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COMMENTARY
Center offers school transfer help
(Published July 26, 2004)

By EVE BROOKS

Nearly half of all children in D.C. public schools will soon be allowed to transfer to a more successful school. As mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, school transfer (and mandatory free transportation) offers a real opportunity to improve our educational systems. Unfortunately, concerned parents will have only a few weeks to make the federal requirements work for them.

In early August, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) will send a letter to parents of children in schools designated "in need of improvement" based on poor student performance of at least one subgroup of students on statewide standardized tests. Many parents will be surprised by the information and unprepared to take action. These parents will have only two to four short weeks to wade through complex information, application requirements and other obstacles.

The transfer provision of No Child Left Behind provides an important new right for the thousands of low-income and minority students trapped in failing D.C. schools. Overall, DCPS schools rank poorly compared to other city school districts in both math and reading assessments. According to the DCPS Academic Performance Database System – on the Web at http://silicon.k12.dc.us/APDS -- 34 percent of DCPS students scored "below basic" on the 2004 Stanford 9 reading assessment and 42 percent performed at a "basic" level. Forty-seven percent scored below basic in math, and 30 percent scored at basic. The longer students must stay in these failing schools, the farther behind they fall in comparison to their peers in other cities and states.

Despite these grim statistics, the District boasts shining examples of successful public education in the face of high poverty. Twenty-one D.C. public schools with low-income populations exceeding 60 percent scored at or above the national average in reading and/or math in the 2001-2002 school year. These schools demonstrate that all children can learn, given high expectations and quality teachers and administrators.

Last spring, DCPS officials announced that 83 schools had failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress in the 2002-2003 school year and that officials would be required to offer transfers if the schools failed to do so again for a second straight year. Unfortunately, the final list of schools "in need of improvement" could not be finalized until last year’s test scores were tabulated. Some school districts – including Baltimore's public schools – have provided a forewarning to parents in schools likely to fail for the second consecutive year, thus allowing them a significant head start to prepare for the transfer opportunity. Emulating this forewarning to parents would allow them the opportunity to make the best school choice for their child.

To fill this gap, D.C. ParentSmart – a project of the Public Charter School Center for Student Support Services, funded by a Parent Information and Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education – has begun an intensive outreach effort to inform parents of eligible children in time for them to take advantage of the transfer option.

The school transfer option provides a real opportunity for parents to improve their child’s education. At D.C. ParentSmart, we seek to turn that opportunity into a reality. During the first two weeks of August, D.C. ParentSmart will place direct telephone calls to up to 30,000 parents in Wards 1, 7 and 8 to inform them of their options and encourage them to call our bilingual call center for assistance. Our staff will provide individualized support to help them make the right choice for their child.

Now is the time to act. We urge parents to take their child’s education into their own hands by phoning our call center at (202) 464-3233.

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Brooks is founder and executive director of the Public Charter School Center for Student Support Services.