If nothing else, the dozens of hours of education hearings this past fall in DC made one point very, very clear: DC routinely fails the most vulnerable kids among us.  While this is hardly news, it doesn’t mean the failures were inevitable nor that every child was failed. Yet no matter the topic, these fall … Continue reading Hearing Recap (“Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain” Edition)

The private wealth business of influencing DC’s public education is poised for an important boost in 2026. That is because the DC council is considering the nominations of four DC charter board members, three of whom would be new to the board. Several of those new board members are connected, through their jobs, to incredible amounts of … Continue reading Expanding The Private Wealth Business In DC Public Education

[Ed. Note: The DC council recently held a hearing on charter reviews and renewals, the purported reason for which was to ensure the sanctity and sanity of school choice. As the hearing write-up and testimony demonstrated, however, the focus was not exactly on families as much as on advantaging private nonprofits. Below is my testimony … Continue reading Charter Reviews & Renewals

So, erm, we had a schedule of fall hearings—and now we have a new schedule! See updated dates and newly scheduled hearings below; all others remain as they were before, in the link above (calendar has been updated as well):  October 28, 11 am (formerly November 5—hurry with the registration!): OSSE & Student Transportation OSSE (the office of the state … Continue reading The Fall Is Here–Redux Edition

As DC schools balance a number of pressing issues--nurses, ICE, student attendance at sporting events, more ICE (see here for a helpful review from SHAPPE)--the DC council has scheduled fall oversight hearings on public education. Read on for publicized events (and others less publicized): October 1, 9:30 am: Holding school budgets harmless Two bills, aiming to ensure … Continue reading The Fall Is Here

--While the federal government has recently released billions in (illegally) impounded education money, and the DC council has ensured that many agency budgets are (kinda, sorta) made whole, loose fiscal ends are everywhere. For instance, funds were restored for the DCPS green card program, which allows educators on H1B visas to have a path toward a green … Continue reading Summer Digest (Same Old DC Map Edition)

[Ed. Note: Today marks the first of two DC council hearings this week on handing $4.4 billion of DC taxpayer funds to billionaires for a football stadium at the RFK site on the eastern edge of Capitol Hill. As of this post, more than 500 public witnesses have signed up to testify today, including DC resident and DCPS parent … Continue reading What The Stadium Deal Really Means

[Ed. note: The following was submitted as written testimony to the DC council for the budget hearing on May 30 for various education agencies.] I am Valerie Jablow, a DC resident and education analyst, commenting on the mayor’s proposed budget with respect to charter facilities funds.  In the face of cuts to essential social services … Continue reading Saving Millions In Charter Facilities Funding

A few months later than normal (mainly because of fascist impoundment of DC local tax funds), the DC council has scheduled hearings for the newly released DC budget: Public charter school board, deputy mayor for education (DME), state board of education, education ombudsman, office of the student advocate: Friday May 30, 9:30 am; sign up and more information is … Continue reading Budget Oversight Hearings (And Other DC Democracy Concerns)

[Ed. Note: On May 5, the Capitol Hill Community Foundation held its 41st annual recognition of those who have served our community with distinction. One of the awardees this year was Stephanie Byrd, Payne Elementary’s principal since 2016. Byrd's brief speech that evening—reprinted below with her permission—not only underscores how vital her service has been to so many, … Continue reading “We Know Who We Are By The Way We Treat Our Children”