SBOE Testimony on HS Graduation Requirements 12-11-2024

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Perhaps the biggest task coming up for you all is the work on the Graduation Requirements Revisions.

I look forward to seeing a robust engagement plan, how is this going to proceed?  Is the advisory committee for the Grad Profile the same, who is on it, will teachers, parents and others be represented how were they selected, are the meetings open? 

I served on the Advisory Committee for the last revision of the grad standards.  We wrestled a lot with which subjects might benefit from a competency-based approach which decouples the Carnegie unit and time from course completion, and for which subjects it would represent a narrowing of exposure.  We struggled with how to ensure that students would not unknowingly be closing out opportunities by their course choices to post-secondary schools they might aspire to by their junior or senior year.  We tried to assess the quality of internships and alternative experiences and how to measure that quality.  As we tried one option on, we often discovered some unintended ramifications that needed to be addressed.  I hope some of the work and recommendations from that group can be revisited with more information now. 

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Suzanne Wells Council Testimony on 12-5-2024 on Eagle Academy Closing

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Thank you Chairman Mendelson for agreeing to hold today’s hearing on Eagle Academy PublicCharter School, and for allowing interested members of the public the opportunity to testify.Since Eagle Academy closed in August 2024, one important issue has been resolved. TheCouncil initiated a request to reprogram $13.6 million from DCPS capital funds to DGS to pay offthe loan Eagle Academy had on the McGogney school which DC leased to Eagle Academy. Thisallow McGogney to stay in the DCPS inventory with the presumption that it will be used as swing space for upcoming DCPS renovations in Wards 7 and 8.

There should be a full public accounting of the closeout of the finances of Eagle Academy. Atthe August 2024 Public Charter School Board (PCSB) hearing, there were many unansweredquestions about Eagle Academy’s finances. I found it odd in August, and I find it odd today, thatthe key people involved in the financial management of Eagle Academy, i.e., the formerCEO/CFO and the former accounting firm have not been questioned. So little publicinformation is available about Eagle Academy’s finances that it is impossible to know the fullextent of any financial mismanagement. I encourage the Council to request the PCSB provide afull, public accounting of the closeout of Eagle Academy’s finances including 1) loans the school received from the CEO/CFO and whether these loans were legal, 2) all outstanding debts theEagle Academy has, and 3) what happened to the July 2024 UPSFF that was given to Eagle Academy.

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Cathy Reilly 12-5-24 Hearing on Eagle Academy

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I am Cathy Reilly of SHAPPE, Ward 4 Ed Alliance and C4DC.  This is an abbreviation of my full testimony

As authorizer the PCSB is interested in providing increased exciting school options and protecting autonomy and independence.  As the trade organization and advocate it collects dues from the charter schools. As a regulator it has to look at financial compliance. These three roles are not compatible. This is evident, looking at the timeline and story of Eagle’s founding, decline and then costly closure. 

To demonstrate: The PCSB passed Eagle in the 20-year review in Jan of 2023, approved another 5 years of operation and then in June 2023 they placed Eagle on a financial monitoring list.  It then went through extensions and approvals and a little more than a year later a closure. Valerie Jablow in Educationdc has this fully documented.

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Valerie Jablow testimony at 12-5-24 Council hearing on Eagle Academy Closing

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My name is Valerie Jablow. I am testifying about charter oversight that has failed DC citizens—very notably with Eagle Academy. My testimony is based on my work following DC publicly funded schools as publisher of educationdc.net.[i]

Many DC government actors knew Eagle’s fiscal and other problems since at least 2017. As my written testimony details, residents documented and presented those problems to Eagle; the charter board; DC agency personnel; ANCs; the council; and the prior attorney general.[ii]

Yet it wasn’t until 2024 that Eagle was subjected to much greater scrutiny by the charter board. In fact, as I pointed out to Chairman Mendelson and COW staff, the charter board repeatedly misrepresented its actions and oversight in its September 9 response to Chairman Mendelson’s August questions around Eagle.[iii]

The bottom line is that oversight of DC charters is poor; obfuscating; and actively excludes the public. The charter board’s fiscal oversight processes omit important data and are not publicly centered, essentially requiring DC citizens to act as forensic accountants to track problems while no one is conducting real oversight of our charter sector.[iv] And while having another LEA take over Eagle seems better than closure, that doesn’t address that what happened with Eagle is largely because many DC actors obfuscated and ignored serious problems--and continue to do so.

