So today our city council is voting (has already voted?) on a wide variety of so-called “emergency” legislation--the vast majority of which appears to be, erm, not exactly an emergency. (Well, unless you consider a snowfall measurement site and the recognition of individuals urgent matters.) But in the pile of sausage meat that councilmembers have … Continue reading And the Holiday Gifts Of DC Real Estate Keep Coming . . .

On November 21, the DC public charter school board approved Rocketship having a second campus at 4250 Massachusetts Avenue SE. Four days before, on November 17, the DC department of transportation (DDOT) held a hearing for Rocketship’s use of public space for its yet-to-be-built second school at 4250 Massachusetts Ave. SE. Before that DDOT hearing … Continue reading A Holiday Gift Like This May Be Happening in Your DC Neighborhood Right Now

Every few years, the world holds a test for its 15-year-old students, in both private and public schools. The most recent results for that test, called PISA, show that in terms of its scores, the United States falls dead middle--while outspending a lot of other countries that score better. In an article on the test … Continue reading The Crumbling Tower of PISA

Otherwise known as Bill 21-831, the lead prevention amendment act brought forth this summer by the city council, in response to the need to test for, and remediate, high lead levels in all DC public school water sources, will apparently not be voted on this council period, but will be re-introduced in January. Why the delay? … Continue reading Will the Childhood Lead Prevention Amendatory Act of 2016 Drip Away?

Excitement over the announcement of the new DCPS chancellor (and the prospect of an edu-schmoozefest at RPM in his honor) caused the cancellation of November's cross sector task force meeting. But not to worry! That cancelled meeting is being reconstituted virtually, via two conference calls tomorrow and Friday: Thursday, December 1, 2016 12:00pm-1:00pm Friday, December … Continue reading Phone In Tomorrow and Friday to Attend a Cross Sector Task Force Meeting

Like shifting tides creating debris pools, the changing political winds of this election year have revealed common underpinnings of our public education system. Let us start with Antwan Wilson, who has been offered the position of DCPS chancellor (albeit without the review of the DCPS Rising Leadership Committee—oops, so much for public engagement required by … Continue reading Meet Our New Public Education Personnel: Just Like the Old Ones (Only More So)

[The following is by Erich Martel, retired DCPS teacher.] According to a confidential source, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has put together a short list of candidates for chancellor of DCPS. An official announcement may be made as early as tomorrow (Monday, November 21). If that is the case, then the members of the chancellor search … Continue reading The Chancellor Game: Naming Names

It appears that there will be two missed opportunities for DC public education collaboration next week. That is when there will be meetings of the public school charter board (November 21) and the cross sector task force (November 22). Despite their proximity in time and subject matter (and even with overlap of some members, including … Continue reading So, About Those Charter Expansion Plans: BASIS, Rocketship

A few weeks ago, I got a rather triumphant email from the deputy mayor for education, Jennifer Niles, highlighting two documents from the DCPS Rising Leadership Committee. As you may recall, the committee was formed by Niles to assist in the search for a new DCPS chancellor. One of the documents mentioned in that email … Continue reading DCPS Chancellor: Moving Forward In the Dark

Our state board of education—the only elected body in DC with any direct oversight of our public schools—will hold a hearing this Wednesday November 16 at 5:30 pm (441 4th St. NW, Judiciary Square) on how we in DC want to implement the new federal law called ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act). That law replaces … Continue reading Testing Our Schools, Ourselves