The Washington Post
An unequal equation at D.C. schools
The city is finally taking steps to provide more police protection for charter campuses.
Editorial
Friday, November 27, 2009
THE DISTRICT'S charter school movement started in 1996 with 160 students in two schools. Today, there are nearly 28,000 students in 57 schools on 99 campuses. That's nearly 38 percent of the public school population, and so it's long past time that the city government stops treating charters like an unwanted stepchild.
The latest evidence of the disparity experienced by charter students is the decision not to assign specially trained D.C. police officers to charter schools. The illogic of this policy was revealed last month when Post columnist Colbert I. King detailed the travails of Friendship Collegiate Academy.
Gang members who loiter outside the school victimize students as they enter and leave the school in Northeast Washington. School officials believe that security resource officers would help manage the tensions of a high-crime neighborhood and the clash that inevitably occurs between a school that tries to build character and the realities of street life. The officers do more than react to situations; they develop insights into school and neighborhood dynamics that have proved to be useful in forestalling problems.
Yet, for reasons hard to discern, charters were never included in the calculus that police officials use to determine which schools get the officers. There is a limit to police resources, and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier needs, as she recently told The Post, to put officers where crime is occurring.
It makes no sense, though, to make a false distinction between charters and traditional schools: Both are publicly funded, and both should get protection for their students.
It's encouraging, then, to hear Victor Reinoso, deputy mayor for education, report that a decision has been made to change the policy. He told us that officials met Monday and agreed to develop a plan to be implemented at the resumption of the school year in January that would allow officers to be assigned to charter schools. Allocation of resources will be based on need as defined by crime and other data.
Details need to be worked out, including whether charters -- which are fiercely protective of their independence -- can opt out. We also hope this prompts the city to look at other areas where charters are slighted (proper facilities come to mind). Nonetheless, it's a good sign that the city government is starting to take more seriously its responsibilities to public school students in the charter schools.