D.C. School Accountability Report: Connecting defunding public schools with charter school growth | Grade inflation at Somerset Prep? | and more

Here’s In the Public Interest’s pick of recent news about the privatization of public education in the District. Not a subscriber? Sign up here.

“It’s just no, no, no.” Now that students have left Cesar Chavez Prep Middle School in Columbia Heights for good, the charter school’s former teachers are continuing to negotiate with Chavez Schools and TenSquare, a charter school consulting company. WUSA9

“Now is the time to walk the walk with families east of the river.” Journalist Jonetta Rose Barras speaks to the funding shortfall for neighborhood public schools east of the river: “Of the 20 schools expected to take budget cuts next school year, seven are in Ward 7 and 10 are in Ward 8.”The DC Line

Time for a charter school moratorium? Venola Rolle, vice chair of the Ward 7 Education Council, says the District needs a moratorium on new charter schols. “The charter school movement touts ‘choice’ and ‘competition’ to distinguish itself from the traditional public schools, often offering the same curriculum in the same neighborhood with no innovation that addresses needs of the communities, which they are supposed to do.” The Washington Post

Charter leaders launch campaign for school space. Radio ads and a video urging D.C. to turn over more unused school buildings to charter schools are making the rounds. They’re being promoted by the D.C. Association of Public Chartered Schools, an advocacy organization whose membership includes founders and CEOs of local charter schools. WAMU

Charter school accused of grade inflation. Multiple teachers have approached WJLA with concerns that a large number of students who just graduated from Somerset Prep DC Charter School didn’t deserve to graduate. They are accusing their own principal of inflating the students’ grades. WJLA

New charter school in Anacostia. Two construction corporations, Consigli Construction Co., Inc. and Keystone Plus, will break ground this summer on a new middle school campus at Friendship Public Charter School in Ward 8. School Construction News