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Joint Support for DC Public Education Quality and Accountability

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Dear Council Chair Mendelson and Members of the Committee of the Whole,

We request that you hold a hearing quickly to fully understand all of the circumstances that led to the LEA Eagle Academy’s decision to close two public schools in late August, on the cusp of the 2024-2025 school year.  As a result of this decision, the parents of 350 children were given just a few days to find new schools for their children, and dozens of educators were suddenly left without positions. As one Ward 8 school employee noted: “Instead of putting the money into the schools that are already there and really need it, money is poured into new school developments... And then we must pick up pieces when things don’t work out.”  School takeovers, as indicated by the PCSB in their deliberations are not necessarily an answer, and the deeper underlying issues need to be investigated.   

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PCSB - Friendship PCS Acquisition of Eagle Academy PCS Suzanne Wells

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Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the Friendship Public Charter School (PCS) proposed acquisition of Eagle Academy PCS.

Charter schools are public schools, and there should be proper oversight of their operations and open public meetings when important issues are being considered. The Friendship PCS Amendment Application raises serious concerns about how it came to be that Friendship would acquire Eagle Academy. There are 70 LEAs in DC. What kind of public process was in place to decide that Friendship PCS is the best LEA to acquire the assets of Eagle Academy? There are many other LEAs that have high quality early childhood programs that could also manage the Eagle Academy programs. Furthermore, who made the decision to allow the Eagle Academy campuses to remain open rather than being closed after the Public Charter School Board (PCSB) raised concerns about the financial stability of Eagle Academy?

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PCSB Eagle PCS Closing, Process, Possible Friendship Takeover

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I am Valerie Jablow, a DC resident. For years, I and other residents have documented for DC officials Eagle’s numerous fiscal and other violations, such as

--A CEO paid more than the mayor for a school with less than 500 students; staff members loaning the school money with interest; and less than 2 weeks of cash on hand for 6 of the last 8 years;

--Not paying contractors and property taxes; and

--Building without appropriate permits while damaging properties and creating environmental hazards.

But Eagle isn’t the only problem here. The notice for this hearing was posted less than 2 weeks ago, after the boards of Friendship and Eagle discussed Friendship’s takeover of Eagle in closed meetings (July 12 (also see here) and July 18, respectively; BTW the charter board application on p. 2 asks for the minutes from Friendship’s board meeting, but none were given). Two days ago, you also discussed it in a closed meeting.

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Eagle Academy PCS closing, Friendship proposal to acquire

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I appreciate this opportunity to testify.  Charter Schools have insisted they are public schools, not just publicly funded.  They, you, insist charters are not private but public and they should have equal funding and equal rights. 

 Along with that should come equal responsibilities.  We are a city that has a limited democracy often subject to different whims of a Congress we do not have equal representation in.  At least with our own public institutions we can insist on transparency and solid democratic process. 

 That is not what is occurring here.  First there is a Financial Corrective Action Plan in July and then in August, Eagle is closing.  As I understand it, there has been significant concerns about the ethics and financial viability of Eagle, further documented in its site in Nevada.  Despite these concerns Eagle was granted a renewal lease in January of 2023 and now it is closing. 

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Feedback on 2023 Boundary and Student Assignment Process from Cathy Reilly

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Dear Deputy Mayor Kihn, Jenn Comey, and Michael Akin,

This is my feedback on the Student Assignment and Boundary Study Process.  I appreciate the chance to weigh in and hope that it will inform future convenings.  As I get more distance from the process, I have felt more distressed about some of what follows. We spent so much time with some communities and so little with others that will be affected in the future.  I do have the experience of the two committees 10 years apart.  I hope we can capture some of what the first offered that we did not have this time in the next iteration.  If I can I will try and send on more thoughts that capture that. 

The Advisory group was a strong and thoughtful group.  The choice to have the number of members on the committee reflect the proportion of DCPS students from the different wards of the city worked.  I felt the decision to have the government as voting members compared to the practice in 2013 to have them present and contributing but not voting, had mixed results.  I can share more on this if it would be helpful.

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