[Ed. Note: On March 7, DC’s office of the state superintendent of education (OSSE) submitted to the federal department of education an addendum to its state plan for accountability for DC’s publicly funded schools. In its cover letter, OSSE mentioned receiving public feedback. But that feedback was limited to four entities: a charter advocacy organization; … Continue reading Feedback For School Ratings And Accountability (And Seeing DC’s Plan In A New Light)

1. On March 30, the DC council will hold a hearing for a FUN bill (more specifically, the Fairness in Use and Negotiation for All Recreational Property bill, 24-0554), which requires public engagement on, and council oversight of, all exclusive use or license agreements for the use of DC recreational properties for a year or … Continue reading Catching Up On March: Events & Happenings

[Ed. Note: The following, by DC parent Wendy Cronin, is a description of a meeting held by OSSE (office of the state superintendent of education) for school leaders on March 14, 2022. Cronin’s summary contains important information about what OSSE is doing—and not doing—to protect students. You can also watch the meeting, which is about … Continue reading Playing (Deadly) Games With Covid

[Ed. Note: Back in 2019, in the wake of news reports and lawsuits concerning sexual misconduct in our publicly funded schools, I wrote this blog post, asking a question that we still--in 2022--do not have an answer for: how are parents to know that their children are safe from sexual misconduct in our schools, if … Continue reading DC (Still) Needs A Sexual Misconduct Policy For ALL Its Publicly Funded Schools

February has been busy for our schools, whether with bomb threats; a different sort of high school disruption (engineered by a billionaire with a 30% failure rate!); a lawsuit brought by former DCPS principals fired for opposing harsh treatment of students; a series on sexual misconduct at Duke Ellington HS; and a new DCPS budget … Continue reading Hey, It’s Budget Season (And Other Recent Unpleasantries)

Almost 2 years into a pandemic that has killed nearly a million Americans, let us explore where DCPS is at--and where we need to be. DCPS has yet to meet its target of 20% testing of students each week—despite emergency legislation (which expired on January 15) calling for at least that level starting in November. … Continue reading We’re Better Than This: Getting To Healthier Covid Policies In DCPS

While Phil Mendelson, chair of the DC council, dithers and delays about that elected body returning in person after almost 2 years of virtual meetings and hearings, others in DC are demanding safety for in person learning after 20 weeks of the same this school year: --A group of DCPS high school students, Students for … Continue reading Demanding Safer & Better Schools: Upcoming Events & Recaps

On January 20, the DC Council is holding a hearing (virtual because we’re in an emergency—just not for our teachers or students) on two bills on DCPS budgeting. Written by council chair Phil Mendelson, the bills come as DCPS works on a new budget model that would move away from a comprehensive staffing model to … Continue reading Looking Away From Real DCPS Budget Problems

The other day, I posted this about the interesting time we had in DCPS in the week before winter break. Turns out, we’re poised to have an even more interesting time this week! Unlike what I had noted in that blog post (that DCPS cancelled all asymptomatic testing before winter break), some DCPS schools in … Continue reading DC Schools January 2022: Don’t Look Up

[The following letter was emailed from me to all members of the DC state board of education on December 28, 2021. It contains comments on the board's efforts to revise the STAR rating and DC's school accountability measures. The board is slated to vote on changes in January.] Dear DC state board of education (SBOE), … Continue reading Meanwhile, As Covid Rages, DC Revises Its School Ratings