D.C. Board President Passes Baton As Term Ends

On the last night of his tenure as the first president of the D.C. State Board of Education, Robert C. Bobb passed the baton to his fellow board members and wished them well.

"I couldn't think of a better night to end," said Bobb, who was elected president of the former D.C. Board of Education in 2006. "It's been a very successful transition from one board to the next."

It didn't look that way from the start. Bobb and other board members initially opposed the mayoral takeover of the District's public schools.

But during their first year as the D.C. State Board of Education, board members asserted themselves by approving academic standards for health education, physical education and world languages, as well as policies for home schooling.

In their final meeting Wednesday, the board voted to approve early learning standards for children from birth to 3 years old, truancy regulations for students in District schools and standards for post-baccalaureate teacher preparation programs.

"We have made some very difficult decisions," said board member Ted Trabue. "We have a long way to go before our system is where it ought to be."

The early learning standards comprise 19 components in four developmental areas: social behavior, physical development, cognitive skills and communication skills.

The board and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) also released a report Wednesday that assessed the educational needs of District children from birth to 3 years old.

The report, commissioned by the State Board of Education, explained the importance of providing infants and toddlers with quality early education programs and examined the impact poverty has during a critical period in a child's development.

In March, the council unanimously passed legislation to enhance the quality of pre-kindergarten education in the District, but Gray said more needs to be done.

"Education really ought to start at birth," he said during a news conference. "We haven't done enough."

Truancy regulations approved by the board require referrals to District agencies or an intervention plan within two days if a student has five or more unexcused absences from District schools.