David Schwartzman on:
EDUCATION
As an educator for more than 40 years, I know that the most effective form of school governance empowers all the stakeholders in the educational process -- teachers, school staff, parents, students and the community. The present system of school governance is much too top down, with only minimal collaboration and dictatorial assertions of control by the Chancellor.
However, it is crucial to recognize that, while school governance issues are important, the greatest contributor to poor student performance is child poverty, a glaring human rights violation that persists in our community. About two-thirds of the children in the district’s public and public charter schools are eligible for a free or reduced price lunch because they come from low-income families. DC’s child poverty rate is 32 percent. To improve educational outcomes for our children, we need to address child poverty.
Collaboration
Mayoral control does not address the critical issues facing our city schools. Our educational bureaucracies have too many heads and offer only minimal meaningful public access or engagement. This fact was exposed by the very process that created Mayoral control of the schools: the Mayor went to Congress to change the school governance structure in the Home Rule Act instead of going to a full debate via a referendum.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education was originally tasked with providing outreach to residents, parents, and set up to encourage communication between residents, their schools and the Mayor, and was supposed to serve as a vehicle for citizens to communicate their complaints and concerns regarding public education and for providing responses to these concerns in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, due to a lack of commitment by the Fenty Administration, the Ombudsman was deemed ineffective and formally ended operations on September 30, 2009.
I propose that this function be restored, with full respect for an interactive process starting with ongoing student, parent and community participation at each school around the District. Resources must be allocated to make this process successful. The Ombudsman should be responsible for compiling systematic data, providing periodic reports. Finally, the Ombudsman must have political independence and a measure of autonomy. This office should have full access to schools and parents and should be well staffed (the last two only had one part time help).
Repairing the Damage
Most of the 23 neighborhood public schools that were closed by the Fenty/Rhee administration should be reopened. The time and expense of traveling to fewer schools has contributed to truancy and a higher student to teacher ratio in the classroom. David Catania wants to simply punish parents with hefty fines when children do not show up at school, a mean-spirited, punitive approach that fails to recognize the very real obstacles faced by families in the District.
We need to rehire the teachers unjustly fired by the Chancellor. Rather than engaging in a collaborative process, the Chancellor simply fired teachers and called it “reform.” DC’s teachers are being used as scapegoats, judged by a teacher evaluation system based almost entirely on standardized student test scores. They are being blamed for all the failures of the school system.
The current system of top-down control of the schools is unsustainable and too centralized. The School Board’s role must be re evaluated, and all other offices should be consolidated. Mayoral control should be overturned, the Deputy Mayor’s office should be eliminated and a long-term district wide strategic education plan should be implemented,
The greatest contributor to poor student performance is child poverty. a glaring human rights violation that persists in our community. The Fenty administration and the City Council efforts to confront this issue have been woefully inadequate. A comprehensive poverty reduction program should put in place now with social work support in school facilities serving low-income families. I strongly oppose privatization of public education and the tacit acceptance of the depopulation of DC driven by gentrification.
Preparing our Kids for Success
DCPS schools lack adequate counseling staff, most of whom are poorly integrated in school improvement plan, and often are required to perform non-counselor responsibilities. School administrators have failed to clearly define the role of school counselors, with little guidance or accountability.
One of our first priorities should be to hire the required number of competent guidance counselors in our schools. Professional school counselors are advocates, leaders, collaborators and consultants who create opportunities for equity in access and success in educational opportunities by connecting their programs and services to the mission of schools and the success of their students. The US Department of Education research found the counselor’s role is critical in student retention and success because “Much of the problem stems from the fact that many lower-income families do not know how to plan for a college education, often because they simply have never done it before” (http://www2.ed.gov/students/prep/college/thinkcollege/early/aboutus/edli...). This research found that comprehensive counseling programs substantially improved student academic results, produced higher achievement test scores and increased retention.
DCPS needs to implement a comprehensive school counseling initiative that begins 4-6 years prior to student’s graduation to help students and their families early on plan for college. This approach will substantially decrease student attrition and offer student and parent higher expectations and improve student’s future prospects.
