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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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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Mayor’s FY22 Budget Compared to Digital Equity in DC Education’s Asks

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June 2021 Mayor Bowser’s FY22 budget makes significant investments in DCPS for student and teacher devices, as well as technology support and school IT infrastructure. However, there is no mention of a citywide vision or plan to close the digital divide and ensure all residents have access to reliable, high quality internet.

Below we compare the mayor’s proposed budget to our January 2021 recommendations to the mayor.

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Mary Levy and Eboni Rose Thompson respond to Post Op Ed

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It has been said, “statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” This perfectly describes the OpED Poor children are still left behind in DCPS schools” (December 8, 2019).  The authors suggest charters are winning the battle of closing the achievement gap for our children. What it conceals is significant omissions, exaggerations, and factual errors.

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Every Student Succeeds Act C4DC Talking Points for Testimony

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Every Student Succeeds Act C4DC Talking Points for Testimony before the State Board of Education. We are advocating for a model that incentivizes growth and improvement in offering our students a well -rounded education.  That means multiple measures. School Environment or school quality indicators include multiple measures that may include attendance and re-enrollment but might also look at stability measures like high teacher turnover.  We want to see schools rewarded for serving ELL and Special Education students with fair tools and measures

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