On December 20, the DC council passed a bill (see here and here) authored, edited, promoted, re-presented, and (eventually, thankfully) amended by chairman of the council Phil Mendelson that will re-do how DCPS school budgets are calculated. The bill now includes amendments that advocates fought hard for, as DCPS parent and budget guru Betsy Wolf … Continue reading Slouching Into 2023 With DC’s Zero Sum Education Politics

[Ed. Note: The following is a public comment submitted December 18 via email to the DC public charter school board concerning its new public comment process, which (per the charter board’s memo on it) was created to “improve the integrity of the public comment process.”] Dear charter board members, My name is Valerie Jablow, and … Continue reading Integrity–Or, When DC Charters Lie About Real Estate (And Other Tales Of Public Dissing)

[Ed. Note: Herein is a cross posting around recent essays by DCPS parents Allyson Criner Brown and Emily Roderer (via DC Line) and DCPS budget analyst Mary Levy (via C4DC). Together, their essays outline how DCPS can be saved from itself and the ministrations of political entities. Of course, whether DCPS will be saved is … Continue reading Saving DCPS From Itself

--On November 16, DCPS is holding its annual (mandated) budget meeting; sign up is here. Per history, expect a tightly controlled official narrative; limited testimony with no official response; and finishing within seconds of the announced ending. ---Here is a helpful list of school-based mental health providers, by school, from the DC department of behavioral … Continue reading A Round-Up Of Recent News That Should Influence DC Voters (But Probably Won’t)

In late October, the DC Council marked-up the Safe Streets for Students bill, B24-0066. It would create an office of safe passage to monitor conditions and promote safe passage; provide for more crossing guards; and ensure a master plan for safe routes and passage for school kids over 5 years. A vote is expected before … Continue reading Unsafe Passages: A History Of Inaction & Photo Essay

This past week, after more than a month, DCPS ended holding public feedback sessions on its strategic plan. The only hitch: There is no strategic plan. For sure, there were good questions asked of participants at the virtual session I attended, on October 1—and the slide deck presented at my session articulated goals as well … Continue reading DCPS Strategery (Now, With Council Assistance!)

[Ed. Note: The following editorial, to save legislation that would ensure all DCPS schools have librarians henceforward, is by long-time DCPS libraries activist Peter MacPherson.] By Peter MacPherson For reasons that cannot sustain even modest scrutiny, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson has shown no interest in helping DCPS school librarians.  Worse, he is actively preventing … Continue reading Come On, DC: Save Our School Librarians!

Yesterday, at large council member Christina Henderson, along with council chair Phil Mendelson, introduced legislation that would, literally, only change one term in existing law, from “2022-2023” to “2023-2024.” In so doing, the council member is proposing to throw out her own legislation, which required all DC school students 12 and up to get vaccinated … Continue reading Covid 1984

This coming Saturday, October 22, at 10 am, be sure to join DCPS librarians at a read-in at our city hall, the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW), to protest the DC council not passing legislation that would provide a librarian for every DCPS school. Specifically, the Students' Right to Read Amendment act is in … Continue reading Support Librarians This Saturday, October 22, 10 AM

[Ed. Note: On September 27, the DC Council held a hearing on a resolution regarding the need for a large addition to Stoddert Elementary as well as overcrowding of schools in Ward 3. The hearing had a number of public witnesses as well as government witnesses--but the only council member in attendance was the chair … Continue reading The Coming Storm Of Expanding Ward 3’s Schools