Charter Board Convenes First Neighborhood Preference Task Force Meeting

Contact: Audrey Williams  202-328-2748
[email protected]

Washington, D.C. — The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) has scheduled the first meeting of the Neighborhood Preference Task Force for Tuesday, October 2 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm at 3333 14th Street, NW, 2nd Floor Conference Room.  Background materials for the meeting may be viewed here.

The Council, in the FY 2013 Budget Support Act of 2012, asked the Chairman of the PCSB to lead the 12-member task force to research and examine neighborhood preference for charter schools in the District of Columbia. According to the legislation, the task force members are: Chairman of the DC Public Charter School Board, Brian W. Jones, JD; Chairman of the DC City Council, Beverly Wheeler, Designee; Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Jose Alvarez; Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, Scheherazade Salimi; DC Public Schools, Claudia Lujan; Washington Teachers Union, Nathan Saunders; Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS), Robert Cane;  DC Association of  Public Chartered Schools, Ramona Edelin; American Institutes for Research, Mark Schneider;  National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Renita Thukral; Achievement Prep Public Charter School, Shantelle Wright; Capital City Public Charter School, Karen Dresden.

A series of meetings will be held over the next two months and the public will have the opportunity to provide written and in-person testimony at future task force meetings.  A final report will be produced and submitted to the Council in December.

About the PCSB: The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) is setting a national model for creating quality public school options through its rigorous review of new charter applications and effective oversight of charter school performance that is leading the transformation of public education in Washington, DC. PCSB currently oversees 57 public charter schools 104 campuses serving more than 32,000 students living in every ward of the city. Learn more at www.dcpcsb.org.