Below are two recent DCPS items that do not involve muckracking! 1. DCPS is soliciting feedback (see here) on its two proposed school calendars for next school year. New items include longer Thanksgiving and winter breaks; professional development at term ends, along with teacher conferences; more 5-day weeks (resulting in several 2-day weeks); and no … Continue reading DCPS Calendar Survey & Resource Fairs

The Network for Public Education, a national advocacy group, is calling for a day of action and awareness about gun violence in our schools on Friday, April 20, which is the anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine high school. In that event, which occurred 19 years ago, 15 people died, most of them children. … Continue reading Gun Violence & Our DC Schools

As we reel from some truly awful events of late in DC public education (see here, here, here, and here, the last of which apparently didn’t even merit discussion in the recent 6-hour council oversight hearing for the charter board and deputy mayor for education), let’s talk for a moment about the people who actually … Continue reading Another School Year, More High Teacher Attrition

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