From what we were told by Tom Bridge (I think) a few months ago, DC is already spending the most per child. I don't know if this is true or not, the reality is that we either pay for it now or we pay when some end up in Jail. What is the yearly cost to house an inmate? And what is the cost of someone being hurt because of violent crimes because of the lack of ability to earn, think through stressful times, due to addictions because bad choices due to lack of opportunity or environment?? Those are the #'s that you can't measure - saving lives or deterring harm!
The reality is that (and I keep harping on this) most of our schools in 5, 7 and 8 are not conducive to learning and the recreational centers and other facilities are sub-par. I keep trying to bring the expenditure of our Capital Dollars closer to home by saying that if it affected your child(ren) if you have any, then you would understand. I keep trying to express that unless we rise the level of education, opportunities, improve environments and lower the ratio of the inability to process information, then the likelihood of one of us, our family members or a friend/co-worker will fall prey to violence - some of us may never be able to recover from! I know many good nature (environment), educated, raised well people who have reacted in violent ways or thought violent periodically; imagine how much more often it would happen if we weren't raised well, educated, good nature (environment) etc..
So I keep imparting on many of you that your focus is wrong. Spending $50 Million Dollars now that we don't have just to have an upside down business/service that we will have to subsidize is simply CRAZY!! This is all about Mr. Gray and completing this Street Car for H Street! If you gave me $50 Million, I would put a system in place that would change the lives of a whole lot of kids - trust and believe!! This STUPID STREET CAR will be a huge financial drain on our dollars. This Street Car system is not NECESSARY and will always be an upside down business. There is a much better ROI if we invest in our kids and projects that will allow for that FIRST!
Rob Ramson
On Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 6:03 PM, Jared Wheeler <jaredw23@yahoo.com> wrote:
Of note.Oh, and, BTW, this spending figure is about triple what the DC voucher program spends per pupil—and the voucher students have a much higher graduation rate and perform as well or better academically.
Census Bureau Confirms: DC Spends $29,409 / pupilPosted By Andrew J. Coulson On June 26, 2012Four years ago, I wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post [1] revealing that DC spent nearly $25,000 per pupil during the 2007-08 school year. I calculated this figure from the public budget documents of the District of Columbia, which I subsequently summarized and linked on this blog [2].No education reporter followed up on my findings, and much lower per pupil figures continue to be reported to this day. My $25,000 figure was even greeted with skepticism by analysts at free market think tanks. One state education policy analyst wrote to say that my figure was "out of line with credible information," and that I gave my critics "too much ammunition with this clearly questionable set of statistics."Indeed, the Census Bureau figures for DC's total K-12 expenditures were substantially lower than mine. I made a note to track down the discrepancy, but other projects intervened. When I updated my calculation to use DC budget estimates for the 2008-09 school year, I found that District spending had risen to over $28,000 / pupil [3]. The comparable number for that year reported by the Bureau of the Census was just $18,181 [4](which you get by dividing the total expenditure figure in Table 1 by the enrollment figure in Table 15).So you can see why most folks were skeptical. Skeptical, but wrong.Back in March of this year I asked my then research intern to contact the Census Bureau and ask where they got their total spending data. It turns out, they got them from a DCPS official. We presented evidence to the Bureau that that DCPS official had missed a few line items when completing the Census Bureau's forms—to the tune of about $400 million. The Census Bureau agreed and is in the process of obtaining corrected data for the 2008-09 year. In the meantime, they made sure to ask DC officials to include all relevant items when filling out their forms for the 2009-10 school year. The result: Census Bureau data now show DC spent a total of $29,409 per pupil [5] (obtained by dividing total expenditures in Table 1 by enrollment in Table 15). This is just a bit higher than my calculation for the preceding year.Kudos to the Census Bureau for taking the initiative and getting DC to accurately report its public school expenditures. Now that education reporters can simply open a Census Bureau .pdf file and divide one number by another, I wonder if any will report what DC really spends per pupil? I suspect that they still will not, continuing to mislead the general public, but I would be delighted to be proven wrong.Oh, and, BTW, this spending figure is about triple what the DC voucher program spends per pupil—and the voucher students have a much higher graduation rate and perform as well or better academically.
