A struggling charter school was given a second chance by the D.C. Public Charter School Board, making Ideal Academy the first school in the board’s 12-year history to survive the revocation process. “These decisions are never easy,” said Board Chairman Brian Jones. “We sat through Ideal’s hearing and they presented a compelling case. We also spent time listening to the community and to parents and got a sense of the passion the community has for the school.”
The school board voted in March to begin the process, charging Ideal Academy’s two Ward 4 campuses with failing to implement a curriculum, falling far below student achievement goals, and failing to meet federal requirements both for students with special needs and students who are not fluent in English.
Ideal Academy said it will close its high school campus in June — a deciding factor for why the board gave it a lifeline.
“There was a clear distinction between the performance of the lower school and the high school,” board member Emily Bloomfield said. “I hope that the school’s leadership will be able to redouble their efforts on the lower grades and show even more growth.”
Board documents show that Ideal Academy, serving about 400 preschool through grade 12 students, was only in the “initial phase” of developing a framework for its high school curriculum in January.
Although school officials described an accelerated-learning philosophy when the charter was authorized in 1999, a review “gives no indication that this methodology is incorporated into the instructional program or that any professional development in this area has been given to teachers.”
Just 35 percent of students in the lower school and 45 percent in the upper school were proficient in reading in 2010. In math, 24 percent of upper school students and 47 percent of lower school students passed muster.
At the same meeting, School for Arts In Learning Public Charter School relinquished its charter, citing financial difficulties it couldn’t climb out of.
The school board voted to close another charter school up for revocation with Ideal, Nia Public Charter School. “The charter school bargain demands strict accountability for excellence in exchange for autonomy,” Jones said. “Nia’s record of poor academic performance and spotty compliance with its obligations under the law is a breach of that bargain.”
