DC Public Schools

A number of public schools in DC could be opening their doors next fall without a librarian.  When more than one-third of DC Public Schools braced for budget cuts in February due largely to projected declines in student enrollment, 27…

The way the city funds our schools structurally underfunds educational operations for DC Public Schools (DCPS) relative to the charter sector to the tune of $40 million to $50 million a year. That claim may surprise you because…

The initial excitement among some parents and advocates was palpable last week after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced plans to increase by 4% per pupil funding for public education in her upcoming 2021 budget plan. Overall spending in 2019…

When Vanessa Bertelli moved with her family from Shanghai to Washington in 2010, she was sure her children would have access to dual language education. It is, after all, the nation’s capital. A child of a bilingual family, Bertelli grew…

For the past year, a citywide coalition organized by Digital Equity in DC Education has continued to push city leaders to address the inadequate, unreliable technology in DC schools. While the city has started to address the technology…

This holiday season, DC Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee could make a decision that would build trust and show some of our city’s most vulnerable students that, on his watch, their voices and needs will be prioritized. He can do this by…

Some education advocates have started describing Mayor Muriel Bowser and sections of her administration as “Trumpian.” They have joked, for example, that Paul Kihn, the deputy mayor for education, continues to suggest that the 2018 Master…

A turf war raged this fall over access to the public Jelleff Recreation Center in Georgetown, with some parents and lawmakers rallying unsuccessfully against private Maret School renewing a deal with the District for exclusive rights to…

Students, parents, teachers and community members on Monday night urged against the proposed closure of Washington Metropolitan High School, which some say suffers from lack of investment from DC Public Schools. “Nobody’s listening to…

When I was a student teacher at the now-closed Garnet-Patterson Junior High in Shaw in the fall of 1970, my mentor, Brittania Capers, offered me invaluable advice, shared her expertise, and gave me the tools to understand what I was about…

The DC State Board of Education is launching a three-year effort to change how public schools teach social studies, rewriting state academic standards to improve civics learning and promote more culturally relevant instruction for students…

When DC Public Schools first administered the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams in 2015, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School was significantly behind in both English language arts (ELA) and…

One of Holly Searl’s goals this year as principal of John W. Ross Elementary School is to have lunch with each of her students. Earlier this month, though, it was a breakfast of coffee and doughnuts for the Dupont Circle school’s parents…

La’Rissa Dunn experienced a few surprises on her journey as one of 42 OSSE Scholars this summer — from a typo that made her think maybe she hadn’t been accepted into the program, to a college match she wasn’t expecting, to perplexing…

Some of the most popular children’s books teach lessons on colors, sharing and numbers. But what if they also offered lessons on more adult topics like strategic thinking and mindfulness? Linda Ryden — a peace teacher at Lafayette…

I grew up in Anacostia, the heartbeat of Southeast. Every day of my childhood, I lived the life my students now live.  Over the past year, we experienced incredible heartbreak with the loss of Gerald Watson and other students who have…

Many DC students returning to school on Monday will find new classrooms, new programming space and new greenery on campuses across the District, thanks to $450 million worth of modernization projects completed over the summer. The…

Some Americans hold the misconception that monolingualism is equated with patriotism. Some see speaking Spanish, Arabic, Amharic or Vietnamese at their local grocery store as “offensive” or even “dangerous.” This sentiment is not shared…

A few weeks after the DC Council voted, with enthusiastic guidance from Chairman Phil Mendelson, to disapprove the DC Public Education Master Facilities Plan 2018, Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter indicating her “disappointment” with the…

The daisy is a delightful flower that opens each morning — the origin of its name, derived from an Old English term meaning “day’s eye.” So it’s only appropriate that Gloria Torrento Del Cid is known to everyone around her by a twist on…