Well, you probably already missed one of the (not-well-publicized) meetings on the ESSA school report cards, but no worries: As you may recall, earlier this year DC got--courtesy of a phonebanking effort by national pro-education reform and charter advocacy group Democrats for Education Reform--a test-heavy school accountability law. This new DC law, formulated under the … Continue reading Quick! Weigh In On The ESSA Report Cards

So, the city council’s health committee passed unanimously the other week a bill that establishes that each DC public school will have a registered nurse for 40 hours every week. Which is great news--but even if the council votes the bill into law (which is expected), without funding the law cannot be enforced. Worse, the … Continue reading Hey, MAYOR: Why Can’t DC Do What Pediatricians Recommend And Have Full-Time Registered Nurses In Each Public School?

Sponsored by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, C4DC, and Teaching for Change, a free DC screening of the Matt Damon film Backpack Full of Cash will be held on Thursday, November 16, at 6 pm. RSVP here. The screening will take place at DCPS's Columbia Heights Educational Campus (3101 16th … Continue reading Free Screening Nov. 16: Backpack Full Of Cash

Herein debuts a new feature on this blog, showcasing communications sent to DC public officials about our schools that got utterly no response. As in: no city leader addressed or copied hitting “reply” and typing “thanks” or “we’re working on it” or “see ya later, alligator!” or “OMG!!” In this plea for help for DCPS's … Continue reading No Response: Sousa Middle School

Last month, DC schools advocate Peter MacPherson spoke with DC auditor Kathy Patterson about DC's public schools. In their hour-long conversation, which is here, they discuss a number of important issues, including lack of public involvement in our schools; the waste of public dollars in school modernizations; the lack of maintenance of renovated schools; personnel … Continue reading Interview With DC’s Auditor On DC Public Schools

The other week, during its monthly meeting, the Senior High Alliance for Parents, Principals, and Educators (SHAPPE) met with the deputy chancellor for DCPS to discuss what DCPS could do to increase its enrollment, given its rather sad enrollment goal in the DCPS strategic plan (54,000 students by 2022, or roughly the same percentage as … Continue reading Increasing Enrollment–And The Role Of The Public–In DCPS

Today, at 2 pm, in room 123 of the Wilson Building (1350 PA Ave. NW), the health committee of our city council will be marking up some version of legislation to provide for 40 hours per week of health care coverage in each DC public school. But exactly what version, and what health care coverage, … Continue reading Hey, Council: Why Can’t DC Do What Pediatricians Recommend And Have Full-Time Registered Nurses In Each Public School?

In these trying times of fake news and 140 character rants, we have yet another English language crisis, such that the word “inequitable” now means “unequal.” Oh, it’s not me saying this--it’s the cross sector task force. Or rather, it’s the people from the office of the deputy mayor for education (DME), who put together … Continue reading “Inequitable” Versus “Unequal”: Fun With Words, Task Force Version

[The following is a transcription, by Suzanne Wells, of Chancellor Wilson's response to a question from David Grosso during the council roundtable on DCPS's strategic plan, held last week on September 21, 2017. At 3:47, Grosso asked about goal 6, which is to have 54,000 students enrolled in DCPS by 2022. Grosso noted that some … Continue reading No Comment

This past week, DCPS rolled out its strategic plan for the next 5 years, with an appearance by Magic Johnson, whose relationship to the school district goes into its food contract, which itself is (still) shrouded in a lack of, well, outrage on the part of elected officials, despite the fact that some city officials … Continue reading The Lemonade of DCPS’s Strategic Plan