Laks Advanced , Ward Five &amp; Home Based Business

Phone: 202-505-4309

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About the Ward Five Council on Education

The Ward Five Council on Education is a 501(c)3 community organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in Ward 5 and citywide. The Council provides a forum for community stakeholders to share and resolve issues surrounding Ward 5 schools and works closely with the District of Columbia's education community to ensure that the quality of public schools – both traditional and charter – is exactly what Ward 5 students, parents, and the community at large deserves. The Council takes action through advocacy, education of all education stakeholders, and community involvement. Learn more at www.w5coe.org.

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[WardFive] FYI: Empower DC Releases Internal DCPS School Closure Emails

Information sharing - please see email below.

Ward Five Council on Education

Phone: 202-505-4309

Follow this link to all of the individual emails

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EMPOWER DC

Organizing Community Power!

Empower DC Releases Internal DCPS School Closure Emails

"The bottom line is that overall there was not a huge difference performance change [sic]

between students in schools which closed and all other students. The small difference there was was actually negative, so it's probably just better to avoid this angle if it does come up."

-- Greg Garrison, DCPS Deputy Chief, Office of Data and Accountability (former) to Peter Weber, DCPS Chief of Strategy

In March 2013 Empower DC and our members filed a lawsuit to block the closure of 15 DC public schools. Although the injunction we sought, which would have stopped the closures entirely, was blocked the judge allowed the lawsuit to move forward on several counts, including our claim of disparate racial impact. The closures ultimately displaced 2,642 children, of which only 2 were white.

As part of the "discovery" phase of the lawsuit, Empower DC received thousands of internal DCPS emails related to school closures and had the opportunity to question under oath four high-level DCPS officials, including Chancellor Kaya Henderson.

We undertook this lawsuit because we know that corporate education reform is hurting our communities, particularly Black and Brown communities where school closures have taken place. These emails show how external, education privatization organizations are having a significant influence on DC education policy behind the scenes, in particular pushing for closures, the rise of charter schools, etc.

Among the many emails that stood out to us are:

An exchange between Chancellor Kaya Henderson and former Mayor Vincent Gray dismissing Ward 8 advocates and residents
An email from Peter Weber, DCPS Chief of Strategy, to Chancellor Kaya Henderson about setting up a "straw man" (definition: a fake argument set up to be defeated) for school closures
An email from Chancellor Kaya Henderson dismissing the federal Department of Education and Empower DC's concerns about the discriminatory impact of school closures

Follow this link to the merged emails for easier searching

Though we've poured over these for hours, we know we haven't found all the significant emails yet. We are releasing all of the thousands of emails to the public. And we look forward to hearing what you find. What did we miss?

Note that the files contain many duplicate emails, and each PDF should be read from the last page to the first (the order in which the emails were sent). We have posted the emails as they were given to us, each with it's individual "Bates Number" stamped at the bottom right hand corner. We also posted each Disc of emails as one long merged pdf document so you can search the whole thing at once.

Additionally, we are making the deposition transcripts for Peter Weber - DCPS Chief of Strategy, Lisa Ruda - DCPS Deputy Chancellor of Operations and Kaya Henderson - DCPS chancellor available for your review.

Our campaign to save neighborhood schools is not over, and with your help we will be able to learn as much as possible from these emails to inform the rest of our work. Tell us what you find by posting on our Facebook page (facebook.com/empowerdc), tweeting @empowerdc or by contacting Daniel, Empower DC's education organizer (202-234-9119 x104 / daniel@empowerdc.org).

Some suggested search terms to get you started:

Bowser, City Bridge, Catherine Bradley, WTU, Charter, Kipp, US DOE, Ed.gov, IFF, DME, ERS, Scott Pearson, Donors, Donor Briefing, Empower DC, Kamras, DC Public Education Fund, DCPEF, Vincent Gray, vcg6@dc.gov, Broad, Walton, DGS

Parents, activists, City Council members, reporters, State Board of Education members - make sure to search your name as well!

[WardFive] Tonight's ANC 5B02 Meeting Cancelled

Good Afternoon,

As a reminder, the 5B02 Single Member District meeting is cancelled for this evening. Councilman McDuffie has a Ward 5 Leadership meeting that was reschedule from one of our snow days.

Have a great day "On Purpose".

Commissioner Ursula Higgins
Chairperson, ANC 5B
Single Member District 5B02
Telephone: 202-321-5289
Email: 5b02@anc.dc.gov

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[WardFive] Fwd: DC State Board of Ed Establishes Student Advisory Committee

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: DC State Board of Education <dcdocs@dc.gov>
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 9:16 AM
Subject: DC State Board of Ed Establishes Student Advisory Committee
To: ward5coe@gmail.com

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Jesse B Rauch, Executive Director, 202.741.0884

DC STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION ESTABLISHES STUDENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, CHAIRED BY STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

Committee members will meet at least four (4) times a year and will also conduct student forums throughout the District.

The Student Advisory Committee is comprised of 17 students. Five (5) students will be selected from the most populous DCPS high schools; five (5) students will be selected from the most populous public charter high schools. Five (5) additional students will be selected from other schools. The State Board's Student Representative will co-chair the Student Advisory Committee.

The application is attached to this release and will be available online at http://sboe.dc.gov/page/student-representatives. Additionally, applications will be sent electronically to school leaders and principals and will be available through community organizations. Applications may also be picked up at the State Board of Education office at 441 4th Street NW, Suite 723N Washington, DC 20001.

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

Be a District of Columbia resident;
Be a sophomore, junior, or senior in either a traditional public high school (District of Columbia Public Schools) or a public charter high school; and
Possess a GPA of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 scale.

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Ward Five Council on Education

Phone: 202-505-4309

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[WardFive] Fwd: Scholarship Oppurtunity for DC High School Seniors attending a Public, Charter, and Home Schooled

For more information please see the message and attachment below.

Best,

Ward Five Council on Education

Phone: 202-505-4309

Email: ward5coe@gmail.com

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About the Ward Five Council on Education

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jenna carter <jennalouise@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 26, 2015 at 11:06 AM
Subject: Scholarship Oppurtunity for DC High School Seniors attending a Public, Charter, and Home Schooled
To: Ward 7 Education Council <ward7ed@yahoo.com>, Ward Five Council On Education <ward5coe@gmail.com>

Hi Everyone:

Please pass on the attached scholarship flyer to any interested DC High School Senior attending a Public or Charter High School, or is Home-Schooled. Deadline is April 30th.

Thanks,

Jenna Carter

Ward Five Council on Education

Phone: 202-505-4309