Orr Parents Tell Councilmember Catania: Our Children Deserve Classrooms

By Candi Peterson

 I've covered the story about Orr elementary school  in SE Washington, DC since I visited and learned of special needs students being taught in a vault and a music classroom with 42 students, much to my horror back in January 2014. I attempted to no avail to get the mainstream media including Bruce Johnson to cover this story. I even posted photos of the Vault classroom but Chancellor Henderson told Bruce Johnson there was absolutely no validity to my claims despite photos and my actual live reporting that I stood inside the vault classroom. Certainly there's no denying that I am a newsworthy credible source dating back to the Michelle Rhee days. Afterall I my blog received note worthy mention in Michelle Rhee's book, The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on The Nations Worst District.

Here's an update on a recent meeting parents held with Councilmember David Catania, and also chairman of the Education Committee and mayoral hopeful. Allyson Criner Brown, Associate Director of Teaching for Change who works with the parents of Orr in a partnership and advocates for modernization of the school wrote me the following email about the meeting with Mr. Catania: " Hi Candi, We had a very good meeting with David Catania. Parents took him on a tour of the building and I asked the teacher of the vault classroom to leave the Masterlock key so we could take him into the vault. He and his staff were stunned. We had about 30 parents that evening, plus kids and staff. Maybe 80 people or so in all. His staff said they'd never seen turnout like that in Ward 8. The principal welcomed Catania before leaving. We alerted his staff about our concerns with the principal but we didn't address them that night. Parents noticed Principal Wilson didn't make arrangements so she could stay for the meeting. Have a great weekend, I'll be in touch.-Allyson"

Too Bad Principal Niyeka Wilson couldn't stay for the meeting. Shame on her.

Cross posted from Teaching for Change:

 Orr (DCPS) parents invited David Catania, Councilmember and chair of the Education Committee, to hear their stories and tour the building which badly needs modernization. Nearly 30 parents attended with their children, along with teachers and members of the local community. Parents expressed their concerns about the safety of the playground; stagnant air and poor natural lighting; places where the building is crumbling; and, most significantly, the open floor plan (in which there are no walls separating classrooms or hallways). The modernization was slated to begin eight years ago but has been delayed every year since.

Teaching for Change, a partner with the Orr Parent Center, helped plan and facilitate the event which featured parent leaders. A father talked about how his three-year old daughter wandered off from her classroom in her first week of school and could not be found for nearly an hour. “Where could she have gone if her classroom had walls and a door?” he asked the Councilmember. A teacher discussed how the open-space classrooms presents enormous challenges for himself and others, particularly where classrooms are separated only by a rolling chalkboard or less. A mother shared that her daughter’s asthma flares up so badly that she and the school have a plan for her daughter to be moved from the third floor to the first floor when she has episodes. Another mother shared how the school had not only wrapped itself around her son in Kindergarten, but also supported her; she recently earned her GED after getting information and support from Orr’s well-known Parent Center.

The consistent theme among parents and teachers was their love for the school and the staff, but yet the urgent need for the school to be modernized. Councilmember Catania thanked the parents for sharing their stories and pledged to be a champion for Orr’s modernization.

Read more about this story here “No Place to Hide: Orr Elementary Needs Modernization Now!”
More photos.

---

Teaching for Change has been a community partner of Orr Elementary since 2010. Our work with parents at Orr is funded through generous grants from The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, and an anonymous foundation.

The Cardozo Experiment: DC Public School Gets Race To The Top Funds

Written by Candi Peterson

So it seems that DC Public Schools will be using Race to The Top (RTTT) Dollars to create more school administrators and educrats which according to the Urban Dictionary is an officer, administrator or other bureaucrats in a school district. Similar stories are taking shape around the country as districts race to the top for funds under President Obama's signature 2009 reform effort for education. 

