January 28, 2008 – 6:30pm
Attendance
Board members in attendance: Tom Nida, Chair; Anthony Colón, Vice Chair; Dr. Dora Marcus; Lawrence Patrick, III, Will Marshall, Karl Jentoft, Brian Jones, and Josephine Baker, Ex-Officio and Secretary.
The December 17, 2007 minutes were approved.
Approval of the Agenda
The agenda was approved with the aggrement that the first order of business would be the Public Hearing regarding Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School’s request to amend their charter.
Request to Amend Charter
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School
Mr. Tom Nida opened the floor to the Public Hearing regarding Elsie Whitlow Stokes request to amend their charter. (The proceeding was officially recorded by Beta Court Reporting). Following the hearing, the floor was opened for public comment.
Finance Committee
Contracts Reviewed of $25,000 or More
Mr. Tom Nida presented for the record an overall review of school contracts. Mr. Anthony Colón motioned to approve the report. Mr. Karl Jentoft seconded the motion and it was unanimously carried.
Technology Committee
Dr. Dora Marcus presented the Technology Plans for City Lights PCS, Maya Angelou PCS and Septima Clark PCS. The plans were reviewed by the Technology Committee. A motion was made by Mr. Lawrence Patrick to approve all three plans and seconded by Dr. Dora Marcus. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, it was unanimously carried.
Schools Committee
Status of Washington Academy PCS’s Closure
Washington Academy PCS
Mr. Tom Nida recalled the options given to Washington Academy PCS’s leaders and reported that the PCSB received correspondence from Washington Academy PCS to voluntarily terminate their charter. In light of their decision, Mr. Tom Nida proposed to accept the irrevocable decision and proceed with the process of the closing of the school. Mr. Karl Jentoft made the motion to accept the voluntary termination of the school’s charter and the motion was seconded by Dr. Dora Marcus and carried unanimously.
Mr. Tom Nida reiterated that financial mismanagement was the sole cause of the school’s closure during mid-year, by the end of February 2008. Mr. Nida further explained the steps that would need to be taken to facilitate the process. Mr. Tom Nida advised of a resolution meeting that will be held on this week at the Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church located at Pennsylvania Avenue and 30th Street, N.E. at 6:30 p.m. The PCSB will address parents, students, staff, management and stakeholders regarding the revocation process. Ms. Josephine Baker stated several alternatives to help place the students or the possibility of another charter school takeover.
Request to Operate in a New Location
Washington Latin PCS
School Representation Present: Board of Governors; Mr. Casey Carter, Vice President; Mr. Bill Mrythil, Acting President and Treasurer; and Mr. Tom Goss, Assistant Head of Operations.
Susan Miller stated that the school is requesting to expand to an additional location one block away from its present campus to a location within walking distance at 3801 Mass Ave, N.W. She indicated that the current Certificate of Occupancy expires in February 2008. Mr. Bill Mrythil informed the PCSB that the Board is now providing a status report on a monthly basis and revamping the makeup of the Board of Governor’s leadership. Mr. Mrythil acknowledged the financial challenges he is having regarding the facility issue of space and the board is actively seeking additional space for the upcoming school year as well as seeking an extension and a temporary Certificate of Occupancy. He noted that moving 65 to 70 students to the additional location would relieve overcrowding although the problem still exists with the sprinkler system. Discussion was held regarding the possibility of reducing the number of students to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Ms. Josephine Baker suggested that the school obtain a temporary Certificate of Occupancy until the end of this school year.
Mr. Will Marshall motioned for conditional approval pending review of an official lease and the motion was seconded by Dr. Dora Marcus. Mr. Anthony Colón raised two concerns: 1) The board itself must submit outstanding pending issues to the PCSB, and 2) the board must exploit all possibilities and give a definitive solution regarding facilities. Mr. Karl Jentoft advised the Washington Latin PCS board to arrange some solid evidence or have in place a concrete contingency plan for the facilities issue.
