D.C. Schools Insider - Emma Brown chronicles the District public schools.

Posted at 11:19 AM ET, 01/31/2012

IFF study of D.C. schools: The pushback begins

By Bill Turque

D.C. Deputy Mayor for Education De’Shawn Wright has encountered some sharply negative responses to the IFF school capacity study.

By Bill Turque | 11:19 AM ET, 01/31/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: DCPS Wright, DCPS IFF

Posted at 04:31 PM ET, 01/30/2012

DCPS lottery launches

By Bill Turque

If you’re looking for a DCPS preschool or prekindergarten seat, or a spot in a school outside your neighborhood, lottery season has started.

By Bill Turque | 04:31 PM ET, 01/30/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: lottery out of boundary

Posted at 06:27 PM ET, 01/26/2012

D.C. school study: Fears for tiers are premature

By Bill Turque

Despite all the buzz it has generated, the study produced by IFF (formerly known as the Illinois Facilities Fund) is still just a stack of data, not a policy.

By Bill Turque | 06:27 PM ET, 01/26/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)
Tags: D.C. Schools, DC Public Charter Schools

Posted at 11:45 PM ET, 01/24/2012

Council rips Henderson on budget overruns

By Bill Turque

Chancellor Kaya Henderson received a rare beat-down from the D.C. Council Tuesday, administered by members unhappy with what one called “reckless” budget practices that have contributed to about $21 million in projected DCPS cost overruns.

By Bill Turque | 11:45 PM ET, 01/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:59 PM ET, 01/23/2012

Cheh: DCPS food service cash crunch is result of error, not rising costs

By Bill Turque

DCPS says it needs $10.7 million to cover increased food service costs that are busting its budget. D.C. Council member Mary Cheh disputes that assertion.

By Bill Turque | 05:59 PM ET, 01/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:35 PM ET, 01/23/2012

Educators say it will take more than dollars to lure effective teachers to struggling D.C. schools

By Bill Turque

Kwame R. Brown got a generally positive reception for his proposed pilot program to lure good teachers to low-performing schools, but educators said would take more that financial incentives to move effective instructors into challenging schools.

By Bill Turque | 04:35 PM ET, 01/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 08:39 AM ET, 01/23/2012

Deputy mayor for education insulted Ward 4 schools, some say

By Bill Turque

De’Shawn Wright announced that Coolidge and Roosevelt high schools would have their renovations postponed for a year and that he wouldn’t send his child to either school because of the poor conditions.

By Bill Turque | 08:39 AM ET, 01/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:54 PM ET, 01/20/2012

Nathan: Charters not entitled to extra funds

By Bill Turque

D.C.’s attorney general has rejected arguments that city funds must be distributed to charters and DCPS on a uniform basis.

By Bill Turque | 04:54 PM ET, 01/20/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:49 PM ET, 01/19/2012

D.C.’s ‘No Child’ waiver application draft available for comment

By Bill Turque

The District’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education has posted a draft of its waiver application online for comment.

By Bill Turque | 01:49 PM ET, 01/19/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 01:40 PM ET, 01/17/2012

‘Levy Report’: DCPS gets millions more than charters

By Bill Turque

DCPS receives between $72 million and $127 million a year in operating funds that public charter schools do not.

By Bill Turque | 01:40 PM ET, 01/17/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 05:45 PM ET, 01/11/2012

Score for scorecards: good, but more details, please

By Bill Turque

Parents and school community leaders who have seen the new DCPS scorecards had generally positive things to say about them Wednesday.

By Bill Turque | 05:45 PM ET, 01/11/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:04 PM ET, 01/09/2012

New D.C. school scorecards due out Tuesday

By Bill Turque

DCPS is scheduled to go on line with its new school scorecards Tuesday afternoon, providing parents with what it calls “unprecedented transparency and information.”

By Bill Turque | 04:04 PM ET, 01/09/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 03:41 PM ET, 01/05/2012

Charters challenge fairness of $21 million to DCPS

By Bill Turque

Mayor Gray targets $21 million in extra funding to public schools, nothing for public charters.

By Bill Turque | 03:41 PM ET, 01/05/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 09:59 AM ET, 01/04/2012

Read about Ballou’s Gabriel Benn

By Bill Turque

Benn’s parallel life as hip-hop artist Asheru has shaped his approach as an educator working with some of the city’s most vulnerable kids.

By Bill Turque | 09:59 AM ET, 01/04/2012 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

Posted at 04:18 PM ET, 12/31/2011

Suspicious DC CAS erasures down in 2011, but OSSE withholds school-by-school data

By Bill Turque

Under pressure, the superintendent’s office has finally released data that appear to show rates of suspicious answer sheet erasures continuing to decline.

By Bill Turque | 04:18 PM ET, 12/31/2011 | Permalink | Comments ( 0)

D.C. Schools Insider: January, 2012