schools

Dear PoP – Will Removing Chocolate Milk from Schools Contribute to a “Nanny State”?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Faucetini

“Dear PoP,

I saw in the Washington Post that there has been some pushback from parents regarding the elimination of chocolate milk in schools. Personally, I think the fact that kids aren’t gulping down all that sugar isn’t a half-bad idea, however I got into a heated debate with a colleague over this very issue. She thinks that measures like this will eventually create a “Nanny State.” I would be curious to hear what others in the city think, keeping in mind that DC is the only state (or district in this case) where obesity rates dropped this year.”

Kinda reminds me a bit of our discussions on the proposed ‘soda tax’. What do you guys think – is removing chocolate milk from schools a good idea and beneficial to the health of the students or just one more step in the direction of a nanny state?

The 5pm Post – Don’t Forget Vigil for Neil Michael Godleski 8:30pm Tonight – EL Haynes on CBS Evening News

By Prince Of Petworth

If you have an event, fundraiser or happy hour you’d like featured on the 5pm Post, please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com

Don’t forget the vigil for Neil Michael Godleski is this evening, Wednesday Night August 25th at 8:30 PM at Kansas Avenue, NW and Sherman Circle, NW.

From an email:

“You can view the video of E.L. Haynes students and teachers and an interview with Jennie Niles (E.L. Haynes Founder and Head of School) about DC’s successful Race to the Top proposal.”

Congrats!

The 5pm Post – Powell Elementary adopted by the Capitals

By Prince Of Petworth

If you have an event, fundraiser or happy hour you’d like featured on the 5pm Post, please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com

From a press release:

“Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green and more than 125 Capitals fans volunteered their time at Powell Elementary School in Washington, D.C., as part of the D.C. Public Schools Beautification Day. Green and the other volunteers took on gardening, painting, cleaning and decorating projects and worked with school teachers and staff to help prepare for the first day of classes on Monday.”

Powell Elementary School is located at 1350 Upshur St, NW. Very cool, nice work!

Dear PoP – What’s Up with the old school near Sherman Circle?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

What’s the deal with the school on Sherman Circle (Kansas & Buchanan)? I’ve lived here over two years and have never seen much of any activity at the building. It isn’t listed on DC’s school website. Recently, there’s been heavy construction activity there. This has to be one of the ugliest school buildings in the district. But, it’s on a perfect site, and the adjoining ballpark is underdeveloped, but heavily used, and could be a fantastic asset to the hood. So, what’s the scoop?”

Construction started here back in March. At that time we learned from Wayan that the school will become:

“E.L. Hayes public charter school will soon start their construction and remodeling of the Clark School [4501 7th Street, NW] in Petworth. This will soon be the home of elementary and high school classes for E. L. Hayes students in fall 2010.”

E.L. Haynes has a current school building located at 3600 Georgia Avenue, NW.

Park View Resident Likes Her Children’s School Options

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user sophiagrrl

I was cc’d on this email from a resident to CM Jim Graham and I thought I’d share it because I don’t hear this perspective too often from parents with school age kids.

I am a relatively new transplant to DC and a new homeowner in Park View. When we moved here from Japan last year I chose, quite actively, to move into the city rather than into the suburbs of Northern Virginia or Maryland because I value urban living and because I feel that DC is in the process of being reinvigorated. I am investing in the future of the city by purchasing a home and positioning myself and my family as proud DC residents.

The only worrisome concern that I had was schooling for my two young children. Unlike most parents purchasing homes, however, I was not obsessed with it and allowed myself to not focus on it, knowing that something would work out for us when the time came. And it did. After looking closely at the public and public charter schools in my neighborhood, I was shocked to find that many of them were ideal for our current situation. We took part in the lottery, which was shockingly professional and responsive and easy to navigate. We also took part in a few PCS lotteries and my school-age son got a place in a school that we are extremely happy with. However, I felt very comfortable with all of the schools in our neighborhood and some of the principals and teachers impressed me greatly. I felt like there was a huge investment in my children and that there was a real head of steam pushing the new generation of school personnel forward.

Rewarding those who are so committed and recruiting other like them is a huge step toward making DC public schools competitive. Sadly, perhaps, but necessarily, removing personnel not as invested and excited about education is another part of that process. I can easily see a near future where the DC public school system, injected with new life and new accountability, makes moving into DC a desirable option for many who have previously chosen not to do so.