From: Rob <indianrob@gmail.com>
To: ward5@yahoogroups.com; Ward 5 Google Groups <wardfive@googlegroups.com>
Cc: kenyan McDuffie <kmcduffie@dccouncil.us>
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 5:17 PM
Subject: Re: [ward5] Fwd: [concerned4DCPS] Ward 5 Braces for School Closures // Ward 5 Middle School Initiative to Miss 2013 Goal (Ward 5 Heartbeat)
Ok. If they are closing schools, let's start with the underperforming charter schools and Relocate the kids to our public schools and that solves the low enrollment issue.On Jun 27, 2012 4:50 PM, "cherita whiting" <cherita_whiting@yahoo.com> wrote:Chairman Mendelson will be holding an education hearing prior to recess....and he is even holding it in the evening or a Saturday in order to make sure he hears from the residents & parents.Cherita Whiting
Former Chair of 4B ANC Commission
McKinley Tech PTA President
DCPTA Board of Directors
Chairperson Ward 4 Education Council
DCPS Education Compact Committee
Ward 4 Rep for Water & Sewer Advisory Committee
Commissioner on the Commission for Women District of ColumbiaFrom: Debbie Smith-Steiner <DLSmith112@msn.com>
To: "ward5@yahoogroups.com" <ward5@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "ward5@yahoogroups.com" <ward5@yahoogroups.com>; kenyan McDuffie <kmcduffie@dccouncil.us>
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 4:47 PM
Subject: Re: [ward5] Fwd: [concerned4DCPS] Ward 5 Braces for School Closures // Ward 5 Middle School Initiative to Miss 2013 Goal (Ward 5 Heartbeat)
Ok people this is now war!!!I asked for Emergency legislation placing a moritorium on DC Public Charter Schools in Ward 5 and I ask for it again before Council recess.Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed.Booker T. WashingtonOn Jun 27, 2012, at 4:20 PM, "KPW, KAPoW" <WKPW3@aol.com> wrote:
-----Original Message----- From: Thomas Byrd <thomas.byrd@yahoo.com> To: concerned4DCPS <concerned4DCPS@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wed, Jun 27, 2012 4:02 pm Subject: Re: [concerned4DCPS] Ward 5 Braces for School Closures // Ward 5 Middle School Initiative to Miss 2013 Goal (Ward 5 Heartbeat)
FYI: The IFF report has not and will not be ignored by the DME. The quality schools community conversation planning sessions are currently underway. All of the Ward conversations will occur in August. Jessica Sutter has consistently stated that the IFF recommendations will still be considered as part of this process. Jessica will be a guest on The Education Town Hall next week.
--- On Wed, 6/27/12, KPW, KAPoW <WKPW3@aol.com> wrote:
From: KPW, KAPoW <WKPW3@aol.com>
Subject: [concerned4DCPS] Ward 5 Braces for School Closures // Ward 5 Middle School Initiative to Miss 2013 Goal (Ward 5 Heartbeat)
To: ward5@yahoogroups.com, concerned4DCPS@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 3:24 PM
http://www.ward5heartbeat.org/2012sum_schools.html
Ward 5 Braces for School Closures
Much-hyped IFF Report is ignored
�What we have is unsustainable,� said Mayor Gray. �When you put the D.C. public school buildings together with the charter schools, we now have about 220 buildings.�
�We have too many programs in too many buildings,� echoed Ms. Henderson.Unanswered is the question of which schools will be closed and what criteria will be used to close them. DCPS spokesman Frederick Lewis said �decisions on school closings will not be made for several months.� Mr. Lewis backed away from an initial pledge to disclose DCPS� criteria for closing schools to Ward 5 Heartbeat.
A recent report commissioned by the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Education was intended to provide a blueprint for District decisions on school closure and investment.
When the report, authored by consulting firm IFF, was released in January, Deputy Mayor for Education De�Shawn Wright said �now we know precisely where we must focus our efforts.� Mayor Gray said the report provided �an unprecedented level of clarity...and will inform key decisions for years to come.�
However, the report has been disavowed by DCPS.