For students who do not want to attend college, we need to create “Green Collar Jobs” for our youth with apprenticeship programs in DC public high schools. Phelps Vocational High School is a good start, but every high school should have an apprenticeship program that guarantees employment upon graduation. We need to create Green Collar Jobs in our community, with a focus on urban agriculture, energy conservation and solar energy technologies. The District should partner with non-profits, businesses and unions. Then our District's Green Collar Job Initiative will fulfill its promise, to provide 21st century employment for our youth, while improving the quality of life for all residents.
Finally, our schools have become prison-like in a misguided attempt to impose discipline. Of course all schools should be secure places for learning, free of violence and bullying. But arbitrary suspensions and expulsions of students are violating the constitutional rights of students and their parents. Good conduct and respect for the rights of students and teachers must be set by example, starting with the School Administrators themselves and school security. We should expand the PBS approach (positive behavior support) for all our schools.
DC Council Responsibilities
DC Public School and DC Public charter schools are District of Columbia’s largest budget expenditures totaling more than $1 billion ($586 million for DCPS and $534 million for DC charter schools). Governance and oversight enacted in 2007 eliminated the Education Committee and consequently made education the responsibility of the Committee of the Whole- Education became every Councilmember’s responsibility, and consequently no one on the Council is held responsible or accountable for education. This has allowed the consolidation of all educational matters and all that entails in the hands of Chancellor Rhee.
If elected I would urge the Council and the next Council Chair to reconsider allocating education to a specific committee of five, which will increase accountability thereby improving Council oversight of DCPS and DC PCS. Recognizing the importance of Council oversight, it is necessary to heed the example of every local municipality, federal, state and city legislatures and re establish DC Council Education Committees responsible and accountable to oversee education.
Addressing the Needs of Immigrant Students and Their Parents
It is important to recognize that parents with limited English Language proficiency are often overextended, trying to juggle more than one job or are coping with the difficulties of being unemployed, and/or do not feel comfortable going into their children's schools in addition to their difficulty in navigating our school’s and teachers expectations.
Schools that try to understand their student’s population, their families and needs, and are inclusive and respectful of the cultural and social differences among their students, are more likely to succeed in engaging their English Language Learner (ELL) parents. They are able to enrich their schools by expanding and utilizing their school populations’ diversity to enhance the entire cultural perspective of all their students. Providing a welcoming school to all parents by designing special workshops that address the needs of ELL parents and students promote help parents learn how to support student learning at home.
Special services that meet immigrant families’ language needs (such as interpreting services) and offering ELL parents workshops on how to interact with teachers, when and what are the school’s expectations of students will encourage parents to come to school often and promote the positive interaction of ELL parents with teachers on their children's progress. These school and family interactions should be comprehensive and include recreational opportunities as well as learning opportunities such as family movie nights (with subtitles) and Saturday family fun and family literacy programs. These initiatives will improve the school climate and improve ELL parent- school engagement.
Impact of Budget Cuts on Education
There is little to praise in the current D.C. budget, given the additional cuts in the so-called safety net (really a survival net). Here is an example of the Council’s misplaced priorities (Fenty’s proposed budget was even worse): they cut $1.3 million for Adult Education, $0.5 million for Child Care, $1.3 million for Emergency Rental Assistance and $6 million for Interim Disability Assistance in the FY2011 budget (compared to FY2010)— in a depression for so many residents no less.
While they instituted these draconian cuts, the Council voted eight to five to defeat a very modest tax hike for wealthy residents (the Graham amendment) that would have avoided the new hurtful budget cuts. This tax on the wealthy would also have helped to partially restore the $50 million for affordable housing and other essential needs already cut in the FY 2010 budget. Unfortunately both incumbent At-Large Council candidates, Mendelson and Catania, irresponsibly voted against raising taxes on the wealthiest of DC residents, instead supporting the budget cuts and new regressive taxes and fees targeting the poorest DC residents.
In refusing to address the inequities of the DC tax structure, and the budgeting process, my opponents have chosen to punish the poorest of DC residents while coddling the wealthy. The result is worsening poverty, particularly among DC school students. This is a problem that even the most innovative reform of the DC schools system can fix. We need new leadership.
