Plan Aired To Root Out D.C. Students' Problems

Troubled D.C. public school students will get intensive intervention services -- involving support for their families, behavior management strategies and academic help -- in a forthcoming pilot program, Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso testified last night.

During a more than 10-hour D.C. Council oversight hearing on schools, Reinoso said that his office plans to target children with problems in class. Charter school and school construction officials also testified during the hearing.

Rather than just focus on a student's academic needs, he said, an intervention team will probe a child's background to find what is causing academic or behavioral problems.

He said his office will launch the program in two schools next month and four or five in the fall. It will aim at helping the student "before he is in a crisis," Reinoso said.

"We will work with a clinician on a comprehensive plan, working with the child in behavior management and a program that will provide support for the mother," he said. For example, he said, a child might be found to be upset because his father has been jailed and his mother has devoted her attention to an ailing brother or sister. The intervention team, he said, might enlist the aid of a grandmother who could spend more time with the child.

Reinoso said his office also is working with Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee on a program to assess needs of students in pre-kindergarten and those entering kindergarten. "We don't have any systematic way as a city to see where kids are at the starting line and to intervene" for those who need help, he said.

He also said he is beginning work on an intervention program for students who are on the verge of dropping out of high school. Charter school advocates called on District officials to provide greater financial support and increased access to excess D.C. public school buildings.

The advocates complained that the charters were not included in last fall's $81 million supplemental allocation to the school system to cover a budget shortfall. The advocates said the law required equitable funding distributions.

The "council gave [Mayor Adrian M. Fenty] exactly what he asked for, despite certain reservations, ignoring the legality of the School Reform Act and the protestations of the charter school community," said Ramona H. Edelin, executive director of the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools.

But council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) disagreed that charters are entitled to more money. In an interview, Wells said the $81 million was needed to cover costs associated with last year's mayoral takeover of the school system and not subject to the funding formula that applies to charters. He also said the District's charters receive the highest payment rate in the nation.

During the hearing, Wells said charters impair the system and contribute to circumstances that have led to the proposed closure of 23 schools. "I think the charter school movement can undermine the D.C. system," he said.

Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) said the school system and charters should work together more closely so "we can lift up all boats."

A school construction official updated council members on efforts to modernize schools.

Allen Y. Lew, executive director of the D.C. Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, said staff members are devising a master plan to guide the work. He also said he has recruited contractors and subcontractors "with a track record and history of performance" who had not worked with the school system in the past.

"I believe that our office has gotten off to a good start and that we have demonstrated that we can get the job done," he said.