A few weeks ago, I attended the August meeting of the Ward 6 Public School Parents Organization (W6PSPO). The guest speaker was DCPS planner Claudia Lujan, who presented information on the Eastern high school feeder pattern and recruitment efforts. (See here for a general overview of Eastern’s feeder pattern--and see here for Eastern's recruitment planning tool.) … Continue reading Unsaid (With A Purpose): Planning For Our Schools
DC Needs A Sexual Assault Policy For ALL Its Publicly Funded Schools–Now
Just a few months ago, in June, we learned that an employee of a popular DC aftercare provider, Springboard, allegedly sexually abused a child at DCPS's Logan Montessori school. What has unfolded since shows that our city leaders do not appear to regard the handling of sexual assaults in our publicly funded schools as a … Continue reading DC Needs A Sexual Assault Policy For ALL Its Publicly Funded Schools–Now
When Following The Law Fails The Public Interest
We here in DC have recently had a lot of “bumps in the road” regarding our public school governance. Indeed, some notable "bumps" of late* suggest that following the law regarding our schools may be, well, optional. (*chancellor and deputy mayor skipping the lottery; employee background checks lapsing or not being done at all; not … Continue reading When Following The Law Fails The Public Interest
Leases For City-Owned School Buildings (And Clarifying Who Owns And Rents What)
This blog post is intended to be a resource: a (growing) list of currently available leases obtained by FOIA for city-owned school buildings as well as a fact check for charter schools leasing and/or owning buildings. Per this list given to the city council in spring by the DC public charter school board (PCSB) in response … Continue reading Leases For City-Owned School Buildings (And Clarifying Who Owns And Rents What)
Monday July 29: Community Forum On Making DC Playground Surfaces Safe
On Monday July 29, the Sierra Club Grassroots Network for Safe Healthy Playing Fields and Playgrounds will hold a community forum on lead and other dangers posed by the use of synthetic surfaces made from recycled tires on playgrounds and recreational spaces. The forum is free and open to the public; it starts at 7 … Continue reading Monday July 29: Community Forum On Making DC Playground Surfaces Safe
What Are We Doing For Our Children At Monument Academy?
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?
Transparency 101 (Or, “When You’re A Star . . . You Can Do Anything”)
--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”)
