Urban Preppies

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Yet several challenges remain. While students at SEED outperform their counterparts in other southeast Washington schools on standardized tests, their scores are still low. SEED seniors have an average SAT score of 834, not much higher than the 800 average throughout the Washington system. The school has tried to improve its performance by strengthening its curriculum. But as a result, 21 of the 63 eighth-graders were unable to move on to ninth grade last year. Six of those youngsters chose to drop out rather than repeat the grade. Retention was a problem even before the tougher standards went into effect. Only 23 of the 40 students in the school's first entering class are still there. "SEED looks like a very innovative model, but it is too early to tell," says Nina Rees, a U.S. Department of Education official who studies charter schools. And SEED is expensive. Because of the extra cost of housing students, SEED spends about $24,000 per student, more than double the allotment for the typical D.C. public school.

Despite those problems, Adler and Vinnakota remain committed to their mission and have set their sights on an even more ambitious dream: developing a network of public boarding schools around the country. "Our goal is to demonstrate that not only is there a need but there is a solution that works," Vinnakota says. As for the D.C. school, SEED'S founders say its true success will be measured by the number of students who go on to college and do well. But an earlier indication of what it has achieved may be found in the changing attitudes of its students. "Once you get used to everybody," says the once reluctant Douglas, "you don't want to leave."