Government

All politics is local in the most political city in America.

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October 7, 2010 | 1:17 PM | By

Rupert Likes Rhee

World Economic Forum

The list of famous people who are fans of Michelle Rhee now includes media baron Rupert Murdoch:

In a speech…He said more people like Rhee need to stay in place to overhaul an educational system that overspends to protect ineffective teachers through their unions and the politicians who support them. He said no business could ever operate like the monopolies that school districts have become, without performance goals or consequences when those goals weren’t met.

“Let me be blunt: There’s not a single one of us in this room tonight who would allow one of our children to be randomly assigned to a Washington, D.C., public school,” Murdoch said.

WaPo reader “UrbanDweller” was not impressed by Murdoch’s endorsement and commented accordingly:
Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Education, Michelle Rhee, Schools
October 5, 2010 | 12:45 PM | By

More on Why Fenty Lost

Just finished reading Mike DeBonis’ column, “Consultant’s postmortem: Fenty became ‘flawed and expendable’”:

Bill Knapp — the veteran political communications consultant, whose business partner Anita Dunn consulted for both Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee — has come forward to explain to Democratic operatives that this was more about Fenty’s preternaturally bad communications instinct than a latent anti-incumbent mood…

Fenty lost, Knapp writes, because he “neglected a critical base” and “symbolic of that was the Sunday before the election when he participated in a triathlon in DC instead of visiting African American churches, as his opponent did.”

Ugh. That’s brutal. Triathlons are impressive, but he needed to focus on some church-going folks at that point, not his fitness. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Elections, 2010 Elections, Campaigns, Fenty
October 4, 2010 | 5:59 PM | By

Protecting Rodent Families– Humane or Insane?

This is not the humanitarian approach to trapping wildlife indoors. Eek!

If you had told me that this was from the Onion, I would’ve believed it. Via WTOP:

D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh (Ward 3) introduced the Wildlife Protection Act, which would require people who trap wild animals that get into your house – like rats, mice, squirrels, possums – to follow basic humanitarian guidelines…But one part of the bill had reporters asking a lot of questions at D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray’s monthly press briefing.

“If I have some squirrels or some possums in my attic, I’m not frankly concerned about preserving their family unit. Moreover, how can I identify what their family unit is? This is in the bill!” government watchdog Dorothy Brizill asked.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, City Council
October 1, 2010 | 1:58 PM | By

FREE Early Education Spots Still Available in D.C.

notorious d.a.v.

Head Start student

Just received an email with important information I want to pass on…if you live in the District and have a 3- or 4-year old, there are still spaces available for D.C.’s Early Education program, at public schools all over the city. From their site:

Our nurturing pre-school program (for 3-year-olds) and pre-kindergarten program (for 4-year-olds) provide stimulating activities and learning experiences that prepare children for success in kindergarten and beyond.

All 85 elementary schools in DCPS offer pre-kindergarten, and most elementary schools also offer pre-school.

DCPS pre-school and pre-kindergarten programs operate on the regular school system calendar for the length of a typical school day, and are free of cost to residents of the District of Columbia.

Please call 202-478-5738 for more information.

FILED UNDER: Education, Children, Schools
September 30, 2010 | 2:00 PM | By

Race and Education Reform

Wayan Vota

D.C. Charter School

The always eclectic PostBourgie blog asks “Should We Avoid Race When Discussing Education Reform?”

…in so many discussions about education reform — a topic that seems to be inescapable right now — the issue of race is avoided…

You can see this at play in the documentary Waiting for Superman, in which the achievement gap is mentioned, but only as it pertains to class. But there are racial disparities in student achievement, even when controlling for parental income. In fact, when the movie talks about the halcyon days of American education in the 1950’s and 1960’s, there’s no mention at all of school segregation or desegregation or how they’ve impacted how American schools function.

I’d also add that bringing up race means inviting one of those predictable conversations in which the problems facing youth of color are chalked up to dysfunctional pathology. Still, it seems hard to ignore the role race plays in the achievement gap, as the disparities in performance often persist even when when the black and brown kids are middle class with college-educated parents.

FILED UNDER: Education, Race and Class, Schools
September 27, 2010 | 1:49 PM | By

A Former D.C. Teacher Discusses “What’s Wrong”

Mr. T in DC

Bell Multicultural High School, part of CHEC

I just stumbled on this blog called “An Urban Teacher’s Education”, where I found an interesting (and long) post from an ex-DCPS Educator discussing issues at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus (CHEC)– and D.C. schools, in general:

All of the administrators that I worked closely with began their careers with Teach For America. This program is very clear about the beliefs it holds about education: the only purpose of a teacher is to raise student achievement (read: raise test scores). It seemed to me that very few of my administrators had much classroom experience…their aim was to identify teachers who they believed should be fired. This, and a significant lack of experience, is a trend across the district. Just this summer at School Without Walls, a twenty-six-year-old counselor was promoted to assistant principal despite the fact that she has no teaching experience. Nevertheless she will be responsible for conducting IMPACT evaluations and somehow providing teachers feedback they’re supposed to use to improve.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Education
September 27, 2010 | 11:55 AM | By

President Obama on D.C.’s Public Schools

President Obama being interviewed on TODAY.

