Forty percent of D.C.'s public school students go to public charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run. Yet these mostly economically disadvantaged students are treated as second-class citizens by the D.C. government. Since the first charter school opened in 1996, the government has locked charer students out of most school buildings that are no longer needed by the school system. Instead, it has sold the building for condos, used them for office space, even let them rot--anything to keep them from housing children who attend charter schools. CLICK on the tab above titled "Facilities Access" to learn more about this issue and download a PDF of our "Locked Out" booklet. ====================

It's Election Season in DC...

It's still election season! As a nonprofit, FOCUS can't support or endorse any candidate, but we can make sure you have information about all candidates so that you can make an informed decision and get out and vote. This site will provide you with information about some of the policy issues public charter schools face. For more information about the candidates, click here. You may have seen our "fair funding" yard signs around the city. We began a campaign in the spring to make sure that the city provided adequate funding in the fiscal year 2011 budget for kids in public charter schools. Once the budget process was complete, we switched gears to focus on the elections. We want to make sure that all the candidates in both the primary and general elections know how much support there is in DC for public charter schools and that their campaign platforms reflect that support. Join our campaign, request a yard sign, and help encourage our public officials to level the playing field so all D.C. students receive an excellent education no matter what kind of public school they attend.