Eagle Academy students settle in new schools after sudden closure

WASHINGTON — Shaunyce Boone-Ruffin wears a shirt that reads “first day of kindergarten.” It's not the Eagle Academy uniform her grandmother expected her to be wearing, but after the charter school abruptly shut down, she's happy they landed at Hope Community — a new school with some familiar faces.

“To my surprise, when we walked in she saw the administrative assistant who came from Eagle,” said Littyce Boone, Shaunyce’s grandmother. “And she also saw Mr. Little, who came from Eagle, and she was ecstatic. She loved it.”

Shaunyce missed out on a week of classes after Eagle Academy’s sudden closure was announced just six days before the planned first day of school. And she’s not alone — Shaunyce is one of about 300 children, plus school staff, who were left scrambling to enroll in a new school last week. 

City leaders are looking back and asking questions about the dropping enrollment and gross financial mismanagement that forced the Public Charter School Board (PSCB) to shut the school down days before the new school year.

“There are very important issues about oversight, but right now we're focused on supporting the families,” Deputy Mayor of Education Paul Kihn said.

The PCSB requires charter schools to have 45 days of cash on hand to be successful. But in January, Eagle had only 23 days of cash on hand, and by June, they were only operating with six days of cash on hand. And enrollment dropped steeply from 838 in 2019 to 412 in 2023. 

Eagle was hemorrhaging, and by the time the PCSB and Eagle's board tried to stop the bleeding, it was too late. The PCSB has not returned WUSA9’s requests for an interview.

Council chairman Phil Mendelson sent the board a letter demanding answers in the next two weeks or face a likely Council oversight hearing. Right now, city leaders say questions surround Joe Smith, the former CEO who was also the Chief Financial Officer.

“We do know there are accusations of financial mismanagement of a serious order, not just things messed up, but questionable financial mismanagement with the same school and the same personnel in Nevada,” Mendelson said.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said the allegations of financial mismanagement are concerning.

“I do think it's important that PCSB is making sure schools we give billions of dollars to are doing what they say they are doing with our kids,” Bowser said.