The last two weeks have been a helluva adjustment for Cardozo Senior High school staff, of which I am a part. We just learned that Cardozo Senior High beloved principal and the administrative team will be dismantled. Principal Grant of Cardozo Senior High in NW Washington, DC announced in our May staff meeting last week that she has not been re-appointed (after 5 years as principal) by DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Grant in her 'Swan Song' to staff, chimed "Don't cry for me." Not unlike her predecessor, Henderson is no different than former DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee in terms of firing principals. Lisa Gartner, staff writer for the DC Examiner reported in a June 5, 2012 article : "It's become something of a tradition for DCPS to shed dozens of principals each year.... In fall 2008, the school system replaced 43 principals. That number dropped to 26 in 2009, rose slightly to 30 in 2010, and fell back to 24 last school year." Gartner noted in the article that more than half of the principals being replaced were hired by Rhee.

As is typical in our district, when a principal is not reappointed, plans quickly roll out to hire a new principal. In the interim, an Instructional Superintendent (I.S.) steps in to oversee the 'transition process' and meet with the school staff for a brief question and answer session. A first meeting with our schools, I.S., Dan Shea occurred this week. When I questioned Shea as to why our principal was not reappointed, I wasn't surprised when I got the 'pat response' often provided by our district- "we cannot share that information as it is a personnel matter." Not even with the PTA, I asked? Shea responded no. 

A day later another meeting was held, after school with the I.S. and educrats from downtown. At this second meeting, we learned that in school year 2012-13 we will be gaining a planning principal, in addition to, an experienced principal partner, a planning vice principal and an instructional specialist. As I understand it, this team of administrators will be part of a planning team (not the team who actually runs the school) and some of them will travel the country for upwards of 5-6 months to observe best practices so they can incorporate successful educational models into the turn around of Cardozo Senior High School, which I believe will coincide with the school's planned re-opening in 2013. I don't think it is happenstance that the end of the planning year will coincide with the re-opening of the school's soon to be newly renovated building. Currently, we occupy an archaic elementary school building (known as Meyer Elementary), which has been modified with demountable trailers to accommodate our size.

In our last meeting, we were advised that approximately 6-7 DC Public Schools will receive Race to the Top (RTTT) Funds this school year, as well as, District funds to increase student achievement and attendance. Kramer Middle School in S.E. DC is already a recipient of RTTT funds and has gone through a similar process as outlined on the DCPS website. Additionally, Garfield Elementary School (whose principal, Ms. Tilghman was not re-appointed this year) and Johnson Middle School are slated to also receive funding. Ironically, Cardozo is  one of 38 DC Public Schools recommended by an Illinois Facilities Fund (IFF) study to close Tier 4 schools which are considered by the study to be the lowest performing and replace them with high-performing publicly-funded charter schools. (no final decisions have been made at this time, but according to statements made by DC Mayor Vincent Gray- he is in support of charter school expansion). This recommendation from the Illinois Facilities Fund study parallels the tenets of Race to the Top (allow or encourage public charter schools). It also would not surprise me for a minute, if plans are underway to reconstitute Cardozo's existing staff at the end of school year 2013, all the while using current staff to run the school while the planning principal and company are traveling and/or observing the instructional delivery of teachers and staff to implement in the turn around school model. When asked whether we could use any of our newly acquired funds to re-hire teachers we lost through excessing, we were informed by Shea that we would need to recruit more students, to get more teachers.

Race to the Top is defined as a 4.35 billion dollar contest, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), that is designed to spur reforms in state and local districts in kindergarten-12th grade education. "Districts in their plans to improve education must pledge to install a new system to evaluate teachers, use data to measure how well students are learning, pump resources into troubled schools and allow or encourage public charter schools" as reported by Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post writer in her January 10, 2011 article titled: "D.C. behind schedule in meeting Race to the Top promises."

Don't get me wrong about my analysis of Race to The Top. I am not saying that we don't need to reform our under performing schools. We do. However, if the Department of Education has 4.35 billion dollars laying around, why do we need a contest ? Why not share the wealth so that as many of our struggling schools, as possible, in the country have a chance to succeed and get the resources at long last that are needed? What's up with firing all the principals in exchange for a revolving door approach of newly hired principals that Michelle Rhee proved didn't work? Why not give the resources like Race to the Top funds to existing principals ?  After all, isn't it logical to conclude that had Cardozo Senior High School been given resources galore in the first place, sufficient staff, and a full planning year that we would have had a greater likelihood for success ? 

