DISTRICT BRIEFING

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Every Classroom Promised A Computer by February

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee announced yesterday that all D.C. classrooms will have a desktop computer by February under a $4 million technology initiative.

The money will pay for more than 6,300 computers for the city's 141 schools. The distribution will begin next week at Anacostia High School in Southeast, where officials made their announcement yesterday. Vivek Kundra, the city's chief technology officer, said most of the school system's existing technology is outdated and riddled with viruses. The project aims to ensure that every classroom teacher and administrator has a computer.

The computers, a total of 6,356 Dell desktop PCs, were purchased for $628 each, officials said. Anacostia Principal Lynne Gober said that the computers will be a big morale boost for her teaching staff and will allow every teacher to keep grades and other records electronically.

-- Theola Labb¿

SOUTHEAST

Man Is Found Dead In SUV in Anacostia Park

A man was found dead last night in a vehicle in Anacostia Park by D.C. firefighters responding to a call about a car fire, authorities said.

Smoke was pouring out of the parked red Ford Expedition when firefighters arrived about 7 p.m. at an area near an exit ramp for the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. They found a man in the front passenger seat. The sport-utility vehicle, with Maryland tags, was parked in a grassy area.

The man, who was not identified last night, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials from the D.C. police violent crimes unit were investigating but had not declared the death a homicide as of last night.

-- Elissa Silverman

RHODES SCHOLAR

Recent Georgetown Graduate And Marine Reservist Named

Georgetown University graduate Pravin S. Rajan, currently in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve assigned to an office in College Park, has been named a 2008 Rhodes scholar.

Rajan, who graduated this year, wrote in his scholarship essay that he was inspired to join the Marines by conditions in his parents' native India. He wrote that he wanted "a more direct participation in America's global role than any ordinary job could provide."

At Georgetown, Rajan served as the elected student body president during his sophomore year, the youngest person ever to hold the post. He also co-founded the first male student group to foster discussion of sexual assault and men's role in stopping it.

The Rhodes Scholarship funds two to three years at Oxford University in England. Rajan plans to research the impact of military interventions on the Middle East.

-- Valerie Strauss