WASHINGTON — One hundred and fifty students from Washington Metropolitan Opportunity Academy will now be looking for a new school.
On Jan. 23, Mayor Muriel Bowser, along with the D.C. Chancellor of Public Schools, decided to shut down the alternative school, citing low graduation rates and poor test scores. Data also showed attendance at the school had dipped below 40%.
Emergency legislation was introduced Tuesday at a D.C. Council meeting to keep the school open for one more year. The vote was close, but ultimately council members decided to vote with the decision Mayor Bowser had come to last month.
With tears streaming down her face, Lyric Johnson, a junior at the school couldn't contain her emotions.
"It's just a lot to process," Johnson said. "These are the people that are supposed to be for us."
Johnson and her fellow students waited four agonizing hours and sat through two D.C. Council meetings, to find out the fate of their school. At one point, they prayed inside of the chambers.
"I'm proud of myself that I came this far, I didn't give up, I didn't back down," Johnson said.
The alternative school in Northwest serves students who have not succeeded at traditional schools. Some are teen mothers, while others have suffered trauma.
But several Washington Met students said that the school is not equipped with the tools needed to succeed, and said they view the school as the only home they've ever known.
In a previous interview, the State Board of Education representative for Ward 1, Emily Gasoi, said she disagreed with the closure.
"It's a different population of students," Gasoi said. "Some of them have already tried the STAY academies, they tried their neighborhood schools, and they’re at Washington Met because that didn’t work for them."
In a letter released Jan. 23 Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said:
"The closure of a school is never taken lightly...We are confident that this closure is in the best interest of students and families and will yield positive results. Throughout this transition, we will continue to engage with stakeholders to ensure students remain first."
The chancellor said his staff will be meeting with every student to make sure they find the right school to transfer to.
DCPS is also extending the school lottery deadline and will help Washington Met students with credit recovery.
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