Back on May 20th, at its regular monthly board meeting, the public charter school board (PCSB) held a discussion about serious problems at the Monument Academy charter school, only some of which were documented in recent news stories (see, for instance, here and here and here and here). Among the concerns discussed at the May 20 … Continue reading What Are We Doing For Our Children At Monument Academy?

--The council held a hearing at the end of June on legislation to bring more transparency to budgets and school meetings. During the hearing, one of the chairs chastised public witnesses (i.e., members of the public) when they testified about the desperate need for transparency in our schools in addition to budgets. --It took more … Continue reading Transparency 101 (Or, “When You’re A Star . . . You Can Do Anything”)

Tomorrow, Wednesday June 26, the city council will hold a hearing on two bills, which are generally aimed at budget transparency in our publicly funded schools—most notably, for better recording and tracking of all public funds, especially at risk funds. The latter are supposed to supplement, not supplant, other expenditures in our schools, to target … Continue reading Fear Of FOIA

[Ed. Note: In the wake of allegations of child sex abuse by an aftercare worker at DCPS's Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan, several parents have spent countless (unpaid) hours creating the following documents, which I have put below by permission of their main source, parent Danica Petroshius. The first document (available here) is a list … Continue reading Documenting & Addressing Sexual Misconduct In DC’s Publicly Funded Schools

So, all this happened just this week in DC schools: --Shots were fired at the windows of Hendley Elementary while children were inside. It was the second time in as many weeks the school building was shot at. The Ward 8 school recently received a large budget cut--despite having many at risk students. --A fire … Continue reading Just One Week In DC Schools (Or, Heaven Help Us)

Back in October, I attended a public meeting at Kramer Middle School, for feedback on the master facilities plan (MFP). The session was one of several held throughout the city by the deputy mayor for education’s (DME) office, which is responsible for creating the plan. Required to be updated wholesale once every decade, the MFP … Continue reading The Real Master (Facilities) Plan?

Just the other day, while the charter board approved almost 2000 new school seats (in the face of an official determination that we have thousands of unfilled seats already), and while many schools of right in wards 7 & 8 face unbelievable budget cuts (see the chart here, on p. 2) that will ensure they have … Continue reading Where Is Our Safe Room?

Just a quick highlight of several education events happening this weekend in DC: On Sunday May 19, from 1-5 pm, there will be a panel discussion to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the decision in the Bolling v. Sharpe court case, which desegregated public schools in our city. See more information here. The discussion will … Continue reading Upcoming Weekend Events (And Beyond!)

[Ed. Note: The following editorial is by former DCPS parent Peter MacPherson] by Peter MacPherson I’ve spent many years advocating for public education in the District of Columbia. My 22-year-old daughter spent every day of her 14 years as a primary and secondary school student in DCPS. In all that time, I have personally witnessed … Continue reading Mayor Bowser’s Second Term: Endgame For DCPS?

This blog post is accounting for how you are not a part of DC's public schools, even if you think and believe you are. Last week, I discovered that no one in the public can anymore view the June 2017 charter board meeting, because the video was accidentally destroyed. Several summers ago, in this blog, … Continue reading Accounting For Public Exclusion