An intrinsic problem to the DC charter system - admin becoming unresponsive?

[Anonymous]

I am just reading these threads about several HRCS with the same problem: the administration. It seems, as a school gets more and more popular and improves in quality, parents become more involved. The next step? They clash with the administration, which has no reason to pay them any attention. Really, the incentive to work with parents is decreased as the demand for the school grows (they can all just be replaced if they leave).

The fact is that there is no actual complaint mechanism or elected aspect to DC education. It seems even worse at DCPS in some ways, but as for the PCSB, can their role be leveraged in these situations/can their mandate be changed? It seems worth advocating for. To me, a school board should always be held accountable to parents/families, not only to the Mayor, etc.

Schools I'm thinking of: Mundo Verde, LAMB, CMI. (Maybe others but these are evident on active threads right now). Have other HRCS just gotten lucky re: their boards/admin? It shouldn't be a matter of luck. No one should leave a good school which has built something valuable because of this.

[Anonymous]

In my experience as a founding family, parents need to back up at some point and let the admin run the business. If you have a problem in class, that’s another issue.

[Anonymous]

Governance at charters is fundamentally different. Each school has its own board of directors. Some dona better job than others, and some are more transparent and accessible to parents than others.

If you are unhappy with the administration at your barter shop, start with your school’s Board. All of them are required to have at least two members who have current students at the school.

Another option is the OSSE Ombudsman.
The PCSB has no statutory authority over the day to day or hiring; they can only act in the case of discrimination against students with disabilities, financial issues or lack of academic progress.

[Anonymous]

No. Your premise is flawed. A school should be accountable to students and to the PCSB. Not to the loudest and most complaining families or to the most involved parents.

And this thing you are complaining about - individual school/LEA autonomy - is foundational to the charter system. It is definitely risky because you don't have the lines of accountability/complaint that you'd find in a large public school system. But that is a feature, not a bug and it is inherent to a charter's functionality and the foundation of "school choice." If you want a system, enroll in your neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Each of these schools has a board. The question is - what is the role of the board? Will anyone on the board bring up the operational elements. Do parent's / teachers have a way to voice these concerns to the board?

I have heard leaders say something like ....... those teachers were not a good fit when there was high turnover [wow - you really have a hiring problem if 25% of the teachers each year are not a good fit - maybe need a different screening process?]

I was active with a charter PTA and the bylaws specifically said that PTA was only to enable parent involvement and not as a path to take concerns to school leadership. This is telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each of these schools has a board. The question is - what is the role of the board? Will anyone on the board bring up the operational elements. Do parent's / teachers have a way to voice these concerns to the board?

I have heard leaders say something like ....... those teachers were not a good fit when there was high turnover [wow - you really have a hiring problem if 25% of the teachers each year are not a good fit - maybe need a different screening process?]

I was active with a charter PTA and the bylaws specifically said that PTA was only to enable parent involvement and not as a path to take concerns to school leadership. This is telling.

Right - I think there's a middle ground here. While certainly charters require independence, there needs to be ways to bring concerns more directly to the board, and maybe even get rid of board members during certain situations. The PTA should be a way to engage with leadership not just "enable involvement" (aka fundraising).

[Anonymous]

I think there is broad room for the PTA to help facilitate discussions between families and the school administration about priorities, policies, issues impacting the school, changes in the pipeline, etc. But I don't think it's the PTA's role to "organize parents with concerns."

Of course, my kids attend a charter school that I'd consider to have a quite functional administration and board, and our PTA and administration work well together. But you have to remember that the school administration has a much broader mission than to keep you (and parents who are like you) happy - and that there is a ton of behind the scenes stuff that goes on that you may not have any insight into.

[Anonymous]

That’s a feature, not a bug. If you want true autonomy for the school leadership then you give up accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience as a founding family, parents need to back up at some point and let the admin run the business. If you have a problem in class, that’s another issue.

-Same. It's always nice to be acknowledged and have ways to contribute that are valued--and charters are frankly not always the best with that kind of follow up, but at the end of the day the buck stops with the admin and faculty, and they don't want (nor should they) a bunch of parent back seat drivers. If you want to be that involved, get a job application I would say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each of these schools has a board. The question is - what is the role of the board? Will anyone on the board bring up the operational elements. Do parent's / teachers have a way to voice these concerns to the board?

