Each fall, DCPS is mandated to hear from the public concerning the DCPS budget. The exercise for 2018 was supposed to have happened back on November 7--but an electricity outage at Phelps forced the event to be postponed. Now, the budget hearing is slated to happen this coming Tuesday November 27, starting at 5:30 pm, … Continue reading Second Time’s The Charm: DCPS Budget Hearing

[Ed. Note: The following is by Ruth Wattenberg, Ward 3 state board of education representative, on a pending vote (as early as this coming Tuesday November 27) on city council legislation (B22-0776) to establish a research collaborative for education data in DC. In the wake of multiple education scandals involving data, the legislation provides for … Continue reading Save DC’s (Truly) Independent Education Collaborative!

At last week’s November 15 council hearing, on the plan to build a new Banneker high school at the site of the closed Shaw Junior High, dozens of public witnesses testified, advocating for either Banneker or a Shaw middle school of right on the site. But after more than four hours of their testimony, it … Continue reading This Is What Democracy Doesn’t Look Like: Banneker/Shaw Edition

Into the deep well of overlooked news dumped on a Friday evening before a long holiday weekend, the office of the deputy mayor for education (DME) this past Friday released its report on the work of 2+ years of the cross sector task force (CSTF). The somewhat triumphant press release avoids discussing the group's failures, while … Continue reading Cross Sector Task Force Releases Report; Members Resign

This is what happens when elected leaders ignore the public in its own schools: a petition to have the mayor do the right thing and honor the city's promise to have a middle school of right in Shaw *and* renovate Banneker. I'll let the good citizens of Shaw tell it: "[We] support a new middle … Continue reading Fighting Back: Shaw Middle School Petition

On November 8 and November 15, respectively, the city council will hold hearings for our acting deputy mayor for education (DME) Paul Kihn as well as a plan to put an expanded Banneker high school at the site of the closed Shaw middle school. Sign up is here, and more information is here and here, respectively. … Continue reading October Surprises: Bard, Banneker, Shaw & Kihn

How much money have you--as a parent, teacher, or student in DC’s publicly funded schools--given to political causes around public education in 2018: $5? $50? $500? $5000? How much money did your spouse/parents/children/relatives give? How much money did any union at your public school give? It is not easy to know all these answers--but chances … Continue reading DFER DC’s IEC: Pulling Away In 2018

Next Thursday November 1, the DC city council will hold several education-related hearings whose common theme is improving student safety in and around our schools. Sexual Assault and Abuse At 10 am on November 1, the council’s education committee is holding a hearing on two bills, introduced in September, that would require schools to adopt … Continue reading November 1: Accountability Day For Safer DC Schools

The DC Education Coalition for Change (DECC) is sponsoring a question and answer session for state board of education candidates tomorrow evening, Thursday October 25 at the Columbia Heights Education Campus, 3101 16th St NW. From 6 pm-7:15 pm that evening, the organization will discuss education issues and ratify its 2019 agenda. After that, starting … Continue reading Hear State Board Of Education Candidates Tomorrow Night, October 25

[Emilie Cassou is a DCPS elementary school parent and a sustainable food systems specialist. As she details here, she and other DCPS parents are leading an effort to get healthier food served to DCPS students.] By Emilie Cassou DCPS prides itself in having some of the best nutritional standards in the country. Reading about how … Continue reading A School Food Opportunity Too Good To Waste