--At the July 15 meeting of the Ward 6 public schools parent association (see here for the video, passcode 5O!h!69Z), DCPS chancellor Ferebee noted that every DCPS school will have a full-time nurse (starting at minute 8:35). The chancellor also weighed in on school librarians (starting at minute 10:25): “Schools from my view have already … Continue reading The Long, Hot Summer . . . Budget

[Below is an email sent to DC Council chair Phil Mendelson on June 23 regarding DCPS libraries. The writer, long-time DCPS libraries advocate Peter MacPherson, got no response from the chairman. In spring, DCPS revealed that 37 schools would not have full-time librarians in SY21-22, with the number having no librarian at all increased from … Continue reading No Response: DC School Libraries

At 6 pm on March 30, 2021, DGS (DC's department of general services, which operates all DC's publicly owned buildings) and the deputy mayor for education (DME) held a combined surplus/disposition meeting for the closed DCPS school, Wilkinson, at 2330 Pomeroy Road SE. What followed was the only public outreach--exactly 1 hour--by public agencies in … Continue reading Sweetheart of Sweethearts: The Wilkinson Deal

A bunch of hearings slated for next week, on schools and their recovery from the pandemic, showed up on the council calendar recently: Monday May 24, 12 pm: hearing with invited experts on school re-opening and academic recovery; more information is here. Wednesday May 26, 9 am: hearing with public and invited witnesses on the … Continue reading In Case You Missed It . . .

Mayor Bowser’s surprise announcement on April 29 of a $14 million infusion into DCPS’s budget has set the tone for what will likely be a busy and contentious May on many education fronts. Defying 11th hour legislation introduced the next day (and also slated to force funding of some, though not all, DCPS schools that … Continue reading Upcoming Education Events: Federal Money Planning, Hearings, And Ward 3 Expansion Feedback

On Friday April 2, there was a (hastily called) hearing on widespread shortfalls in DCPS school budgets. Ward education councils were the only public witnesses—while the chancellor testified afterward. (To see public testimony, go here and scroll through.) The minority of council members who attended the hearing (Robert White, Mary Cheh, Christina Henderson, Brianne Nadeau, … Continue reading Fixing DCPS School Budgets (And DC Democracy) NOW

[Ed. Note: Over just a few years, DC's auditor has produced many pages detailing shockingly poor practices in DC's public schools, whether mis-use of at risk funds, inequitable modernizations, high school admissions bias, and segregation and funding inequities arising from school choice. The auditor's latest report on DC's publicly funded schools, released on March 10, … Continue reading The March 2021 Auditor’s Report: Or, How DC Fails To Provide All Students Their Educations

Teaching for Change posted this beautiful tribute to Liz Davis and her amazing life in DC. It is both a very welcome personal history--and the story of our DC schools. Indeed, Liz Davis’s work as the head of the Washington Teachers’ Union has lived larger in my life as a DCPS parent than that of … Continue reading A Brief Note On An Extraordinary Washingtonian: Elizabeth Davis

--This afternoon, starting at 4 pm, the DC council is holding a hearing on the massive report by the DC auditor concerning how our office of the state superintendent of education (OSSE) has been handling education data. In a word: badly. In more words: incompletely, inaccurately, poorly compared to other states, and possibly without regard … Continue reading March Madness (DC School Governance Edition)

[Ed. Note: In part 1 of this series, semi-retired educator Richard P. Phelps provided a first-hand account of what went down in DCPS as ed reformers in the early days of mayoral control pushed standardized tests; teacher evaluations based on those tests; and harsh school penalties. This second part looks at the cheating scandals that … Continue reading Looking Back on DC Education Reform 10 Years Later, Part 2: Test Cheats