For Immediate Release: Monday, July 16, 2012 Contact: Marc Bleyer, DME Capital Program Manager, 202-7279543,

marc.bleyer@dc.gov Kenneth Diggs, DGS Communications Manager, 202-6711326, kenneth.diggs@dc.gov Doxie McCoy, EOM Communications Manager, 202-7279691, Doxie.Mccoy@dc.gov

Deputy Mayor for Education and Department of General Services Recommend Awarding Rudolph School to Washington Latin PCS
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - After a thorough evaluation process, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) and the Department of General Services (DGS) will recommend to the Council of the District of Columbia to award the Rudolph School at 5200 2nd Street NW to Washington Latin Public Charter School. Washington Latin is a shining example of what our public charter schools can achieve, and it will be a welcome addition to the Fort Totten/Brightwood Park neighborhood. At present, Washington Latin conducts classes at three separate campuses along 16th Street NW in Ward 4. By leasing the Rudolph School on a long-term basis, Washington Latin will be able to consolidate its high-performing middle- and high-school programs into one location to better serve students and families. Both its lower school, which serves grades 5-8, and its upper school, which serves grades 9-12, are ranked Tier 1 under the Public Charter School Board's Performance Management Framework. This was the first year that the school has had a graduating class and all 42 of its seniors have been accepted to college. "I'm extremely pleased with this recommendation and congratulate Washington Latin on its award," said Mayor Vincent C. Gray. "This is a great match and a perfect example of how the process should work to provide more high-quality public schools for our students. My administration is absolutely committed to reactivating our surplus school buildings while making sure that we also provide more high-quality educational options. I also want to congratulate Washington Latin on its academic achievements. This school is a fine example of what all our public schools strive to achieve every day." "Washington Latin has demonstrated how public charter schools can provide a highquality education and serve as a model of excellence here in the District. By turning Rudolph into a beautiful new campus, we are confident that Washington Latin will be able to provide even better educational opportunities," said Deputy Mayor for Education De'Shawn Wright. He added that "there were three very competitive proposals for this

school building, and the evaluation panel looked very carefully at each of them. Ultimately, the panel recommended Washington Latin based on a strong performance record and an exciting proposal for reusing the building." DGS released a Request for Offers (RFO) for four surplus school buildings in April 2012, including Rudolph (5200 2nd Street NW), Young (820 26th Street NE), J.F. Cook (30 P Street NW), and Langston (43 P Street NW). DGS held public hearings on each of the buildings prior to releasing the solicitation. Eight public charter schools submitted proposals, including three for Rudolph, three for Young, and two for a combined project at J.F. Cook and Langston. Since the evaluation panel did not recommend an award for Young, J.F. Cook, and Langston in this round, DGS and DME will solicit new bids for those buildings in the coming weeks. In collaboration with the Public Charter School Board and DGS, DME has developed new guidelines for the evaluation of RFO proposals. These new guidelines will give priority to high-quality charter schools as defined under the Public Charter School Board's Performance Management Framework. In addition to performance, the evaluation panel will continue to look at a range of factors in each proposal, including an applicant's program, project vision and feasibility, team experience, and financial capacity. The new evaluation criteria aim to make the process more objective and more transparent. The guidelines will be clearly stated in the RFO documents and incorporated into all solicitations going forward. Follow the Deputy Mayor for Education on Twitter: @DMEforDC www.dme.dc.gov