I am pleased with my new home and my new city and – yes – with my new school. If things keep moving in this direction, with planning and insight and with the guts to make hard decisions, then my investment in DC and in Park View will prove to be one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made.

Sincerely,
Beth Rollins

I’m curious if any other parents with school age children echo this sentiment? If so please say what neighborhood you live in?

DC Public Schools Test Scoring Goes Down, Is it Rhee’s Fault?

By Prince Of Petworth


Sign spotted in front of a DC home after a few school closings were announced last year.

“Dear PoP,

I thought this article was interesting and something people would be eager to discuss.

Rhee seems to have made HUGE strides in public schools and yet she still seems to get ripped on. Reading the comments at the bottom of the article I get the distinct feeling that many of those are coming from teachers that were fired. All of that being said, I think that it could be very difficult for parents of the kids who are having so much turnover in their school’s staff.”

The brief Post article says:

“D.C. officials announced Tuesday that reading and math test scores declined in elementary schools this year, halting a two-year run of significant gains and dealing a setback to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as she seeks to overhaul city schools.”

However the article also says:

“Rhee called the three-year gains at the middle and high school levels — an average of 14 percentage points in reading and 17 points in math — a significant achievement.”

So how do you judge if Rhee is successful or not? Clearly this has become a major (Mayoral) campaign issue as the article also notes. Can success or failure be judged now or will it only become clear a few years from now?

In completely unrelated Rhee news it was reported by News8 that “Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says he will marry D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee over the Labor Day weekend.”

Can a University be Gentrified?

By Prince Of Petworth

We’ve talked about neighborhoods and gentrification but never Universities and gentrification. This is the claim made by a group called Fair Tuition UDC about the University of the District of Columbia. They write in an email:

Over the past 1 ½ years, UDC has had a change in administration which has produced some of the most drastic tuition increases that has occurred at a public university in recent times. Even though the UDC administration has tried to justify the need for these increases, they have not been fair in administering them. Although law professors have had an increase in salary in order to retain them, The UDC David Clarke School of Law has been spared tuition increases for more than 10 years while the rest of University tuition has been increased several times since 1995.

Now our group has wondered why our elected officials are mum on this topic. Many of our members have come up with numerous reasons for this but mainly the gentrification of UDC seems to stand at the top of the list. Although we here at Fairtuition4UDC do not like to use race/class as an issue, we can not help but notice that the demographics of the law school (majority Caucasian non DC residents) is much different from the demographics of the undergraduate student body (majority African American DC residents). Along with what seems as the “white washing” of the UDC website (only features one black student on the main page) and the new ad campaign that includes an ad that doesn’t even have a black face; we can not help but to think otherwise. We also find this quite ironic for a university that is considered a Historically Black College & University (HBCU). Even though we are for diversity, a blatant misrepresentation of UDC is not only extremely disrespectful to its students, faculty and alumni, but also quite unacceptable.

UDC SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

An Early Reminder for DC Public Schools Beautification Day 2010

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo from PoPville flickr user Wayan Vota

Thanks to twitter user chelseydc for the heads up about this great event, August 21st.

“Beautification Day will be held this year on Saturday, August 21st, 2010, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This annual event was established in 2005 as a citywide “spruce up” of all DC public school buildings in preparation for the first day of school. Beautification efforts will include landscaping, trash pick-up, light painting, planting flowers, and other external beautification efforts. Volunteers and supplies are needed at over 100 schools.”

More info here.

Can You Park in a School Lot over the Summer?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

There is a school near my apt in Logan, and the street signs states “No parking from 8-4pm on School Days.” What are the mandated schools days by the district? If the kids are out for the summer, would there be school days?”

Good question. Given Cardozo HS summer track hours I’m thinking those school days signs probably do apply during the summer as well. Anyone know for sure if school days apply during the summer?

Cardozo High School to get Renovated

By Prince Of Petworth

From CM Jim Graham:

“Good news, the design RFP for the reconstruction of Cardozo High School has been issued. A prebidders conference will be held this week. This is the key first step in the restoration and rehabilitation of this great high school building , located at 13th and Clifton since 1915. The athletic field has already been restored.”

Mr. T in DC showed us a postcard of what the school then Central High School, today Cardozo, looked like back in 1926.

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