IFF researchers used quantitative methods to identify 10 out of 39 District neighborhoods that have the greatest need for quality classroom places � known as �seats� � for children. According to the report, two of the top ten neediest neighborhoods for quality �seats� are in Ward 5: Brookland-Brentwood-Langdon and Ivy City-Trinidad-Carver-Langston.
The report advised District leaders to �concentrate their investments� on schools in the top ten priority neighborhoods. The report also recommended closure or �turnaround� for the following five Ward 5 schools: Noyes, Burroughs, Browne, Wheatley and Spingarn.
The report was intended to form the basis for community discussions in Ward 5 � and other priority areas � on the future of individual schools.
However, the initiative never got off the ground. �They said we would get together and there would be a series of meetings and discussions. That hasn�t happened,� said Mark Jones, Ward 5 representative on the D.C. State Board of Education.
Jessica Sutter, senior advisor to the Deputy Mayor for Education, directed enquiries about the initiative to DCPS. DCPS spokesperson Melissa Salmanowitz directed enquiries back to the Deputy Mayor. �That�s not our study,� she said about the IFF report.
With the findings and recommendations of the IFF report seemingly abandoned, little remains to predict which Ward 5 schools will be closed or what criteria will be used.Further clouding matters, DCPS recently announced an initiative called Proving What�s Possible. Under this program, DCPS awarded grants in June of up to several hundred thousand dollars to dozens of District schools�including four of the five Ward 5 schools that had been recommended for closure or turnaround by the IFF report: Noyes, Burroughs, Wheatley and Spingarn.
Asked if DCPS� decision to award large grants to these four schools meant they were off the list for possible closure this fall, Ms. Salmanowitz gave an enigmatic reply. �You are making a leap where a leap isn�t necessary,� she said.
Ward 5 Board of Education representative Mark Jones faulted the District for failing to lay adequate groundwork for closing schools. �Until there is some serious discussion on what schools need to be closed and why, I am not in favor of any of them being closed now,� he said.
Ms. Salmanowitz said a �state of the schools� meeting will be held in every ward before school closures are announced.
As of press time, DCPS had scheduled a �state of the schools� meeting for every ward except Ward 5. Meetings for six of the eight wards have already taken place.According to 2011 test results, fewer than one-third of students were proficient in reading and math at the following Ward 5 schools: Thurgood Marshall, Noyes, Browne, Wheatley, Spingarn and Dunbar. These six schools were identified by DCPS as being among the 40 worst performing schools in the District.
�with reporting by Dale SprusanskySee related article: Ward 5 Middle School Initiative to Miss 2013 Goal
Send questions, comments, letters to the editor and local news to:
Abigail Padou, Editor
editor@ward5heartbeat.org
http://www.ward5heartbeat.org/2012sum_initiative.html
Ward 5 Middle School Initiative to Miss
2013 Goal
1. A standalone middle school on the site of the former Brookland elementary school at 1150 Michigan Avenue NE
DCPS pushed the school�s readiness date back to the beginning of the 2014 school year to allow time to raze and rebuild the school instead of simply renovating it. $44 million has been budgeted to build the new middle school.DCPS� ability to meet the 2014 deadline is questionable: according to budget documents, Stuart-Hobson middle school in Ward 6 also has a modernization deadline of August 2014, but unlike Brookland middle school, planning is already �well underway� for the project.
2. An International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Browne Education Campus
Ms. Salmanowitz said the District will begin the application process next year to establish a certified IB program at Browne. Certification is a multi-year process and DCPS has no estimated start date for when IB instruction will actually take place in the classrooms.
3. A Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program for middle grades in the A-wing of McKinley Tech high school
Ms. Salmanowitz said the STEM program will be up and running by the 2013 school year. However, she said the building needed to be renovated first. $11 million has been budgeted for the renovations.
Send questions, comments, letters to the editor and local news to:
Abigail Padou, Editor
editor@ward5heartbeat.org
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R. Ramson
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