So, the chancellor asks for his child to be transferred into an out-of-bounds school that has no availability and voila! It happens. While the chancellor apologizes. And his boss, the deputy mayor for education, resigns. Back in the ancient times of 2017, there was this. Now it's 2018, and there's another chancellor with another lottery … Continue reading It’s 2017 All Over Again: Can We Have An Audit Of The Lottery Already?

Hey, Wards 1, 4, 6, and 8: did you know you’re in a “Green Zone”--a label given by the charter board to your wards because, well, according to a 2017 analysis buried in the charter board website, your wards are ripe for new charter schools? Hey, Ward 7: did you know that someone offered your … Continue reading Just Tell Me: Who Voted For This?

Starting on February 13 and continuing into April, the education committee of the DC city council is holding a series of performance oversight and budget hearings for education agencies in DC. Note: As currently scheduled, the budget oversight hearings for DCPS, the charter board, and the deputy mayor for education fall in the last week … Continue reading Hearings–And A Petition

The cross-sector task force is gearing up to consult with the public about its latest (draft) recommendations for action, concerning at risk students and opening, closing, and siting schools. Below is a list of the dates and times of the focus groups (click on the links for those you wish to sign up for): School … Continue reading Keep The Public In Our Public Schools & Sign Up For Focus Groups On Cross Sector Task Force Recommendations

In the wake of the recent report on Ballou and some high schools by the office of our state superintendent of education (OSSE), we have learned a few things (not all of which have been written about, in at least one case): --At Ballou, DCPS turned its back on staff and students. That included 1. … Continue reading Come On, City Leaders, Do The Right Thing: Fully Investigate ALL Our DC High Schools

The city council’s education committee will hold a hearing on January 30 (sign up is here) concerning two bills--B22-0594 and B22-0179--that could eliminate most suspensions of children younger than high school age in addition to providing greater scrutiny of, and justification for, DCPS suspensions. The bills together attempt to provide guidance for all publicly funded … Continue reading DC Public School Suspensions—or, “Where’s The x-Axis?”

Of all the incredible things said by parents, teachers, students, and policy experts during the more than 10 hours (!) of the December 15 council hearing on graduation accountability and Ballou, here are some selected highlights: --Many testified about the good actions of the Ballou principal and urged the council to talk to teachers and … Continue reading The Ballou Hearing: The Good, The Bad, & OSSE

Oh, you thought I was talking about the new five-star rating system brought to you by our state superintendent of education (OSSE) to rate all DC’s public schools? Ah, well, turns out someone else thought of it first: According to the NY Times, a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Oregon limited patients “in an effort … Continue reading What EVER Could Go Wrong With A Five-Star Rating?

The title of this blog entry was the only conclusion I could make after listening to several council hearings, the DCPS budget forum, and one of the DCPS chancellor forums (this past week at Eastern high school). As varied as the venues and witnesses were, the bottom line for all was that staffing in our … Continue reading It’s The Staffing

[Ed Note: The education committee of the city council is holding TWO related hearings this Friday, December 15 (one starts at 10 am and will reconvene at 4 pm that same day) on graduation rate accountability, arising from reporting that students at DCPS's Ballou high school graduated without earning appropriate credit. Below, DC education activist Peter MacPherson … Continue reading Investigating Ballou Means Investigating Ourselves