[WardFive] Fwd: DCPS is still following St. Louis' dangerous path [1 Attachment]

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From: Virginia Spatz <vspatz@pobox.com>
Subject: [concerned4DCPS] DCPS is still following St. Louis' dangerous path [1 Attachment]

 

[Attachment(s) from Virginia Spatz included below]

Brief Report from We Act Radio's Education Town Hall, 12/13/12

*We Act Radio, 1918 Martin Luther King Ave. SE Washington, DC 20020*

*Education Town Hall Host: Thomas Byrd, thomas.byrd@yahoo.com
<mailto:thomas.byrd@yahoo.com> *

*December 13, 2012*

School closings are on many citizens' minds as the District waits for
the Mayor and DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson to make their final
determinations regarding the fate of 20 DC public schools currently
slated for closing.

Back in 2007, when Adrian Fenty was mayor and Michelle Rhee was DC's new
Schools Chancellor, the District hired the global consulting firm of
Alvarez & Marsal for school system advice. A&M had previously served as
interim manager of St. Louis Public Schools, in 2003-04, supervising the
closure of 16 schools, the sale of an additional 40 buildings, and the
firing of 1400 employees. This was meant to bring financial stability to
the system.

By the time A&M arrived in DC in 2007, to recommend similar measures,
SLPS had already lost accreditation, enrollment was still declining, and
more closures were planned. DC went ahead and followed A&M's
recommendations, however. And DCPS appears to be still following the A&M
plan as it approaches another 20 closures.

So, I decided to check in on SLPS to see where they are now, nine years
after A&amp;M's leadership. In the last few years, enrollment further
declined. The system just months ago achieve provisional accreditation.
This fall (2012) enrollment climbed for the first time in more than a
decade only because the state of Missouri closed six St. Louis charter
schools, and some students returned to SLPS as a result.

And yet DCPS is continuing to follow a path which has failed to
stabilize St. Louis public schools and has failed to stabilize other
school systems across the country.
--Virginia Spatz
reporting for We Act Radio's Education Town Hall
12/13/12

Hear the subsequent conversation on the Education Town Hall archives
http://www.mixcloud.com/education_town_hall/the-education-town-hall-12-13-12/

Tune in Thursdays, at 11 a.m.
www.WeActRadio.com

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Attachment(s) from Virginia Spatz

1 of 1 File(s)

DCPS_and_SLPS_WeAct.pdf

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