Mr. Casey Carter gave background of the efforts made by the Board of Governors to include but not limited to: 1) creating strong governance and management, 2) selection of new leadership, and 3) rewrite the By-laws to include intact Board of Visitors, 3) structure to have autonomy. Ms. Josephine Baker suggested that the board issue parent communication and improve communication components through weekly communications with the community and a report one week in advance to the PCSB. Mr. Karl Jentoft added that the board should notify the parents about processes and what’s going on. Mr. Nida advised that the Board of Governors when referring to Washington Latin PCS’s school to include Public Charter School in its name. Dr. Dora Marcus and Mr. Brian Jones complimented the Board on its progress. The motion to conditionally approve their request to operate in an additional location was unanimously carried.
Request to Operate in a New Location
LAMB Public Charter School
School Representation Present: Diane Cottman, Executive Director
Ms. Carolyn Trice informed the PCSB of LAMB PCS’s request to temporarily operate in a new location. Mr. Nida noted that LAMB was formerly a BOE school and is adding construction and has a lease to co-locate in the Hope Community PCS space located at 6200 Kansas Avenue. Ms. Diane Cottman stated she had received a temporary Certificate of Occupancy from DCRA and is awaiting confirmation regarding the lease agreement from Hope Community. Discussion was held regarding the space being adequate that further information concerning the lease arrangement is needed before taking any action. Mr. Anthony Colón made the motion for conditional approval and full approval based upon the lease agreement and a prior pre-opening visit. Dr. Dora Marcus seconded the motion and it was unanimously carried.
Charter Review
Tri-Community Public Charter School
School Representation Present: Rev. Frank Tucker, Chairman; Mr. Fred Williams, Operations Manager; and Dr. JoAnn Billingsley, Principal
Mr. Corey Carter reported that the school is in its sixth year of operation and undergoing school performance charter review. Mr. Carter stated that the school did not meet their review in regards to governance, program development and inadequate curriculum standards. The school is a candidate for charter revocation based on their charter review. Rev. Frank Tucker stated several concerns regarding the memo of understanding and informed the PCSB that a consultant has been selected to assist the school in addressing concerns. Mr. Brian Jones questioned the cause of decline in enrollment. Rev. Frank Tucker responded that the decline was due to significant turnover in staff and restructuring.
Discussion was held regarding gaps in enrollment and academic performance. Rev. Frank Tucker indicated the school is beginning to stabilize academic performance and has successfully recruited 133 students. Discussion was held regarding DC BAS scores and the effective use of other testing techniques. Mr. Tom Nida spoke about the leadership problems and academic decline and proposed the school for charter revocation. He proposed that the PCSB begin the process to revoke the school’s charter. The school will be given the opportunity to appeal before a final decision is made for revocation.
Further discussion was held regarding the school having technology and sufficient data to support the objectives of the accountability plans, meeting targeted goals and test scoring. Following discussion, Mr. Corey Carter outlined the following criteria needed from the school; 1) major issue of time and larger issue of changes in the charter to reflect program enrollment impacted by indicators and resources in assessments. Mr. Carter reported that the Program Development Review revealed gaps in program implementation. Mr. Anthony Colón motioned that Tri-Community Public Charter Schools’ charter be put into motion to revoke the charter. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lawrence Patrick and carried unanimously.
Preliminary Charter Review
D. C. Preparatory Public Charter School
School Representation Present: Ms. Emily Lawson, Executive Director and Ms. Ibby Jeppson, Director of Resource Development
Dr. Robert Mayo presented background information and enlightened the PCSB of the analysis of D.C. Prep’s Preliminary Charter Review that did not meet the overall academic standards performance. Ms. Emily Lawson gave a brief statement of the targets that did not meet the standards and provided means of improvement. Ms. Josephine Baker described the problems that could arise upon expansion of a campus and how it sometimes affects academic performance and signs that should show indicators of negative trends.
Discussion was held regarding the alignment of targets to the DC CAS testing and focusing on the educational impact of meeting AYP. Mr. Tom Nida advised that the school would need to sharpen their concentration on academic progress and the improvement of quality education. Mr. Lawrence Patrick made the motion that the school be placed on charter warning status and the motion was seconded by Mr. Brian Jones.
