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

Last week, DCPS held 3 days of in person instruction before winter break began on December 23. In that time, covid cases increased alarmingly both in DC as well as across schools--and the mayor reinstated a mask mandate. Yet, instead of responding to the data; or to a petition signed by thousands to have virtual … Continue reading Denying Covid, Denying Reality–And Fighting Back

The title of this blog post was what a staff member of the DC department of energy and environment (DOEE) wrote to a fellow staff member in an email about a storm water management system at Eagle Academy’s property at 2345 R St. SE. That email was part of a FOIA production I received around … Continue reading “We Got A Lot Of Pressure To Approve This Charter School Project”

This coming week is full of opportunities (some of which are listed below, in chronological order) for DC residents to weigh in on a variety of important issues in our schools: November 15, 6 pm: The DC state board of education (SBOE) holds the first of two public engagement sessions on social studies standards, school … Continue reading Public Ed. Engagement, Week of November 15

[Ed. Note: What follows is an edited interview between DCPS parent Betsy Wolf and a DCPS teacher who helped create RCTs (required curricular tasks) for DCPS. As a condition of this interview, the teacher’s identity remains confidential. DCPS is currently using RCTs as a means of student assessment this school year. But RCTs were created last school … Continue reading A DCPS Teacher Who Helped Create RCTs Speaks Out

[Ed. Note: The following outline of questions and concerns regarding DCPS's upcoming budget was created by citywide members of C4DC, the Coalition for DC Public Schools & Communities, which is dedicated to strengthening DCPS (and includes in its membership this blog). As you tune into the DCPS budget hearing that begins tonight at 6 pm, … Continue reading C4DC Concerns And Questions On The DCPS FY23 Operating Budget

While people continue to debate the new name of Wilson high school (see here and here), and DCPS finally hit the low end of its asymptomatic testing goal 9 weeks into the school year (12% as of October 18—woo hoo!), DCPS passed another covid milestone: 1000 cases after 10 weeks of school. While one may … Continue reading November Events (And A Few October Leftovers)

[Ed. Note: On October 26, a subset of DC council members (Phil Mendelson, Janeese Lewis George, Robert White, Brianne Nadeau, Mary Cheh, Brooke Pinto, and Charles Allen) heard hours of testimony on two bills that would change the governance structure of DC’s office of the state superintendent of education (OSSE). One of the bills in … Continue reading Fixing OSSE (And DC Democracy): Testimony From A DCPS Parent

Last week, Jon Hale, professor of education at the University of Illinois, spoke with Illinois-based public schools advocate (and former DCPS parent) Peter MacPherson. Their hour-long conversation, linked below and recorded for this blog, covers topics in Hale’s recently released book, The Choice We Face: How Segregation, Race, and Power Have Shaped America’s Most Controversial … Continue reading In Conversation: Jon Hale Talks School Choice (& Its Baleful Effects) With Peter MacPherson