As you possibly did (not) hear, last week 3 DCPS parents (including me ;-), 2 DCPS students, and 1 DCPS teacher filed a lawsuit to ensure the mayor follows the law in her search for the next DCPS chancellor by including actual DCPS stakeholders in her advisory panel, as the spirit (and letter!) of the … Continue reading Gosh, Someone’s Suing The City Over The Chancellor Search??

It’s (still!) summer in DC, even though DCPS is officially starting in a few hours--which naturally means a lot happened in DC public education while you were (hopefully) away. Herein is an incomplete summary. Excel/Birney Real Estate Dramedy As you may recall, the newest DCPS school, Excel, had been a charter school for girls until … Continue reading Wait, What Just Happened? Summer 2018 Edition

The Our Schools DC Leadership Committee (aka the chancellor selection panel) is holding three public sessions starting tomorrow evening, Tuesday August 14, on what you may desire to see in the next DCPS chancellor: --Tuesday, August 14, 6:30 pm, Cardozo Education Campus, 1200 Clifton Street NW RSVP here. --Tuesday, August 28, 6:30 pm, Savoy Elementary … Continue reading Community Feedback, DCPS Chancellor

Since summer 2017, the Urban Institute has secretly worked with DC education leaders on a plan to be an independent education research entity working on behalf of the mayor and generating research about DC’s publicly funded schools. The public was first informed about this during a July 13, 2018, council hearing. According to testimony during … Continue reading When Public Officials Go Private: Urban Institute & Research Collaborative Edition

On Friday November 17, 2017, DCPS and charter board staff met to discuss transferring a closed DCPS school, Kenilworth Elementary, to an all-boys charter school, North Star (now called Statesmen). Not only was the school legally unavailable for such an offer, but the public learned about the proposed arrangement only on February 1, 2018, at … Continue reading When Public Officials Go Private: Kenilworth Edition

Well, not really a secret--but it feels like that, as I just learned about the implementation of the revised free ride program for DC's students not through my kids' schools, but through an email from a parent who had heard word of mouth. So, shout this information from the DC Department of Transportation from the rooftops … Continue reading New Cards For Kids Ride Free (Shhh: It’s A Secret)

[Ed. Note: Enjoy the expertise of DCPS parent Betsy Wolf in this guest blog on issues surrounding the distribution, recruitment, and retention of effective teachers in DCPS. Wolf is an assistant professor in the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins, where she conducts independent evaluations of K-12 reforms and policies. All academic … Continue reading How To Have Effective Teachers In Every School (Or, What DC Doesn’t Do–But Should)

Yes, it’s summer, the city council is soon on recess until September, and you may be hundreds of miles away from DC physically (or spiritually)--but rest assured, someone in DC wants your thoughts this month on issues affecting our public schools! Proposed credit recovery policy: Our office of the state superintendent of education (OSSE) has … Continue reading It’s July–Time To Give Your Thoughts On DC Education!

During the June 13 graduation accountability hearing before the education committee of the DC city council, council members laid into DCPS interim chancellor Amanda Alexander repeatedly about what DCPS had done, was doing, and would in the future do regarding graduation accountability. Alexander hewed close to information DCPS compiled, represented in part by this document. … Continue reading DC Graduation Rates & Propaganda

[Ed. Note: Over several months, Grace Hu--parent at Ward 6’s Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in southwest DC, former Teach for America corps member, and advocate for educational equity--researched DCPS computer policy and surveyed staff and parents about IT reality in our schools. In this guest blog, Hu shares her conclusions--and a path forward.] By Grace Hu … Continue reading Solving DCPS’s Computer Challenges Is Not Rocket Science