Posts tagged David Catania
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Is DCPS ready to outsource middle schools to charters?
Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson told a DC Council committee on Friday that DCPS hasn’t succeeded in attracting families to its middle schools and suggested that the District should just funnel middle school students to charter schools. What was she thinking? The Council’s Committee on Education held a roundtable hearing last week on the plan to revise DCPS… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: What do parents want?
Test results every year?: With ongoing debate over whether new curriculum standards should justify a “testing holiday,” Jay Mathews asks parents to weigh in on whether they would be willing to go for a year without getting test results. (Post) No change in school boundaries?: Jonetta Rose Barras acknowledges anxiety among parents about the re-examination of… Keep reading…
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Does Catania’s scholarship plan promise enough?
Councilmember David Catania has proposed a tuition-assistance program that would help lower-income DC students pay for college. So-called “Promise” scholarship programs have been tried elsewhere, with mixed success. Catania’s program, unveiled a month ago, would provide scholarships of up to $20,000 a year to students who both graduate from a DCPS… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Boundary and feeder patterns get a facelift
Task force re-evaluates lines drawn in the 1970’s: A committee of education officials and other stakeholders has begun the process of changing the way DCPS assigns students to schools. Other residents can participate through focus and working groups. Some are concerned that a proposal to include charters in feeder patterns will limit choice. (Post, DME, Examiner)… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Funding woes and hopes for DC schools
Government shutdown threatens school funding: Both charter schools and DCPS may suffer if the impasse in Congress isn’t resolved soon. Charter schools won’t get the quarterly payments scheduled to go out today, which they rely on for operating expenses. And at DCPS, teachers may not get their salaries at the end of the month. (Washington Informer, DCist)… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: Money isn’t flowing to students who need it
District accuses charter managers of self-dealing: DC’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against three former officials at Options PCS alleging they diverted millions of dollars meant to help the school’s at-risk students. Also indicted were WUSA9 anchor J.C. Haywood and former CFO of the DC Public Charter School Board Jeremy Williams. The defendants deny any… Keep reading…
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Group critiques Catania education proposals
A coalition of education activists from across the District has released a critique of legislation now before the DC Council. This guest post by two of those activists highlights the group’s goals and examines whether the proposed legislation supports them. Debate about education in the District is almost as old as the District itself. Now, spurred in part by a package… Keep reading…
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Allegations on test scores miss the whole story
DC Council Education Committee Chair David Catania has alleged that testing officials inflated the percentage of students reported as “proficient” on standardized tests given earlier this year. Officials say they were just trying to ensure this year’s scores could be compared with those from previous years. But according to multiple sources, the real… Keep reading…
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Morning bell: DC CAS scores are questioned, but SAT is up
Test scoring method creates controversy: The Post revealed that DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education quietly chose a scoring method for last year’s standardized tests that resulted in a higher overall proficiency rate. Councilmember David Catania claims OSSE’s decision amounts to “cheating.” But OSSE defends its scoring choice… Keep reading…
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New superintendent of education is not new to DC
Last week the Mayor appointed Jesús Aguirre, the current director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, to the position of state superintendent of education. Aguirre does have a background in education, but will it be enough to positively affect education policy in the district? Aguirre has worked as a science teacher in Los Angeles, a charter school operator in Arizona,… Keep reading…