University High Charter Rejected; International Graduate University Remains in Limbo

originally uploaded to flickr by aaron13251

Plans by individuals associated with the International Graduate University to open a new charter school on the large campus behind Safeway on Fourteenth Street SE were thwarted Monday night when the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) announced the city’s newest approved charter schools. Only four of the twelve proposals were accepted, and University High was not among the approved for a provisional charter to move forward.

According to the PCSB each of the original 13 applicants were put through a rigorous review process before deliberating and voting occurred Monday night. During the review process, the board did a technical review of proposals, interviewed the founding groups and proposed principals and held public hearings. Six Hill residents testified at the March hearing to voice their opposition to the project. The only pro-University High voices at the meeting came from the school’s founders and proposed administrators.

“All applications were give thorough consideration by the review panel and the Board. The stronger candidates received conditional approval,” said Shenneth Dove-Morse, PCSB’s communications associate.”The applications that did not receive approval were not discussed in detail because of time constraints.”

Watkins parent Diana Elliot was part of a group of concerned parents from the Capitol Hill Cluster Schools who worked to educate the neighborhood about the University High charter proposal and to collect signatures outside of Watkins and Peabody Schools. At the charter school public comment meeting last month, Elliot testified about CHCS’s concern and lack of support for the proposed high school for at-risk students, with the backing of 302 signatures from parents, teachers, staff, and caregivers. Elliot, who was one of five neighbors who joined ANC commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg to testify against the proposal said she took her role at the hearing, “very seriously because I was speaking on behalf of so many in the CHCS community.”

After hearing about the decision from neighbors who attended the meeting Monday night (the school board didn’t post a press release about the decision until late yesterday afternoon) Elliot said there was great relief among the parent community and gratitude toward everyone who was involved in the grassroots effort. “We thought we had presented a strong case to the board and were optimistic about our decision, but based on past decisions and the political connections to University High and IGU, we could not take anything for granted.”

Public charter schools now serve 38% of all public school students in Washington, DC. In a community where there are waiting lists and lotteries for the best public school pre-school and elementary programs, there is enthusiasm in the neighborhood for additional charter school options. The D.C. Public Charter School Board currently oversees 57 public charter schools on 99 campuses, serving approximately 28,000 students throughout the city.

“Most of the parents I know would support a charter school at the location of IGU and would be open minded about its plan,” said Elliot. “But, I would hope this would be a lesson to future charter schools that you need to communicate and build consensus within the community where you seek to locate with a strong and cohesive academic vision.”

Mark Segraves, a neighbor who also testified against the proposal, expressed continuing worry about the leadership of the International Graduate University. “We still have concerns that Dr. (Walter) Boek (the school’s founder) continues to enjoy tax free status on the large Capitol Hill property as well as his Northwest residence, while not being able to offer classes.” The school lost its accreditation over a year ago, and Segraves describes the university as “sham” educational organization that pays no taxes.