Photo by Alan Bowser on Flickr.

Civil rights leaders address students: On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, civil rights leaders urged students at School Without Walls to continue fighting injustice, while DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan identified education as a civil right that has not yet been achieved for all. (Post)

Federal government sues to block school voucher program: In a move reminiscent of the Obama administration’s termination of a DC school voucher program in 2009, the Justice Department is suing to limit a voucher program in Louisiana that it says could interfere with desegregation. (American Thinker, Post)

Dunbar suffers theft: Someone broke a window at the new building and stole three laptops the weekend before school started. (WTOP)

Recess cuts upset parents: Some DC students began the school year with only 15 minutes per day of recess. Many parents are upset, but school administrators say new requirements for other subjects cut back on the time available for recess. (Post)

DC Public Charter School Board member responds to criticism: Sara Mead defends the controversial proposed framework for evaluating charter preschools as a necessary tool to improve quality and outcomes in early childhood education. (Ed Week)

Grants will create community schools: With the help of grants from the DC government, some schools will serve as hubs for a range of social services for students and their families. (Post)

Social media empowers parents: Parents in some DC neighborhoods have used Facebook pages and listservs to create parent communities and increase the desirability of neighborhood schools. A Capitol Hill group has seen good results, and residents of Logan Circle are now trying it. (DC Urban Turf)

DC-area Latinos are highly educated: DC, Virginia, and Maryland have the highest percentages of college-educated Latinos in the country. Each of the three jurisdictions has a rate of over 20%, while the national average is 13.4 percent. (WJLA)

Upcoming Events

Parent and Family Engagement Summit: Sunny P. Chico is the keynote speaker at OSSE’s Family Engagement Summit this Saturday. Learn about the state education plan and attend workshops on subjects such as bullying prevention and becoming your child’s first teacher. Saturday, September 7th from 8:30am to 3:30pm at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW.

Open house: Visit the new Sela PCS, a Hebrew-immersion charter school, at a range of dates and times in September. 6015-17 Chillum Place, NE.