The consultants that D.C. Public Schools says failed to run Dunbar Senior High School effectively have applied to open a charter school. Members of the D.C. Public Charter School Board confirmed they will weigh Friends of Bedford’s track record, as well as the history of its other 18 applicants.
“Look, when you’ve got an entity that comes in and has a track record, obviously that has to be factored into the thinking,” said board Chairman Brian Jones.
Bedford Collegiate Academy would open in Ward 4 to 125 ninth-grade students and grow to serve 500 high school students.
Interim Chancellor Kaya Henderson removed Brooklyn-based Friends of Bedford from Dunbar in December after observing lax security in the Northeast school. Students roamed the halls during classes, and one student accused five others of raping her in a stairwell; the charges were later dropped. In a letter to parents, Henderson explained that she reinstated former principal Stephen Jackson to “lead a Dunbar that is orderly, well-run, and conducive to your child’s learning.”
George Leonard, chief executive officer of Friends of Bedford, told The Washington Examiner that “Dunbar was on life support when we got there.”
“We just needed more time,” he said. “I think that once the central office changed over, once the election took out [Rhee’s boss and then-Mayor Adrian] Fenty, we lost some of the support.”
Former Chancellor Michelle Rhee gave Dunbar and Coolidge Senior High School to the consultants because of their success with Bedford Academy in New York. Friends of Bedford remains at Coolidge.
“My colleagues and I will all be interested in what the track record’s been, what are the reasons for successes and challenges,” Jones said. “That’s not to say any of those other experiences is going to be decisive, but I think the [past] performance has to be factored in.”
Board member Sara Mead agreed that the “really rigorous” application process will evaluate the people behind the applications: “Who they are and what their track record is are a huge part of demonstrated capacity to do what you say you’re going to do.”
There are significant differences between taking over a traditional public school and creating a public charter, which allows more flexibility to change its curriculum and hours, said Erin Dillon, senior policy analyst for Education Sector, an independent think tank.
“But they still have to have a clear instructional vision and create a safe environment for students, and it seems like those are things they struggled with at Dunbar,” she said.
