Posts tagged David Catania
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Morning bell: Charter board reverses course on school for at-risk kids
Troubled charter may stay open: After initially seeking to close Options, a school for at-risk students where officials have been charged with self-dealing, the Public Charter School Board now says it will ask DCPS to run the school’s academic programs next year. (Post) DC students eating more free breakfasts: The number of students getting free breakfast has increased… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: A proliferation of plans to help families pay for college
DC Council tentatively approves college aid proposal: The vote came on Councilmember David Catania’s plan to provide “Promise” scholarships for lower-income DC students. Some, including the Washington Post editorial board, fear that the program could jeopardize federal funds for a similar initiative, DC TAG. Post reporter Emma Brown delved into the details… Keep reading…
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When is it okay to have an empty classroom?
If you put more advanced classes into low-performing middle and high schools, will you get students who are capable of doing more advanced work? Or will administrators be tempted to fill those classes with students who aren’t ready for them? One thing that Councilmember David Catania and DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson agreed on at a DC Council hearing last week was that… Keep reading…
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The DCPS middle school plan, pt. 2: getting principals to talk, and standardizing offerings
What’s in store for DCPS’s middle schools? The possibilities include greater communication with feeder elementary schools, equalizing offerings for middle-grade students at all K-8 and stand-alone middle schools, and an application-only middle school in Ward 7. DC has long had a dearth of desirable DCPS middle schools. With a review of boundaries and feeder… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: DC schools may get more money per pupil, but how much aid will those pupils get for college?
More money for DC schools?: A DC-government commissioned study has recommended that funding increase by about $2,000 per pupil, and that poor and other “at-risk” students should get more than that. The study, which will form the basis for Mayor Vincent Gray’s budget, also concluded that DC has not been funding charter schools at a level equal to DCPS schools,… Keep reading…
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The DCPS middle school plan, pt. 1: District-wide rather than piecemeal, with a chance of charter collaboration
This week’s DC Council hearing on school boundaries and feeder patterns gave the public some clues to the kinds of changes Chancellor Kaya Henderson has in mind for DCPS middle schools as she works on a plan to improve them. The ongoing review of how DC students are assigned to public schools has generated a lot of anxiety. With a number of low-performing elementary schools… Keep reading…
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What Kaya Henderson really said about middle schools, and why it makes sense
Some have criticized DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson for reported remarks that the school system should “outsource” middle schools to charters. Here’s what she really said, which happens to be something that’s well worth considering. Middle schools have been the subject of much debate, not just in DC and not just in recent weeks. We’ll take… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Stop in the road
Road project on hold; Will McAuliffe stop the Bi-County?; Gray in the lead; More bike racks downtown; Federal budget falls short for St. Elizabeths; Walk under Wisconsin Ave; The rent is less damn high; Traffic kills 1 million a year; Rockville #MasterPlan; Bye Geoff and Jaime!. Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Should centrally located Dunbar become a selective DCPS high school?
Dunbar High School group has been working on a plan to revive school’s glory: A group of parents and alumni at the struggling Truxton Circle school have been working on a proposal to give the school more autonomy. That could include greater control over which students can attend. (Post) One parent might applaud the change: A DCPS parent says schools that draw students from… Keep reading…
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DCPS’s response to the demand for a plan to fix middle schools? We’ll get back to you
DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson said she would have a plan to improve middle schools by December 15. But all she’s come up with is a promise to focus on improving those schools next year. Recently a lot of attention has been focused on the deficiencies of most DCPS middle schools. Even Henderson has acknowledged that DCPS hasn’t succeeded in making them attractive,… Keep reading…