Fenty Administration Examines options for schools in federal restructuring status
November 16, 2007

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Fenty Administration Examines Options for Schools in Federal Restructuring Status

Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso and State Superintendent of Education Deborah A. Gist announced school restructuring options, as defined by the US Department of Education, for 31 schools (27 DCPS, 4 charter schools) that have failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for five consecutive years. As required by federal law, the No Child Left behind Act (NCLB) calls for a tiered intervention approach for these schools. Projections show that more than half of the DCPS schools are likely to be in restructuring next school year.

"When I took on the responsibility of fixing the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), I did it with the notion that academic reform would be the most critical component and one that the administration would need to quickly zero in on," said Mayor Fenty. "Now that we know which of our schools need to be restructured and immediately reformed, we will begin working toward the goal of making these schools better for students and families."

As schools fail to meet AYP, the level of intervention increases until it reaches restructuring status.

NCLB Options Available to Schools in Restructuring Status

The U.S. Department of Education requires that schools in restructuring status have a fundamental change in governance. NCLB offers the following five school restructuring options:

• Charter School Conversion 
  Allows a district to close a school and reopen it as a public charter school consistent with state laws.
• Contracting 
  A district may contract with an outside entity (e.g., a non-profit, university, union, for-profit) to partner with a school.
• School Reconstitution/Turnarounds 
  Reconstitution may involve replacing all staff, hiring new leadership, creating new curriculum, adding resources or combining all of these actions.
• State Takeover 
  Permits the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to take over and operate the school.
• Alternative 
  Includes engaging in another form of restructuring that makes fundamental reforms.

"After consistently failing to meet AYP and being in non-compliance of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) regulations, DCPS is now required to pursue one of these options for the 27 DC Public Schools that are currently in restructuring status," said Chancellor Rhee. "We will take the necessary steps to comply with federal laws; in fact, we've already begun to meet with Local School Restructuring Teams (LSRTs) to describe and discuss our options.

District Public -Schools that have not meet AYP and are currently in restructuring status include:

Charter schools in restructuring status included Booker T. Washington, Hyde Leadership Public Charter School, Idea Public Charter School and Options Public Charter School.

"The Office of the State Superintendent of Education will work closely with DCPS and the public charter schools to ensure that aggressive action is taken to turn around low performing schools," said State Superintendent Gist. "We will work diligently to ensure that the Local Education Agency restructuring plans are educationally sound and are consistent with the law."

It is important to note that some of the DOE options have higher evidence of success in urban districts. With a keen focus on improving the academic achievement of District students, DCPS, OSSE and the Deputy Mayor's office will continue to work collaboratively for success.

The administration has already begun to meet with school communities affected by the federal restructuring mandate. All 27 communities will have the opportunity to review and walk through each NCLB restructuring option providing valuable input and recommendations for the Chancellor to consider when planning individual school restructuring strategies.

"Getting the right strategy in place to address our worst-performing schools is critical to the future of the District," said Deputy Mayor Reinoso. "We must be aggressive in our efforts to ensure that our children are challenged and motivated to be high achievers so that they have the opportunities to succeed."