Mayor Plans to Underfund Charter Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

maybe you shouldnt assume everyone wants the same things that you do. lots of people in this world think going to school is a complete waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

maybe you shouldnt assume everyone wants the same things that you do. lots of people in this world think going to school is a complete waste of time.

Confused if you are advocating for home schooling? I don't think anybody likes class being disrupted, but I believe PP's thought to consider was that if certain behaviors are exhibited at an affluent school (throwing a desk, bringing something to school they should not, etc) it is often thought of a manifestation of a disability or behavior support need. I know there are more egregious offenses, but I have seen first hand how differently the same behavior in those types of categories are handled and interpreted at different schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/04/bowser-dc-school-budget-education/

I am a charter school parent and I am deeply disappointed in Mayor Bowser, who I voted for. DC Charter schools educate over 47% of students in the District. Yet the Mayor's proposed new funding shorts charter schools by millions of dollars.

When our kid's best and favorite teacher takes a job at another school or the school cuts a beloved extracurricular program next year, let's all remember that this Mayor doesn't see all kids in DC the same, and doesn't fund all schools the same.

DC Charter schools have little to no oversite and are siphoning funds away from the public schools.

This word does not mean what you think it means. They are getting per pupil funding for the 50% of DC school children they educate. I guess Costco is siphoning funds away from Giant when I choose to shop at Costco? The part you miss is all schools compete for students. Those who get the students get the money. You are advocating for schools getting funding for kids they don't educate. Don't know how to tell you this, but that would be siphoning money!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is small but has a regionalized school system, so dollar for dollar comparisons only go so far.

WOTP there are zero charters.
EOTP charters are often a refuge for the white and try to avoid catering to the majority. And a good number are also 'inculcation/achievement' oriented charters that white parents never send their kids to, like a KIPP or Friendship.
EOTR charters are growing and DCPS are shriveling away.

Now if you average all these things out you just smooth over differences.

But on the major point this thread got started - WTU raises shouldn't just go to charters. if history is any guide they wouldn't even necessarily be given as staff pay - they would just be 'block-granted' to the myriad charter management organizations. (You know, the ones where the Executive Directors pay themselves $300,000 a year.)

Wait, what? Eagle Academy parents want to know.

This review cycle will likely see some shutdowns and conditional continuances, as well as some voluntary closures for financial reasons or because the schools know they can't survive review. And yes, many of those schools are EOTR.

Eagle Academy is an example of several problems. For years, charters were opened anywhere/ everywhere with no thought about proximity to other charter schools or public schools. They oversaturated the market. Second, there was huge mismanagement and leadership issues after the former principal/school leader left Eagle Academy. Also IMO the charter school board failed at seeing that problem coming and handling it properly.

Excellent point. We all know that DCPS is a model of management function...You embarrass yourself asserting that management acumen is where DCPS really shines. Also, "charters" are not a monolith. Some are well run. Some are Eagle.

https://dcist.com/story/23/05/11/dcps-unlawfully-awarded-contracts-worth-270-million/
2023 - D.C. Public Schools unlawfully awarded 36 contracts worth an estimated $270 million over the last three years, raising significant concerns around its financial management and forcing the D.C. Council to start retroactively approving the contracts to ensure that vendors for everything from school meals to special education services could be paid.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/a-short-guide-to-dc-public-schools-scandals/2018/03/08/c40e2c4e-2170-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html
A short guide to the D.C. Public Schools scandals

Not sure who this angry link/post is referring to. As the person who wrote the response about over saturation and mismanagement at Eagle the point was just to give some more background/context, especially to the DCPS and charter school situation east of the river. Schools like KIPP and other smaller operators opened up too many schools too fast in too short of a time, and there was not enough oversight by a longshot to make any sort of plan. Then you have crazy DCPS boundaries like the one for McKinley Middle which stretches basically from North Capitol all the way to the eastern boarder of DC because so many DCPS buildings were closed or converted to charters. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/SY22-23-Middle-School-Boundary-Map.pdf
Based on reading the boundary review study report and paying attention to conversations it sounds like new school openings are starting to slow down and city leaders are taking a holistic approach to where/how many schools there are, but it will take awhile to right the ship, IMO. Not to mention starting to close charter schools that are super under enrolled or failing by other metrics.

Read it again. The context was lack of oversight by the PCSB. And that was followed up with someone who accused charters of "siphoning" money with little or no oversight. Not sure who you are replying to or what forum you are reading. Because you seem to have ignored the myriad posts pretending like mismanagement and lack of oversight are the exclusive purview of charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

White saviors coming to the rescue! It is patently offensive when people like you chime in to explain how POC embrace disruptive classrooms and low standards.

P.S. I know, I know. Just like all the other white saviors who get called out you will magically be non-white when you reply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

White saviors coming to the rescue! It is patently offensive when people like you chime in to explain how POC embrace disruptive classrooms and low standards.

P.S. I know, I know. Just like all the other white saviors who get called out you will magically be non-white when you reply.

How do you know the race of anonymous posters?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

maybe you shouldnt assume everyone wants the same things that you do. lots of people in this world think going to school is a complete waste of time.

Confused if you are advocating for home schooling? I don't think anybody likes class being disrupted, but I believe PP's thought to consider was that if certain behaviors are exhibited at an affluent school (throwing a desk, bringing something to school they should not, etc) it is often thought of a manifestation of a disability or behavior support need. I know there are more egregious offenses, but I have seen first hand how differently the same behavior in those types of categories are handled and interpreted at different schools.

