled in charter
schools, while the public school student population in the District dropped
from over 78,000 in 1996 to 52,191, a drop of almost 34 percent (2008).
Identifying
the Problem and Finding Solutions
The root cause of the problem with
schools in the District of Columbia started with the influx of power given to
individuals as “white flight” out of the District created opportunities for new
leadership.
One of the nuances of the D.C. school
board was that until home rule was granted by Congress in 1973, it was the only
elected body in Washington; therefore, a seat on the board became the path of
choice for young black leaders in the District, who were aspiring for higher
offices (Risen, 2008).
Marion Barry was one of these
leaders. In 1971, Barry seized his first opportunity to gain one of these
public offices, winning a school board seat in a landslide victory.
Almost immediately, Barry showed off
his political prowess. He learned that the school system could help him gain
traction in his political career, but could also serve as a tool to rebuild the
black middle class within the District. Quickly, the future four-term mayor
ascended to president of the Board, followed three years later by a seat on the
city council, which had just become an elected position.
Realizing that the Washington school
system had thousands of well-paying jobs with city benefits, Barry correlated
his climb up the political ranks with his use of patronage to those who helped
him, mainly in the form of giving his aides and benefactors jobs within the D.C.
school system, whether they were qualified for the positions or not.
For Councilman Barry, the
possibilities were limitless. His emergence as a leader in the city led to a
new power base in Washington, one which was mostly comprised of teachers, but
also one which exclusively included African-Americans. Juan Williams, a
nationally renowned writer and television analyst was covering education issues
for the Washington Post in the 1970’s, and was quoted as saying, “It’s no
longer about educating the best and brightest of black Washington but about
establishing the schools as a place where blacks can get better jobs, higher
salaries, and more benefits (2008).”
The
Barry Aftermath
After Marion Barry’s terms as
councilman, and later mayor, the District of Columbia school system found
itself in turmoil. The organization had become bloated with bureaucrats,
resistant to change, and unable to satisfy its main goal of educating the
youths of Washington. In spite of spending the most money per student in the
Metropolitan area, its marks were woefully low. Graduation rates and test
scores were the poorest in the region while dropout rates soared. Radical change
was going to be necessary for the public school system in the District of
Columbia to survive.
Winds
of Change
In the mid-1990’s, a paradigm change
in public policy began to show its way into the collective thinking of District
legislators. Some of this was caused by the national elections in 1994, which
saw a rush of Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, take office with the promise
of change. One legislator, Rep. Steve Gunderson, from Wisconsin, saw the
education reform issue as worthwhile, and sought to create a charter school
law, aided by a voucher program which would assist low-income students with
public funding. (Sullivan et al, 2008). Despite some resistance, Congress did
not take long to pass the School Reform Act in 1995. A year later, the District
created and passed its own Public Charter Schools Act, one which allowed for
the creation of ten charter schools per year. The stage was set; however, it
would take several more years before progress was made, mostly due to problems
with some of the city officials who had created the initial problems. One
Washingtonian magazine article referred to the typical charter school as a “big
laboratory.” (Foster, 2006)
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