Stricter Guidelines When Opening Charters

A major problem with charter school governance and success is that the people who open many of these charter schools, though well-intentioned, do not have a background in education, or understand child development, and staff the board and leadership with people who are like them. They can come from any number of walks of life; I know for a fact that Camille's former principal and school founder came from a military background, and the culture of the school was poisoned because it was so regimented that it felt more like boot camp than a place of growth and learning. How do people who seem so obviously unprepared for the challenges of opening a charter school, in the District of Columbia no less, manage to convince the Public Charter Board that they are worthy of opening a school? We discovered that the application and approval process for DC is a fairly lenient one, comprising primarily of a short paper application and presentation at an annual board meeting. Many, many people can write a persuasive proposal and prepare a compelling presentation--but do these people really have what it takes to operate a successful school? Judging by AYP results in DC for charters, it seems as though they do not.

So now what? We looked at several other states and found that in Chicago and New York City, authorizers actively recruit new providers, offer one-on-one consultations with applicants, and interview the leadership teams of each school.^[i] In addition to these strategies, DC could become more “hands-on” by offering workshops to address hurdles in school planning and by creating an iterative application process that includes feedback and support at each stage. In Massachusetts, where the charter schools consistently outperform public schools, an outside non-for profit organization coaches candidates through the application process.^[ii]


These are just a few of our beginning suggestions as to how DC could start improving at the very beginning of the charter process. Make sure competent individuals, with relevant experience, are applying, and if they are not, seek them out. Once individuals have applied, or are interested in doing so, coach them through the process. Offer feedback and support at each stage of the planning so that when those school doors open, that staff is as prepared as possible to give the students of the District of Columbia the education that they deserve.

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[i] Destler, K. (2009). Contrasting approaches to charter school oversight. Center on Reinventing

Public Education, Retrieved from http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/view/csr_pubs/277

[ii] School Start-up. (2007). Massachusettts center for public charter school excellence. Retrieved (2010, March 1)

from http://www.mccpse.org/scho.html