The Administration and DC Schools
Fred Hiatt did a column on Monday urging Barack Obama to do his utmost to help the school reform efforts in DC being spearheaded by Adrian Fenty and Michelle Rhee. I’d like to see that, too, but I think Hiatt overlooked one particular concrete way in which the administration will be involved. That’s via the DC Public Charter School Board which authorizes new charter schools (and revokes the charters from schools that are no good) and whose members are appointed by the mayor from a list of candidates drawn up by the Secretary of Education.
The system is a bit odd on a theoretical level, but it’s worked well throughout its lifetime. Several secretaries of education in a row have made responsible nominations, and the system has managed to insulate the board from the vagaries of municipal politics. It’s crucially important that the board not become an extension of patronage politics or be captured by the stakeholders in the status quo rather than preserving the charters as alternatives to DCPS. At the same time, it’s also important that the appointments be made with a real focus on the interests of DC and DC’s school students rather than suffering from total inattention. One assumes the Obama transition team isn’t going to get around to staffing the Department of Education for a while (top priority will rightly be on the White House staff, Treasury, Defense, and State) but this will be critically important to the city’s future when the time comes.
27 Responses to “The Administration and DC Schools”
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November 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Another thing that could help would be to send the Obama children to local schools, rather than private schools. That would be a signal of commitment to seeing improvements in public education.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Lance, that’s wishful thinking. Michelle Obama is already scouting out the D.C. private schools. If they did pick a public school, they should use the one that Rhee sends her own kids too. That would be very interesting, but for security reasons alone, I doubt they would even consider public schools.
Obama has a unique opportunity to play a role in the reform of DC schools. He could also tap into the relative diversity of the the education system to appoint more people of color as well.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Funny — Richard Cohen’s column today suggests Obama name Joel Klein Secretary of Education third, behind only State and Treasury. Rhee and Klein certainly seem to strike the tone that Obama wants in education policy. Staff, of course, is a different matter, but it will be interesting to see how the administration publicizes its priorities.
November 11th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
For what it’s worth, Bob Sommerby mounted something of a crusade against Rhee last year. Among much else, he said the following about her:
Now I don’t know much about the DC school system, but if it’s like local government anywhere, it’s full of self-promoters and people who are good at cooking up numbers.
Regardless, I don’t think Obama would do himself, DC, or the nation much good by inserting himself into what is essentially a local government issue.
November 11th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Yeah, I really have a hard time believing that a list of candidates drawn up by a cabinet secretary for approval by a mayor is going to be free of politics. More likely it favors “innovative” educationists who can play the “bipartisan” game, which means that the board can execute its own agenda without much influence from the outside. It’s like saying the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is free of politics.
November 11th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Well, no matter whats going on now, the economy is number 1, and he will be basically taking over after eight years of a drunken fraternity party
November 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Just once I’d like to see an article on reformers in education who emphsize the need to fire people against labor protections that mention the other side of the coin – teaching in low-income and city school districts has an exceptionally high turnover rate. Studies show most teachers get much better after a few years, but many never get that far. And yet, the problem is always presented as not being able to getting rid of them. Whether or not they’re getting fired, they seem to do just fine in spitting them out.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
If they did pick a public school, they should use the one that Rhee sends her own kids too. That would be very interesting, but for security reasons alone, I doubt they would even consider public schools.
IINM, Jimmy Carter sent his daughter Amy to a public school.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
IINM, Jimmy Carter sent his daughter Amy to a public school.
The media climate was very, very different then. Public schools in the late 1970s didn’t have to contend with 24/7 cablenews, gossip websites, blogs, cellphone cameras, etc.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Revolutions may come and go but it’s nice to know that the plantation mentality is alive and well in D.C. It’s truly amazing to read on a liberal blog approval for a system in which the citizens of D.C. are excluded from running their own schools (and as long as their paying for them the charter schools are their schools)and spending their own taxes.
As to the argument that things have changed and a President’s children couldn’t go to public school because of “24/7 cablenews, gossip websites, blogs, cellphone cameras, etc.”, what do you think the kids at Georgetown Day School don’t have access to those things?
November 18th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I have nothing against the current DC PCSB members, even though they include residents of MD (like Tony Colon) and VA (Tom Nida). They’ve done a good job. I think it’s humiliating, though, that we have out-of-state residents in such important governance positions. We can’t find competent Board members who live and pay taxes in DC, people who understand disenfranchisement and have a personal stake in the school system? And the fact that the EdSec selects them is further humiliation.
The PCSB should be DC residents selected by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:54 am
With most departments in state government expected to face cuts of 10 percent or more, Gov. Phil Bredesen said Monday he hopes to keep funding steady for grades K-12 and preschool education. He also warned that the state payroll is likely
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