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Speaking of controversy in the D.C. public schools, guess what Barack and Michelle Obama did today? They visited D.C.'s Capital City Charter School. More evidence that President Obama wants to be understood as an education reformer? The Post's Jay Matthews and Lori Montgomery described Cap City back in 2006:
Founded in 2000 by middle-class parents frustrated by administrative problems and crumbling facilities at Hearst Elementary in Northwest, Capital City has about 225 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade -- and a waiting list of more than 600.Unlike traditional schools, charters have access to special facilities funds created by the city, Congress and nonprofit groups that allow them to borrow large sums. As a result, Capital City's founders were able to raise about $6 million to buy and renovate an imposing brick church in Columbia Heights.The colorful, light-filled space has a state-of-the-art computer lab, a well-stocked library and a music room -- extras that have proven difficult to maintain in many traditional schools. Most classes have two teachers and access to a team of special education instructors, who offer discreet help in the regular classroom. ...About half of Capital City's students are black, a quarter are white and a quarter are Latino. Just over half come from low-income families, making it far more diverse than most traditional and charter schools, both of which are predominantly black and poor.On the whole, D.C.'s public schools are only 5.4 percent white. So yes, there is significant cherry-picking going on with public charters. On the upside, at least they are keeping engaged middle class families within the public system.--Dana Goldstein
