Cheh Pushes for Rhee

According to Bill Turque, Councilmembers Cheh and Wells are pushing for DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee to continue on in the Gray Administration.

This could be an interested development which would satisfy the urgings of the Northwest Current endorsement of Mayor-Elect Gray.

Ward 3 Public Schools - Failing the Grade

The latestest testing results are out and the results are not exactly stellar. Regardless of your feelings about Chancellor Rhee and the Mayor's race, only 3 schools in Ward 3 met the "annual yearly progress" requirements of the "No Child Left Behind" standards.

According to the DC Examiner:

"Eight DCPS elementary schools made the benchmark, down from 29 in 2009 and 38 in 2008. Two of them -- Mamie D. Lee and Sharpe -- serve only special needs students. Of the remaining six, Mann, Key and Stoddert elementary schools are in Ward 3...

Conversely, Chevy Chase's Lafayette Elementary, attended by Mayor Adrian Fenty's twin sons, did not make AYP even though 87 percent of its students scored proficient in reading and 84 percent met the mark for math. The school failed to meet the standards because of declining scores among its black students -- reading proficiency dropped to 67 percent in 2010 from 83 percent in 2009, and math proficiency dropped to 69 percent from 83 percent.



This means highly valued Ward 3 schools such as Murch, Janney, Eaton, Hearst, Deal and Wilson did not achieve published goals.

GDS Go-Go

Controversy has been festering over an event the Georgetown Day School recently hosted at its upper school in Tenleytown. The school held a Go-Go concert, a common and annual occurrence among GDS and its peers.

In response to community questions, ANC Commissioner Jonathan Bender posted this response from GDS Head Peter Branch:

The Go-Go event at GDS on May 1 did not create 'a disturbance.' We are aware of two separate mugging incidents which occurred off campus and were perpetrated by individuals with a prior record upon students who were on their way to the dance. However, it is as provocative to categorize the Go-Go which the students sought to attend as "associated with a number of criminal acts" as it would be to blame the Kennedy Center if you were to be assaulted on your way to see the Washington Ballet.

We do not notify the police in advance of the daily calendar of GDS, nor of every dance. As it happens, notification was given in advance in this case. During the dance, the Fire Marshall's Office certified this event as in compliance with all fire codes, including occupancy capacity. The number of our security staff, including police officers and GDS security, and the number of chaperons were as usual for a dance of this size. Even before the dance began, additional police support was enlisted by our security staff.

I am sorry you have been so misinformed regarding this event. I hope you will convey these facts to anyone still confused about the evening.

Members of the community were sufficiently outraged for calling into question the safety and preparation implemented (or not) by GDS.

Commissioner Bender has shared a follow-up from the Metropolitan Police Department:

we will be serving this school today with a letter and bill for mass MPD services that had to be pulled from 3 different police districts that night - there was no coordination or notification to MPD on this event - also they charged a fee and dont possess a public hall permit --

over 300-400 youth had to be turned away from the front by the Fire Dept due to overcrowding ..we had a youth beaten and robbed for his gogo ticket as well ... this was totally a public safety threat... no regard to community around them.. very irresponsible on behalf of the organizers.

Wilson Teacher Abducted, Released by Student

In an amazing twist of chance and circumstance, a Wilson teacher was allegedly abducted by a Wilson student late on Saturday, according to an account in the Washington Post.

Wilson Swing Space Solidified

As the long awaited plans for Wilson High School are reaching the final stages, the plight of the students appears to be resolved. DC Wire reports that Building 52 of the UDC Campus will serve as the physical plant for the high school during the 2009-2010 construction period.

Aquatic Center is Open

With temperatures approaching the century mark, is is of high relief that the Wilson Pool is now open.

Enjoy!

Tenley-Janney PPP Implosion

Here is some media coverage of the unraveling of the Tenley-Janney Public-Private Partnership:

Marc Fisher
DC MUD
Greater Greater Washington
Washington Business Journal

News on the PPP

DCMUD updates the Tenley-Janey PPP.

Beauvoir Scandal?

A scary incident was brought to the attention of this forum by way of the DC Urban Mom's message board.

It seems that a teacher at Beauvoir School was escorted from campus for "hav(ing) a camera containing inappropriate images of a child. At that point, Beauvoir had already decided not to renew the teacher's contract for the fall. Parents were notified last week."

The story gets a little more interesting. Check the DC Urban Mom's link for what is clearly only part of the story. Based on the entries, families with the school are aware of the situation, but for some reason, it has received little to no media coverage.

Further, the teacher in question has apparently vanished.

What a tragic situation for the children involved.

EDIT: The Washington Post finally picked up this story.

Marc Fisher on Wilson High School

Yay to the parents and neighbors of Wilson High School in northwest Washington, who are refusing to let the D.C. school system ignore concerns about a wave of violence that has hit the school since the city transferred dozens of students from the juvenile justice system and alternative schools into Wilson. With some new ninth graders now as old as 16 or 17 because they'd been left back several times, the school is suffering from a series of incidents in which older students have been harassing or assaulting younger students. Chancellor Michelle Rhee acknowledged the problem at a community meeting this week, and now the challenge to the system is to move out those kids who cannot behave decently and assure a safe environment for the great majority of students who are there to learn.

Chancellor Rhee Forum

Councilmember Mary M. Cheh will host an Education Forum with Chancellor Rhee and Mayor Fenty on Wednesday, August 22nd at Murch Elementary School. Parents are invited to come and discuss with the Chancellor new DCPS strategies and plans to better the Ward 3 public schools at the elementary school, middle school, and high school level.

"This is an exciting time for DC public schools", said Cheh, "and I am delighted to introduce the Mayor's new education leadership to the parents of Ward 3. The parents should be able to." Cheh stated, "This will be a perfect opportunity to ask the Chancellor how Ward 3 schools will be improved, and discuss any thoughts or concerns that the parents might have"

The forum will be held August 22nd, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Murch Elementary School is located at the corner of Davenport and 36th Streets, N.W.

Contact: Talia Primor
(202) 724-8062