I have heard leaders say something like ....... those teachers were not a good fit when there was high turnover [wow - you really have a hiring problem if 25% of the teachers each year are not a good fit - maybe need a different screening process?]

I was active with a charter PTA and the bylaws specifically said that PTA was only to enable parent involvement and not as a path to take concerns to school leadership. This is telling.

Almost all PTAs/PTOs/HSAs - DCPS included - say that in the bylaws. At DCPS there is also the LSAT. If you want more of a role, make it known you would like to be considered to be on the Board of your charter school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my experience as a founding family, parents need to back up at some point and let the admin run the business. If you have a problem in class, that’s another issue.

-Same. It's always nice to be acknowledged and have ways to contribute that are valued--and charters are frankly not always the best with that kind of follow up, but at the end of the day the buck stops with the admin and faculty, and they don't want (nor should they) a bunch of parent back seat drivers. If you want to be that involved, get a job application I would say.

These are all very facile answers when your school hasn't either been subject to a child predator or lost 25% of its teaching staff or has parents leaving in droves due to intense bullying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is broad room for the PTA to help facilitate discussions between families and the school administration about priorities, policies, issues impacting the school, changes in the pipeline, etc. But I don't think it's the PTA's role to "organize parents with concerns."

Of course, my kids attend a charter school that I'd consider to have a quite functional administration and board, and our PTA and administration work well together. But you have to remember that the school administration has a much broader mission than to keep you (and parents who are like you) happy - and that there is a ton of behind the scenes stuff that goes on that you may not have any insight into.

A bit too easy for you to say then. I think you should consider what would happen if a real problem arose at your happy happy school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am just reading these threads about several HRCS with the same problem: the administration. It seems, as a school gets more and more popular and improves in quality, parents become more involved. The next step? They clash with the administration, which has no reason to pay them any attention. Really, the incentive to work with parents is decreased as the demand for the school grows (they can all just be replaced if they leave).

The fact is that there is no actual complaint mechanism or elected aspect to DC education. It seems even worse at DCPS in some ways, but as for the PCSB, can their role be leveraged in these situations/can their mandate be changed? It seems worth advocating for. To me, a school board should always be held accountable to parents/families, not only to the Mayor, etc.

Schools I'm thinking of: Mundo Verde, LAMB, CMI. (Maybe others but these are evident on active threads right now). Have other HRCS just gotten lucky re: their boards/admin? It shouldn't be a matter of luck. No one should leave a good school which has built something valuable because of this.

This isn't always the sequence though. Some of the HRCS never had to prove themselves through academics, leadership etc to get that status - it was having the "right" demographics from the get go (and those parents have always been heavily involved). For all we know, the administration may have been weak from the beginning, it just wasn't as evident when the school only had PK3/PK4.

[Anonymous]

We are at lamb and the Board is widely considered to be a total joke. They’ve totally botched the child predator issue, the firing of Diane and Cristina, and seem to have botched the move to kingsbury too. Parents were complaining that they didn’t even know the location of school for the following year until a few days ago!!!! Lamb is lucky that the teaching and curriculum is so strong because the administration is straight up terrible.

I think there should be some oversight that prevents this sort of thing. Joining the Board at lamb is almost impossible as they keep it small (to avoid dissent) and don’t accept anyone really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at lamb and the Board is widely considered to be a total joke. They’ve totally botched the child predator issue, the firing of Diane and Cristina, and seem to have botched the move to kingsbury too. Parents were complaining that they didn’t even know the location of school for the following year until a few days ago!!!! Lamb is lucky that the teaching and curriculum is so strong because the administration is straight up terrible.

I think there should be some oversight that prevents this sort of thing. Joining the Board at lamb is almost impossible as they keep it small (to avoid dissent) and don’t accept anyone really.

We are there too. I don't think it's as bad as all that, but, what I've learned is that if it is, there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it. That's what I think is a problem. Even if it does kind of come with the territory. What if the entire parent body had a vote of no confidence in the board chairperson or the ED or HoS of a school, what then? Nothing.