Earlier this morning, on NBC’s TODAY show, Matt Lauer sat down with President Barack Obama to discuss education. The President took a question posed by a woman from Florida who asked if his daughters would get the same “high-quality, rigorous education” at one of our city’s public schools as they currently receive at “their very elite private academy“.

The President said:

Well thanks for the question. I’ll be blunt with you, the answer is No right now. The DC public school systems are struggling. Now, they have made some important strides over the last several years to move in the direction of reform. There are some terrific individual schools in the DC system. And that’s true by the way in every city across the country….some great public schools on par with any private school in the country. But…a lot of times you’ve got to test in or it’s a lottery pick for you to be able to get into those schools, so those options are not available for enough children.

I’ll be very honest with you. Given my position, if I wanted to find a great public school for Malia and Sasha to be in, we could probably maneuver to do it. But the broader problem is for a mom or a dad who are working hard but don’t have a bunch of connections, don’t have a lot of choice in terms of where they live, they should be getting the same quality education for their kids as anybody else. And we don’t have that yet.

FILED UNDER: Education, Obama, Schools
September 27, 2010 | 10:10 AM | By

Hey D.C., enforce the sidewalk snow-removal law.

Walking in the street because of unshoveled sidewalk, December 2009.

It almost feels dissonant to think of snow during our current, swamp-like, Summery September weather but Hyperlocal Glover Park’s post about snow removal is on point.

Whenever D.C. gets a big snow, an absurd hole in the District’s public-safety law reveals itself. Furious citizens demand that the hole be patched, and lawmakers promise to do so. Then the snow melts and people forget. The law is not fixed. Eventually, it snows again.

And when that happens, snow on unshoveled sidewalks quickly gets trodden down into hard packs, which then freeze into ice sheets that can last for weeks. The sidewalks become unsafe for small children, elderly people, and those with disabilities. People slip and break bones. People walk in the street and get hit by cars. People feel trapped at home for fear of injury.

Angry, frustrated citizens ask why there isn’t a law requiring residents to keep their sidewalks clear. But in fact, there is such a law. According to the D.C. Code (§9-601), anyone whose house fronts a public sidewalk must clear the sidewalk of snow or ice within eight daylight hours of the last flake’s falling.

The problem is, D.C. doesn’t enforce that law. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, City Council, Politics, Snow
September 24, 2010 | 6:17 PM | By

Well, if Oprah thinks so…

erin m

Michelle Rhee at the Pride parade

We just posted about Michelle Rhee and now we get to do it again– today, on her show, Oprah Winfrey suggested Rhee for Superintendent of Newark, NJ schools. The current Supe, Clifford B. Janey was told this summer that his contract would not be renewed. Interestingly enough, Janey was Rhee’s predecessor. Adrian Fenty fired him to make way for the woman with a broom. But back to Oprah:

Winfrey, who has called Rhee a “warrior woman,” made the recommendation on her show airing Friday. Other New Jersey education advocates have suggested the same move.

Rhee spokeswoman Safiya Jafari Simmons says the chancellor had no comment on Winfrey’s remarks.

Simmons says she could not confirm whether Rhee has made trips to New Jersey or plans to do so. She says Rhee will be in New York for the next couple of days to participate in NBC’s education summit.

Hmmm. New York is awfully close to Newark…I’m just saying.

FILED UNDER: Education, Michelle Rhee
September 24, 2010 | 4:18 PM | By

Serene Gray, Uncomfortable Rhee

Screen capture from Washington Post video

When I told a good friend of mine about my new job blogging for WAMU, he gave me one piece of advice: read Bill Turque. Turque is an education reporter at the Washington Post and my friend is made out of integrity, honesty and puppy dog tails, so I took his endorsement very seriously. He wasn’t wrong. So now you know why there is much love for Mr. Turque on DCentric (that link in the first sentence will leave you filled with respect for him too, seriously).

Last night, Turque reported on the Meeting with a capital “M” between Mayoral primary winner Vince Gray and DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee, which focused on education issues vs. whether Rhee would stay or leave:

Gray said the two will likely meet again within the next couple of weeks, a message reinforced by Gray advisers, who emphasized that the meeting was never intended to resolve the issue of Rhee’s tenure. Gray won the Democratic primary Sept. 14 but still faces, at least nominally, a general election vote Nov. 2.

“This was always supposed to be just a first meeting to discuss where school reform goes from here,” said Mo Elleithee, a senior Gray campaign strategist. “But he’s been pretty clear: On his end, he’s not making any decisions until after the election.”

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Education, Michelle Rhee, Vince Gray