Education Reform Center: DCPS Explores Partnerships to Assist Failing Schools

February 25, 2008

(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced the administration’s plan to explore partnerships with external education entities to assist the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) in revamping schools in restructuring status, as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

"Our children deserve the best education the District can offer," said Mayor Fenty. "The administration has pledged to create a world-class school system. To this end, we will consider the nation’s best partnership opportunities, amongst a range of options."

Restructuring Options

Under NCLB, schools that have failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for five consecutive years are placed in "restructuring" status. DCPS currently has 27 schools in restructuring status, and as a result is legally required to choose from five mandated NCLB options to bring DCPS into statutory compliance.

The options include:

Charter conversion - Allows a district to close a school and reopen it as a public charter school consistent with state laws.
State takeover - Permits the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to take over and operate the school.
School reconstitution - Reconstitution involves replacing staff, hiring new leadership, creating new curriculum, adding resources or combining all of these actions.
Partner with external entity - Enables a district to partner with an outside entity (e.g., a non-profit, university, union, for-profit) to partner with a school.
Other restructuring option - Includes engaging in another form of restructuring that makes fundamental reforms.

Quality School Reviews

Last month, DCPS conducted and completed Quality School Reviews (QSR).Teams composed of teachers, parents, students, residents and education experts observed classes, held focus groups and reviewed lesson plans and student test data to determine each school’s specific strengths and weaknesses. This process provides data to assist the school system in determining appropriate corrective options for each school.

"We have failed to deliver high quality education to all of our children," said Chancellor Rhee. "This initiative is a critical step toward education reform, and one that I believe will successfully improve teacher instruction and student learning in restructuring schools."

School officials have examined dozens of school turnaround strategies across the country and will explore partnership opportunities from external entities to assist DCPS in identifying schools that could benefit from partnership initiatives. The school system will search for external groups that specialize in improving achievement in poor performing schools. Potential partners must have a proven track record in providing high quality education with strong instructional programming and curricula that can be aligned with the District’s state standards.