--The continued rationing of school nurses (in the wake of zero enforcement of the many years’ old law mandating a full-time nurse in every DC publicly funded school) has galvanized some DCPS families to organize a community meeting on the subject for Tuesday, November 28, at 6 pm at the Northeast Library. (For questions and … Continue reading The Said, The Unsaid,& The Unspeakable: Fall 2023

Tonight and tomorrow evening (November 7 and 8), the deputy mayor for education (DME) will hold public meetings for communities around Bancroft and HD Cooke elementaries. (See here and here for more information and to register for the virtual meetings.) Just don’t expect to know any details beyond the fact of these meetings entailing something … Continue reading Hidden Agenda, Hidden Plans: The MFP & Boundary Process

--The DC office of the state superintendent of education (OSSE) is updating school report cards and is seeking public feedback on the same starting tomorrow at three upcoming sessions, each with its own subject matter. Registration and more information is here for the following sessions: Monday October 30, 5:30–7 pm: session on what information should be … Continue reading School Report Cards, Budgets, & Teacher Retention, Oh My: Upcoming Events

[Ed. Note: The following is by Mary Levy, DC school budget expert, on the lack of accounting of federal grants in DC’s public schools in the wake of a new financial management system.] By Mary Levy In a startling blow to fiscal accountability, the office of DC's chief financial officer (CFO) has eliminated budget information … Continue reading The Continuing Opacity Of DC School Funding: Federal Grants

—On Wednesday September 6, the DC council will reconvene a hearing on DCPS food contracts. Recall back in August, council chair Phil Mendelson cancelled the hearing’s first iteration when DCPS didn’t provide the contracts (despite being legally required to do so). It is unclear whether the council has the contracts in hand now—and whether the … Continue reading New School Year, Old Problems

This blog post is intended as a resource, compiling recent problems of public access to information held by the DC charter board, with a list of related decisions by the DC office of open government (OOG) as well as other examples. For background: OOG handles complaints around violations by DC government agencies of DC’s Open … Continue reading A Compilation Of Publicly Inaccessible Information Around DC Charter Schools (Or, Do Better DC)

[Ed. Note: A few weeks ago, the Post ran a story on how DCPS has cut funding for student computers and tech, essentially ensuring that all upgrades are on hold for at least a year. Behind that story is a tech tempest of sorts, with the deputy mayor for education blaming the DC council for … Continue reading About Those Tech Cuts In DCPS …

By the end of 2023 (or, as it’s now looking, the beginning of 2024), DC will have both a new boundaries study as well as a new iteration of its master facilities plan (MFP). As both are integral to the future of DCPS, this is the third of four blog posts on the subject exploring … Continue reading Planning For Schools AND Saving Them, Part 3: Charter Expansion Grants

[Ed. Note: Below is a list of recent, dispiriting, and not unique occurrences regarding the dissing of the public around our publicly funded schools. Thankfully, an antidote is at hand: The DC Open Government Coalition (in collaboration with the DC Public Library) is providing a free program to empower residents to get information about our … Continue reading Meanwhile, As The Folks Supposed To Represent DC Taxpayer Interests Don’t . . .

Since early 2023, the deputy mayor for education (DME) has been heading up work on the master facilities plan (MFP) and on school boundaries. Both sets of work have progressed—and one will have town halls this month. MFP Registration is here for the MFP town halls on July 12 (12 pm) and July 13 (6 … Continue reading Moving Ahead With The Master Facilities & Boundaries Plans