DCentric

Good morning DCentric readers! Have your heavy coats again today? Angry about that? Us too, but nevermind that. Here’s what we’re reading on this cold day:

Henderson asks inspector general to investigate test erasures If you haven’t read the USA Today investigative piece that started all this, do it. Now. Acting Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson is now calling for a new investigation, but also released reports from a testing security firm Caveon Test Security , which the District hired in 2009 to look into high erasure marks. “While Henderson said she had complete confidence in Caveon, she said she referred the matter to Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby to eliminate doubts about test security and affirm the integrity of the teachers involved. ‘These poor teachers are now tainted,’ Henderson said. ‘They were cleared by an investigation. I feel like I owe it to them to remove the taint.’” (The Washington Post)

“Like trying to remember a dream three days later” If you were wondering how or why Emily Hershenson went missing, read this piece for some clues. If you recall, there was an early, massive campaign to find Hershenson, led by her husband, Tom. “The couple is slowly getting back to their routine. ‘We’re working on becoming as boring as we were,’ says Tom Hershenson. Hershenson is a little embarrassed about all the attention she got, and is eager to go back to work but will spend a little more time recuperating, he says.” (Washington City Paper)

Census Frenzy: Ward 2 population up 16%, Ward 1 up 4% We’re still geeking out over the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. Check out this piece which examines some statistics down to the Census tract level in a few neighborhoods. There was 33 percent jump in population in the heart of Logan Circle. “It’s easy to figure out how this happened: the new rental and condo buildings on the 1400 blocks of P and Church Streets NW, plus additional units on the west side of 14th Street and on the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue.” (Boderstan)

D.C. residents make up more than a quarter of homicide victims in P.G. County this year Prince George’s County experienced a wave of serious crime this year, but D.C. isn’t left unaffected: eight of the county’s homicide victims are D.C. residents. “DC residents are not so represented among suspects in PG County; only one arrest in a homicide case this year was of a D.C. resident. Brian Hinkle, a 32-year-old D.C. man, was arrested on suspicion of killing Simms.” (Homicide Watch)

On anniversary of South Capitol Street shootings, a push for reform If you don’t remember what these shootings were about, here’s a really depressing reminder. Now a year later, D.C. Councilman Jack Evans (Ward 2) wants to implement behavioral screening for D.C.’s students at all levels in order to collect reliable data that would inform what programs the District should undertake. “‘It does me no good to develop, say, substance abuse programs for children who are at age 13, which is the national standard, when I know substance abuse in our city starts at nine,’ says Catania. ‘So I’ve got to align my curriculum and my programs to the reality of my kids.’” (WAMU)

In-state tuition for Md. illegal immigrants on the table This debate rages on across the District border. The current version of the bill would provide in-state tuition at community college for illegal immigrants, but has a series of caveats associated with it, including requiring students to sign an affidavit that they will seek permanent status in the country. “States are already required by federal law to provide K-12 education for children of illegal immigrants. ‘We invest in kids for their whole public-school career and we tell them … the path to success is to go to college,’ said Delegate Jolene Ivey, Prince George’s Democrat. ‘These particular children who had no choice to be in this country … the rug is snatched from under them by the unreasonably high cost of college.’” (The Washington Times)