Ms. Jackie Scott-English noted that the school has an opportunity for four months to move forward and make adjustments for SAT testing. Mr. Will Marshall remarked that the school should set a certain number of criteria regarding accountability to get back on course. Further discussion was held regarding the accountability plan and measuring of progress and growth through objective standards. The PCSB discussed implications of determining a fair way to evaluate warning standards that allows consistency.
A motion was made to place the school on charter warning status. The motion was seconded and approved by all except Mr. Will Marshall and Anthony Colón who voted no to the charter warning status.
Preliminary Charter Review
Friendship Public Charter School
School Representation Present: Mr. Michael Cordell, Chief Operating Officer; and Mr. Barry Lofton, Director of Corporate & Community Relations
Ms. Monique Miller reported that after nine years of operation, the school met academic, non-academic and organizational performance standards and is not a candidate for charter warning. Mr. Brian Jones made the motion that Friendship Public Charter School was not a candidate for charter warning and Mr. Lawrence Patrick seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously carried.
Preliminary Charter Review
Maya Angelou Public Charter School
School Representation Present: Mr. James Forman, Founder and Chair; Dr. Nataki Reynolds, Principal Evans Campus; Mr. Gene Pinkard, Principal Shaw Campus; Ms. Cynthia Robbins, Executive Director, Ms. Edie Tatel
Ms. Martina James gave background regarding the preliminary charter evaluation of Maya Angelou Public Charter School. The schools did not meet the academic performance standards, therefore, is a candidate for charter warning. Mr. Gene Pinkard provided several explanations of the decreased academic achievement and stated the school focused on academic achievement in internal metrics. Dr. Nataki Reynolds reported that strategies such as Saturday classes, tutoring support, individualized subject labs, and data timeslots have been put in place to improve reading and math literacy blocks. She also mentioned hiring quality program developers and special education teachers in the classrooms to help target weaknesses, testing, internal assessment and measuring progress. Ms. Reynolds stated that current assessment indicators are being changed to gain effective data.
Discussion was held regarding measuring growth and trends, the use of alternative assessments and constantly reviewing academic targets. Mr. Tom Nida voiced his concern with the consolidation of the campuses. The motion was made by Mr. Lawrence Patrick that the school be placed on charter warning status and the motion was seconded by Mr. Brian Jones.
Further discussion evolved around developing a lesser degree of action than charter warning when a school’s review is in the half way mark of charter warning status. It was noted that some type of instrument should be established to weigh the decisions and outcome before placing on charter warning status. Ms. Josephine Baker commented that changing the framework could affect restructuring and the matrix to discover deficits. She further stated that deviation from the review criteria could become vague. Mr. Lawrence Patrick advised that the PCSB should hold to its standards and retain its level of review; otherwise, it could become a “slippery slope”. The motion was made to place Maya Angelou on charter warning status and the vote was approved 4 to 3.
Preliminary Charter Review
SEED Public Charter School
There was no action taken.
Preliminary Charter Review
Washington Math and Science Public Charter School
There was no action taken.
Decision on Charter Application Status
Colin L. Powell International
School Representation Present: Mr. William Melby, Treasurer and Ms. Patricia Morse, Secretary
Ms. Tamara Lumpkin informed the PCSB that the revised application submitted by the Colin L. Powell International failed to address the conditions and weaknesses defined by the PCSB. She reported that two meeting were setup with the PCSB staff and Colin L. Powell and in both cases, the school failed to show. The PCSB is requesting to rescind the June 2007 decision granting conditional approval. The motion was made by Mr. Will Marshall to rescind the decision and seconded by Mr. Karl Jentoft. The motion was voted and unanimously carried.
NCLB Restructuring Policy
Ms. Jacqueline Scott-English and Ms. Dawnyela Meredith reported that the restructuring policy was discussed during a teleconference with Deborah Gist, Ms. Baker and Ms. Meredith. The policy was presented and approved by the PCSB. The timeline for submission of the restructuring plan, use of resources and support of the schools will be provided to OSSE.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:40p.m.