I was amazed to read the “Charter Bust” item (City Desk, 8/5). What really got me was the statement by Tom Nida saying, in reference to the application from the Dupont Circle International Academy, that the school’s application “was probably the most complex thing we’ve ever seen.” That and the grounds for denial including that the Dupont Circle International Academy’s standards are too high indicate that the D.C. Public Charter School Board’s basic response is “We aren’t smart enough to figure out the application, and D.C. students aren’t smart enough to handle the curriculum.”

Wow. Wow. In a time when China appears to be the best bet to be the world’s next superpower, we have a school offering a Chinese-immersion program and requiring high standards. And D.C. educational powers that be seem to think that’s a bad thing. Wow.

Alexandria, Va.