no taxation without representation
It’s Official – I’m Running in the WTU elections!
Good afternoon to all of you. It’s official on April 30, 2013- I declared my candidacy for Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) General Vice President again. This time, I am running on the Elizabeth Davis (known as Liz) slate. It’s an opportunity for a new start, for new beginnings- a time to take stock of where we’ve been, where we stand and how much needs to be done for DC teachers and school personnel.
Good luck and God speed.
D.C. spending plan cuts programs and staff at dozens of schools
Mayor Gray has continued Fenty’s school smashing policies. Had he changed course there might be some protection from the One City Two Campaigns scandal. As it is he has continued Fenty’s policies and so now is as unpopular as Fenty.
Northeast community urges school officials to keep Kenilworth Elementary open
Today the group walked the route between the two schools, concerned about youngsters in grades K-6 walking along busy roadways and underground tunnels.
I really wonder how Mary Cheh can justify closing schools in every ward but hers.
D.C. Councilman David Catania is right: More parents should be pushed to get their children to school. It’s hard to dispute the fact that a child who is not in the classroom can’t receive any academic benefits. Still, his recently introduced legislative proposal, which would impose a series of sanctions — from written warnings to jail time or a $100 fine — on parents whose children have 10 or more unexcused absences, is no panacea for poor test scores and low graduation rates. In fact, his approach appears to ignore the reality of life in some low-income communities where truancy is highest.
Catania has spent his entire sorry career beating up on poor people that I would normally assume that this is more of the same. But I do wonder if his employer’s interests don’t include for profit prisons that are looking for additional inmates.
DCPS Chancellor faces lawsuit, angry City Council
Notably, this is how the Chancellor chose to end the nearly 3-hour meeting.
Dripping in flashy, bulky gold jewelry, the Chancellor bragged about all her other standing job offers and implied that she could be making a lot more money ”without all of this,” gesturing with both arms at the City Council and the cameras.
You have job offers? Fine. Take one. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Empower DC Announces Law Suit Over School Closings
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Chancellor’s Plan to Close 15 Public Schools Faces Opposition
Empower DC plans to sue over D.C. school closures
Grassroots community organization Empower DC plans to sue the District over Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s school-closure plan, saying that the closures disproportionately affect black students.
“The Constitution is colorblind. The proposed school closings are not,” lawyer Johnny Barnes, who will lead the litigation, said in a statement Friday. “Citizens who live in Anacostia are entitled by law to be treated the same as those who live on Albemarle.”
Protest held outside DC Mayor’s home over proposed school closures
Scores of D.C. residents and nearly a dozen school children staged a boisterous candlelight march outside the Branch Avenue, SE home of D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray Tuesday night. They are upset over a proposal to close as many as 20 D.C. public schools.
An analysis by Mary Levy and the DC Fiscal Policy institute (DCFPI) suggests that the savings from closing schools may be relatively small, and possibly non-existent in the first year following closure. This information should give pause to policymakers and anyone else hoping for significant savings to be reinvested in the remaining schools.
This is not and never has been about saving money, reforming education. This has always been about destroying public schools and replacing them with charter schools operated by hedge funds with the money going to Wall Street rather than teachers or anything that would benefit students. Kaya Henderson knows this, Mayor Gray knows this, Tommy Wells knows this and so does Muriel Bowser. They are all in on it. Shame on them. And shame on fools like David Alpert who enable it.
Expert: Why Cheating in DC Was Never Investigated
Read it and weep.
