2016-17 DC Public Charter School Discipline and Attendance briefing September 7, 2017

5-Year Analysis of Charter Sector Trends DC PCSB’s goal is to encourage public charter schools to create and implement effective discipline policies, and increase students’ time in school.

Key Takeaways: School Year 2016-17 After four years of improvements, indicators showed signs of plateauing or reversing. Expulsions:  from 0.21% to 0.22% Suspensions:  from 9.1% to 9.3% In Seat Attendance:  from 92.2% to 91.8% Lost Instruction Time: no change (0.23%) Truancy:  from 19.9% to 21.7%* Enrollment:  by 6.6% *Prior to 2016-17, schools’ individual attendance policies set the period of time following an absence in which excuse notes could be accepted. In 2016-17, District policy mandated that schools could not accept excuse notes more than 5 days following an absence.

Expulsion Over Time (PK*—Adult) Number of Students Expelled Expulsion rate cut in half and within national norms *Note: None of the expulsions in 15-16 or 16-17 were PK students

Expulsion: Most Improved in 2016-17 School Ward 2015-16 Rate 2016-17 Rate Center City PCS - Trinidad 5 3.32% 0.54% YouthBuild PCS 1 1.72% 0.00% IDEA PCS 7 2.85% 1.15% Paul PCS - Middle School 4 0.86% Maya Angelou PCS - High School 1.33% 0.48% Paul PCS - International High School 1.58% 0.82% 84 of 118 campuses (71%) did not expel any students in SY 2016-17 compared to 85 of 115 campuses (74%) in SY 2015-16

Expulsion: Highest Rates in 2016-17 School Ward 2015-16 Rate 2016-17 Rate National Collegiate Preparatory PCHS 8 2.50% 3.64% SEED PCS of Washington DC 7 1.70% 1.66% Friendship PCS - Collegiate Academy 0.37% 1.60% Friendship PCS - Technology Preparatory Middle School 0.65% 1.56% Somerset Preparatory Academy PCS 1.79% 1.54% KIPP DC - College Preparatory Academy PCS 5 0.79% 1.35% IDEA PCS 2.85% 1.15% LAYC Career Academy PCS 1 1.05% 1.08%

Out-of-school Suspensions (OSS): Charter Average in 2016-17 SY 2016-17 Charter Sector Average : 9.3% 9.3% 90.7% of students had zero suspensions. With PK and Adult students excluded, the charter sector average OSS rate was 12.6% in 2016-17 and 12.1% in 2015-16.

Out-of-school Suspensions (OSS): Charter Average in 2016-17 SY 2016-17 Charter Sector Averages At Risk Students: 13.2% African American Students: 11.6% 90.7% of students had zero suspensions. With PK and Adult students excluded, the OSS rate for At Risk students was 16.0% in 2016-17. With PK and Adult students excluded, the OSS rate for African American students was 14.7% in 2016-17.

Out-of-school Suspensions: Notable Improvements in 2016-17 Ward # of Students Suspended IDEA PCS 7 From 86 to 40 Friendship PCS - Technology Preparatory Middle School 8 From 66 to 17 Kingsman Academy PCS 6 From 32 to 0 E.L. Haynes PCS - Middle School 1 From 78 to 35 The Children's Guild DC PCS 5 From 76 to 44

Lost Instruction Time Due to Suspensions Lost Instruction Time Due to Out-of-School Suspensions SY 2015-2016 SY 2016-2017 15,137 days lost to suspension 16,597 days lost to suspension 6,578,132 enrolled days 7,229,162 enrolled days

Long Term (11+ Day) Suspensions: Highest Rates in 2016-17 Campus Ward % of students # of students KIPP DC - College Preparatory Academy PCS 5 3.4% 20 National Collegiate Preparatory PCHS 8 3.3% 9 Somerset Preparatory Academy PCS 2.5% KIPP DC - WILL Academy PCS 6 1.4% Maya Angelou PCS - High School 7 3 Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS 0.8% Democracy Prep Congress Heights PCS 0.5% Highest Long Term Suspension Rates in 2015-16 Note: This is an Equity Report metric and includes students with 11+ days in a single suspension, not cumulative

Our Role in Addressing Discipline DC PCSB assesses discipline policies when new applicant groups apply for a charter When schools are up for charter review, we work with the schools on revising charter goals, including goals around discipline Schools’ discipline policies are posted on DC PCSB’s website in each school’s Student Handbook. All must have the following: Clear explanation of infractions, consequences and due process Explanation of disciplinary steps for students with disabilities We analyze discipline data monthly to look for trends, and alerts schools when they are an outlier with their rate of disciplinary incidences.

Attendance Rates Over Time (Excluding Adult Campuses)

In-Seat Attendance: Highest Rates (K-12 Only) Highest ISA Rates SY 2016-17 ISA Rate Friendship PCS - Online 99.8% Center City PCS - Brightwood 97.0% Ideal Academy PCS 96.6% Washington Latin PCS - Middle School 96.1% Hope Community PCS - Tolson Hope Community PCS - Lamond 96.0% E.L. Haynes PCS - Middle School 95.9% Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom PCS Washington Yu Ying PCS 95.7% BASIS DC PCS Latin American Montessori Bilingual PCS 95.3% Friendship PCS - Woodridge Middle School 95.2%

In-Seat Attendance: Lowest Rates (K-12 Only) Lowest ISA Rates SY 2016-17 ISA Rate Goodwill Excel Center PCS* 48.1% Kingsman Academy PCS 65.2% Maya Angelou PCS - High School 70.0% Shining Stars Montessori Academy PCS 85.2% Rocketship DC PCS 85.3% National Collegiate Preparatory PCHS 85.9% Democracy Prep Congress Heights PCS 86.2% The Children's Guild DC PCS 86.5% St. Coletta Special Education PCS 86.6% *Goodwill Excel Center PCS is an alternative high school with a significant number of students over 18 years of age.

SY 2016-17 Charter Sector Average : 21.7%* Truancy Rate: Percent of students ages 5-17 with 10+ unexcused absences SY 2016-17 Charter Sector Average : 21.7%* (up from 19.9%* in SY 2015-16) The DC PCSB Truancy Policy seeks to reduce absenteeism by encouraging schools to focus on strategies to improve attendance. 2 schools received a Notice of Concern in SY 2016-17. The Policy compels schools and PCSB staff to track improvement in attendance at the school and student level. *Prior to 2016-17, schools’ individual attendance policies set the period of time following an absence in which excuse notes could be accepted. In 2016-17, District policy mandated that schools could not accept excuse notes more than 5 days following an absence.

Truancy: Highest Rates (Excluding Adult Campuses) School Name Truancy Rate 16-17 ISA The Children's Guild DC PCS 78.4% 86.5% Rocketship DC PCS 62.6% 85.3% KIPP DC - College Preparatory Academy PCS 60.2% 87.1% Maya Angelou PCS - High School 50.2% 70.0% Democracy Prep Congress Heights PCS 86.2% Friendship PCS - Collegiate Academy 40.4% 89.9%

Our Role in Improving Attendance & Discipline For SY 2017-18, DC PCSB will continue to work with OSSE and charter LEAs to streamline the process for collecting and reporting truancy and discipline data. Through transparency, we encourage schools to adopt and improve on best practices which increase instructional time.

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