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

A few weeks ago, on November 16, the education committee of our city council held a hearing on amendments to the Healthy Schools Act; school food; and proposed legislation to provide free lunches for all DC students. Not surprisingly, such a wide-ranging hearing encompassed equally wide-ranging testimony, including apparent socioeconomic bias in the distribution of … Continue reading Unhealthy School Acts

Seems that in a burst of activity in the short week before Thanksgiving, instead of addressing the ongoing education crisis of some of our city's most vulnerable kids, Mayor Bowser asked the council to issue $230 million in DC revenue bonds for KIPP DC. The council is considering this as emergency legislation, voting on it as … Continue reading So, While Apparently Not Worrying About Ballou, Our Mayor Requested $230 Million In DC Bonds For KIPP DC

[The following is an email sent by DC schools activist Peter MacPherson, in the wake of the DCPS FY19 budget hearing. It got no response from its direct addressee, Chancellor Antwan Wilson, nor any of the city education leaders copied, which include the deputy mayor for education, the chair of the city council, and the … Continue reading No Response: DCPS Libraries

This summer, the state board of education formed a task force on graduation requirements, to “review, analyze and, as necessary, make thoughtful, implementable recommendations to adjust DC’s high school graduation requirements for all DCPS and public charter students.” Setting aside the odd circumstances of the task force’s formation (see here), the work seems important: our … Continue reading Weigh In On Graduation Requirements

Next Tuesday, November 14, starting at 6 pm, DCPS will hold a budget hearing/debate on next year’s school funding. The forum will be at Stuart-Hobson Middle School, 410 E Street NE, and sign-up is here (deadline to sign up is this Friday November 10 at 3 pm). On the same day that this budget forum … Continue reading Let’s Talk Money! (Or Is It Power?)

[Herein is a letter sent to the heads of the DC public charter school board, with all city education leaders copied (except for the DCPS chancellor, who was not involved). Months later, despite the letter's simple demand for the charter board's illegal action to be reversed, no DC government official addressed or copied here responded … Continue reading No Response: DC Prep Re-Vote

That would be the public. Oh, the planning process itself is well-defined publicly, as far as the actions of agencies and their employees go: --The office of planning is updating the city’s comprehensive plan, including feedback from city education agencies that was submitted in June. The office of planning will be soliciting public feedback when … Continue reading Guess Who Is Missing From DC Public Education Planning?