As expected, on October 28, 2019, the DC Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB) voted to approve Rocketship’s application to amend its charter to open a third campus serving grades preK3-5 at 5450 3rd Street NE near Fort Totten metro station (off Kennedy Street NE). I wrote about the proposal here, here, and here.The Board’s full public meeting record can be viewed here. The amendment to the charter agreement is here. According to DCPCSB, 14 comments were submitted in support and 3 in opposition prior to close of the comment period and a public hearing on September 16. DCPCSB noted ANC 5A requested additional time to submit comments before DCPCSB’s vote, but as we know, the full ANC did not get around to voting on the application despite the many meetings on the topic, so the ANC did not submit additional comments for the record. ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08), in whose single member district the school will sit, submitted a letter in support in his capacity as commissioner of ANC 5A08. That letter was included with Rocketship’s application. I expect the ANC will work with Rocketship to address concerns as the school progresses towards opening.
When DCPCSB approved Rocketship’s original charter application to open up to eight campuses in DC, it set a number of conditions in order for the school to open new campuses. One of the conditions is that each existing campus must be Tier 1 with a minimum Performance Management Framework (PMF) score of 65. Rocketship currently has two campuses open in DC. According to Rocketship’s submission, Rocketship Legacy Prep, which began operations in Ward 7 in the 2017-2018 school year, is Tier 1 with a 94.6% PMF. Rocketship Rise Academy, which began operations in Ward 8 in the 2016-2017 school year, is Tier 2 with a 62.4% PMF. I suppose that is close enough to meeting the PMF condition for the Board’s purpose. At the request of the Board, the school submitted for the record a summary of its market analysis in response to two letters in opposition questioning the school’s analysis regarding need for another charter elementary school in Ward 5. The Board noted some concerns with Rocketship’s long-term financial stability and therefore will monitor the school’s financials as the third campus progresses.
On October 29, the day after the Board’s vote, Fox 5 DC reported disturbing news that apparently leadership at Rocketship Rise Academy waited until October 29 (the same day the news story was published) to notify parents about an attempted kidnapping that occurred at the school on October 11. According to the news report, in a letter to parents, Rocketship acknowledged they should have notified parents earlier. Apparently, the incident occurred during the school’s aftercare program, which is operated by Springboard Education. Staff from Rocketship and Springboard were able to stop the individual from taking the children out of the school. An investigation is ongoing. This appears to involve the same Springboard contractor that operated many before care and aftercare programs in DCPS and several charter schools until earlier this year when it made headlines following allegations that a Springboard employee inappropriately touched and kissed a student and an investigation revealed that Springboard could not show that all of its employees completed a background check. While DCPS and some charter schools terminated their contract with Springboard following that news, it appears Rocketship did not. I imagine this incident will make Rocketship reconsider its contract with Springboard and also how it will make sure students are safe at all Rocketship campuses.
The new campus in Riggs Park will open in two phases. A construction trailer has already been set up at the site, and construction workers are present to begin interior renovation of the north building. Renovation of that building is supposed to be completed in time for students to attend the school in the 2020-2021 school year. As previously noted, Rocketship plans to sublease part of the campus to a middle school, the Social Justice Charter School, contingent on demand for Rocketship seats.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
Thank you for this in depth article on Rocketship Charter School. Now that the Rocketship campus in Ward 5 has been approved, it is time for the community to assist Rocketship and all DC Schools in becoming the best they can be. Whether we are discussing traditional or charter schools, the only issue that matters is the education of our children.
I was very disheartened to see ANC 5A squander an opportunity to provide its opinion – despite having many opportunities – on the merits of Rocketship Charter School. However, this could become a teachable moment.
Social Justice School (SJS) will also come before ANC 5A. So ANC 5A has a chance to hone its questions and evaluation criteria to provide a more thorough review of Social Justice School.
Topics of discussion should include, but not be limited to, the following items:
• Security of the student population: Note the comments made in “Rocketship Riggs Park Campus Approved” about Springboard Education;
• Transportation: The Rocketship DC3 Transportation Presentation given during the September 25, 2019 ANC 5A meeting can serve as a guide;
• SJS Leadership Information: Education, expertise and tenure of those managing the SJS; and
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Transparency Issues.
The DC Council enacted the Public Charter School Fiscal Transparency Amendment Act of 2015, B21-0115, on October 21, 2016. However, many cite that this Bill does not allow sufficient insight into Charter School operations. Others object and cite the high cost and burden of processing FOIA requests requiring detailed legal interpretation. The introduction of more transparency into the charter school system continues to be a major point of disagreement.
The origin of the DC Charter School System highlights the problem. In her article, Ms. Jenny Abamu, WAMU Education Reporter, covers the history of the DC Charter Schools, which dates back to the DC Control Board. Basically, Congress shielded the Charter Schools, to limit them from DC oversight. As a consequence, intended or otherwise, Charter School meetings and records are unavailable to parents or the public at large. Hopefully, ANC 5A will revise its charter school analysis approach to provide an informative, well-rounded charter school evaluation. One can only hope.