At my kid's school, such behavior is extremely, extremely rare. It almost never happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

White saviors coming to the rescue! It is patently offensive when people like you chime in to explain how POC embrace disruptive classrooms and low standards.

P.S. I know, I know. Just like all the other white saviors who get called out you will magically be non-white when you reply.

How do you know the race of anonymous posters?

Asks the well meaning white woman...

POC who want their kids to get a good education don't sit around wishing there were more disruptions in our classrooms in some weird show of support and solidarity to the black community. DCUM is filled with people who like to preach to my community that the only way to help us is to force our kids to go to lousy IB schools. They complain that there are only 20%/26% Black/AA at schools like BASIS and Latin and conclude that the best way to be "allies" is to advocate for those seats to be eliminated. You all don't care about black my high performing black kid getting an education because you don't see my kid when you talk in broad strokes about AA kids and EOTR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

White saviors coming to the rescue! It is patently offensive when people like you chime in to explain how POC embrace disruptive classrooms and low standards.

P.S. I know, I know. Just like all the other white saviors who get called out you will magically be non-white when you reply.

How do you know the race of anonymous posters?

Asks the well meaning white woman...

POC who want their kids to get a good education don't sit around wishing there were more disruptions in our classrooms in some weird show of support and solidarity to the black community. DCUM is filled with people who like to preach to my community that the only way to help us is to force our kids to go to lousy IB schools. They complain that there are only 20%/26% Black/AA at schools like BASIS and Latin and conclude that the best way to be "allies" is to advocate for those seats to be eliminated. You all don't care about black my high performing black kid getting an education because you don't see my kid when you talk in broad strokes about AA kids and EOTR.

I may be reading this wrong but I don't think anybody was advocating for schools that can't manage behavior. The only point was that at some schools if there is a behavior, they are labeled 'bad kids', and at other schools if there is a behavior it is often written off as a product of something underlying, and treated differently.

I don't know the race of any of these prior posters, but I think everybody is agreeing that disruptive behaviors are not good for learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

maybe you shouldnt assume everyone wants the same things that you do. lots of people in this world think going to school is a complete waste of time.

Confused if you are advocating for home schooling? I don't think anybody likes class being disrupted, but I believe PP's thought to consider was that if certain behaviors are exhibited at an affluent school (throwing a desk, bringing something to school they should not, etc) it is often thought of a manifestation of a disability or behavior support need. I know there are more egregious offenses, but I have seen first hand how differently the same behavior in those types of categories are handled and interpreted at different schools.

this is the white liberal fantasy, that everything can be explained in terms of racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1
I like to be optimistic and think that most people don't realize the bias they have when labeling/defining disruptive behavior.

White saviors coming to the rescue! It is patently offensive when people like you chime in to explain how POC embrace disruptive classrooms and low standards.

P.S. I know, I know. Just like all the other white saviors who get called out you will magically be non-white when you reply.

How do you know the race of anonymous posters?

Asks the well meaning white woman...

POC who want their kids to get a good education don't sit around wishing there were more disruptions in our classrooms in some weird show of support and solidarity to the black community. DCUM is filled with people who like to preach to my community that the only way to help us is to force our kids to go to lousy IB schools. They complain that there are only 20%/26% Black/AA at schools like BASIS and Latin and conclude that the best way to be "allies" is to advocate for those seats to be eliminated. You all don't care about black my high performing black kid getting an education because you don't see my kid when you talk in broad strokes about AA kids and EOTR.

I may be reading this wrong but I don't think anybody was advocating for schools that can't manage behavior. The only point was that at some schools if there is a behavior, they are labeled 'bad kids', and at other schools if there is a behavior it is often written off as a product of something underlying, and treated differently.

I don't know the race of any of these prior posters, but I think everybody is agreeing that disruptive behaviors are not good for learning.

No, they aren't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just want my kids to go to a school where disruptive kids and parents who don’t care can be kept or kicked out. That’s about it. If it’s a charter, that’s fine.

Ok, great. But then don't come over here whining that the city doesn't allocate as much money to your charter that you selected specifically because they don't have to educate the "disruptive kids" or deal with "families that don't care." In quotes because it's way more complex than that, but I get you don't care, you just want schools segregated by income levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want my kids to go to a school where disruptive kids and parents who don’t care can be kept or kicked out. That’s about it. If it’s a charter, that’s fine.

Ok, great. But then don't come over here whining that the city doesn't allocate as much money to your charter that you selected specifically because they don't have to educate the "disruptive kids" or deal with "families that don't care." In quotes because it's way more complex than that, but I get you don't care, you just want schools segregated by income levels.

Ha, good job bringing a long and windy DCUM forum back to the actual point of thread. That is hard to do

Case closed - some schools need more funding than others for the wrap around services and support that were mentioned in earlier posts, smaller or sometimes self contained classes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the kids are white they are "creative" and "not challenged" or "need a 504 plan." If they are nonwhite they are "disruptive" and "parents don't care."

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/04/bowser-dc-school-budget-education/

I am a charter school parent and I am deeply disappointed in Mayor Bowser, who I voted for. DC Charter schools educate over 47% of students in the District. Yet the Mayor's proposed new funding shorts charter schools by millions of dollars.

When our kid's best and favorite teacher takes a job at another school or the school cuts a beloved extracurricular program next year, let's all remember that this Mayor doesn't see all kids in DC the same, and doesn't fund all schools the same.

This is in the article you posted: "The change would increase base funding from $14,668 to $15,070 for every child enrolled in both traditional public and charter schools. D.C. law also directs more money to students based on certain factors, such as whether a child lives below the poverty line or has special-education needs."

It appears that publics and charters get the same amount per student.