Schools Ring Closing Bell More Are Shut as Student-Age Population Declines, Charters Add Competition

Stephanie Banchero:

WASHINGTON--At Davis Elementary in this city's mostly poor southeast section, 178 students are spread out in a 69-year-old building meant to hold 450.

Three miles away, the new, $30 million KIPP charter school teems with 1,050 children. Toddlers crawl over a state-of-the-art jungle gym and older students fill brightly decorated classrooms. A waiting list holds 2,000 names.

Many students who live within the Davis boundaries instead attend the charter school, one of 125 nationwide run by KIPP, a nonprofit. The exodus helped land Davis on a list of 20 schools targeted for closure next school year.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 9, 2012 2:58 AM
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