In the words of fellow teacher blogger, NYC Educator: "It's amazing that we jump through hoops to get race to the top money, agree to all sorts of reforms, and make such a big deal out of it when it turns out kids are the last to actually benefit from it. The money was never to reduce class size, to promote innovation, to improve instruction, but rather a chance to utilize a wishing well of Bill Gates Foundation/Eli Broad ideas hoisted upon the country. Here's a country that adores innovation in education, and no one cares whether or not it works as long as teachers and administrators can be held accountable for whatever ends up happening.... The Race is not about how well children do. It is, rather, about making clueless billionaires appear to be taking positive action on education. "

© Candi Peterson 2013

Arne Duncan's Close Ties to Victor Reinoso, Former DC Deputy Mayor of Education

Victor Reinoso (right)

Written by Candi Peterson

Word has it that Victor Reinoso, former DC Deputy Mayor of Education from 2007-10 under the Fenty administration is now a high-powered consultant to the United States Department of Education (DOE), working for Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education.  Confirmation that Reinoso is a local friend of Arne Duncan's was evidenced on Reinoso's personal Linked in account when he proudly displayed his DOE position until recently, that is. To refresh your memory further about Reinoso, as Deputy Mayor he oversaw the education reform agenda and was the person responsible for recruiting former DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee in 2007, a former elected DC Public Schools Board of Education member, former CEO of the Federal City Council and now a Senior Advisor to the President at Georgetown University.

Reinoso received recognition when he was caught plagiarizing Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina's public schools "school takeover plan" when he was acting deputy mayor.  At his 2007 confirmation hearing, the DC City Council had lively debate about his role in the plagiarism incident. In true politician style, Reinoso dodged questions about plagiarizing the takeover plan. The DC Examiner, on June 28, 2007 reported that Reinoso said he took full responsibility for the plagiarism, calling it a "shortcut" taken "to meet a deadline." He said the omission of attribution was unintentional."

Why is it important to connect the dots between Victor Reinoso and Secretary Arne Duncan?  With Reinoso  teaming up with Arne Duncan (who by the way has close ties to Eli Broad), it isn't a stretch to believe that a deal was cut to encourage Mayor Vincent Gray to maintain then Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson, after Michelle Rhee's ousting. I often wondered why Mayor Gray was adamant about not conducting a national search for a DC Public Schools Chancellor and didn't allow any resumes to be submitted when considering this high level appointment and I think I now have my answer.  Most recently, I imagine that Reinoso also influenced/supported Chancellor Henderson's honorary doctorate from Georgetown University, as a Senior Director there as well. This honorary doctorate will serve to further the occupational aspirations and enhance the political appeal of Chancellor Henderson, despite her obvious lack of education credentials. The awarding of an honorary degree like Henderson's creates press releases, attracts attention to the university and DC Public Schools and also signals the strength of "special interest groups" within Georgetown University.  

Certainly we can make the argument that relationships like Duncan and Reinoso are part of a larger aggressive school reform education movement in the United States and includes unequivocal support for mayoral control of public education, adopting the business/corporate model for school leadership, opening more charter schools, turning over public schools to charter school operators, creating a revolving door teacher workforce, changing the way teachers are evaluated, and stripping teachers of tenure in exchange for lucrative pay funded by education philanthropists. (i.e. Eli Broad, Bill Gates, etc.)

In the words of a teacher "It breaks my heart to see Duncan playing along. You should have seen my students when Obama won the presidency. Their eyes were shining. I tell them they will be the ones to walk across the stage, go on to the life they are supposed to live, and bring prosperity, health, security and life itself to their struggling families. Instead, it turns out Duncan owns his own his own stock in the Emperors New Schools Venture Fund." And if I had to make an educated guess, so does Reinoso.

© Candi Peterson 2013