After split vote on president, new leadership aims to strengthen State Board of Education’s voice

A new year means new leadership for DC’s State Board of Education (SBOE), and this year’s selections brought fresh evidence of a change in direction.

The board elected Ward 3’s Ruth Wattenberg and Ward 8’s Markus Batchelor to one-year terms as president and vice president, respectively, at its first public meeting of the year on Jan. 16. As leaders, they will shape the board’s priorities and outlook for the coming year.

Tonight, the board’s second public meeting of the year will feature a panel discussion on teacher retention and a vote on a resolution calling for budget transparency.

Both Batchelor and Wattenberg see their partnership as particularly important since Ward 3 is the wealthiest, and Ward 8 the poorest, in the city. Wattenberg was elected in November to her second term on the board; Batchelor, who attended Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and Hardy Middle School before graduating from Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School, was elected in 2016 to his first term.

Looking ahead, Wattenberg and Batchelor plan to focus on finding solutions for high teacher turnover, continuing to evaluate the rating system that assigns every school one to five stars, and evaluating the amount of time students spend on science and social studies — and the corresponding standards.

The president, who presides over SBOE meetings, acts as the board’s spokesperson, provides direction to staff members and represents the board in its dealings with the state superintendent of education, among other responsibilities. The position was held in 2017 and 2108 by Ward 7’s Karen Williams, who had served two terms as vice president before that. She was nominated once again for the position, but Wattenberg defeated her in a 5-4 vote.

Ward 2’s Jack Jacobson was nominated for vice president, a position which he held in 2017 and 2018, after having served two years as president — but withdrew his name shortly afterward, conceding to Batchelor. Neither Williams nor Jacobson responded to requests for comment.

For Wattenberg, the shift in leadership is a result of the 2018 election of new board members. “As residents and voters shift their thinking, it’s going to affect how they vote,” she said. “This will affect the board.”

Three new members — Frazier O’Leary (Ward 4), Emily Gasoi (Ward 1) and Zachary Parker (Ward 5) — have all been outspoken about their desire for more transparency, greater power for the SBOE, and a shift in the definition of “quality schools” especially with regard to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) framework, which awards schools a summative rating on a scale of one to five.

Each of these new members backed Wattenberg and Batchelor, who have been vocal about these issues in the last few years, even voting last year against the ESSA plan that created the star rating system. Cathy Reilly, executive director of the Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators, views their ESSA dissent as one of the standout policy positions of the new leaders.

Ward 6’s Jessica Sutter is the only new member who did not vote for Wattenberg. She said she cast the vote after speaking to the student representatives, one of whom — Tatiana Robinson, a senior at Ballou — nominated Williams. According to Robinson, Williams has worked hard to listen to and elevate student voices, which Sutter considers critical to their role on the board.

After Wattenberg’s election as president, however, Sutter nominated Batchelor for vice president, not wanting to “split the ticket,” as Wattenberg and Batchelor had made clear they were running together.

According to Batchelor, the elections demonstrated that the community is ready for a change in the board, which is the only elected education-only body in the city.

“The value that the previous leadership has was building a firm foundation,” Batchelor said in an interview. “They had to do a lot of the hard work to give the board the opportunity to do what we’re doing now.”

The public education governance and regulatory structure changed in 2007, after which the board worked to define its new role. Leadership in recent years won increases in the amount of funding the SBOE receives, hired full-time staff, built a strong relationship with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and increased the board’s influence in the community.

Sutter said she expects to work closely with Wattenberg and Batchelor, noting that they are interested in pursuing many of the same issues.

“I think the external view is that I got elected by folks with different views,” said Sutter, referring to the other new members’ endorsements by the Washington Teachers’ Union and her own endorsement by Democrats for Education Reform. “We’ve found a lot of common ground already.”

Her priorities for the upcoming year align in many ways with the board’s new leadership, including the need to focus on building a rich curriculum outside reading and math. She also wants the board to discuss ways to support mental health and trauma-informed teaching.

Reilly, who works closely with board members, said she expects the new leadership to incorporate the views of all of their colleagues as they set the agenda.

“I think Ruth and Marcus will work to be inclusive of the different points of view on the board, and it is OK for leadership to rotate,” Reilly said. “I look forward to working with all of the members of SBOE. It is a crucial time for public education here in DC.”

At the Feb. 27 public meeting, the board will continue its discussion on teacher retention, hosting panels on the effects of long-term substitutes on students and the ways that universities are preparing emerging educators.

The board will also vote on a resolution calling for increased budget transparency, including school budgets that are “easy to locate,” “readily understandable” and “easily compared across schools.”

Members will also consider recommended appointments to several committees, including designation of Batchelor to chair an administration and budget committee and Williams to lead the ESSA Task Force.

The meeting will also include recognition of Lakeisha Brown, a kindergarten teacher at Lafayette Elementary School, as the 2019 DCPS Teacher of the Year. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Old Council Chambers at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th St. NW; it will air live on District Knowledge Network (DKN) and will be streamed via Periscope.

This post has been updated to correct a reference to Markus Batchelor as a DC Public Schools graduate.