At the Ward 2 Education Town Hall, Mayor Adrian Fenty, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Deputy Mayor Victor Reinoso, and State Superintendent Deborah Gist enlisted the help of over 80 parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members to build a successful school year and support student academic achievement in the DC Public Schools (DCPS).
 
Ward 2 Town Hall participants discussed three questions:

Ward 2 participants want DCPS to hire and retain capable staff who are supported by adequate resources and who are trained to create an environment that promotes student engagement and learning, and reaches all students, including students with special needs.  Furthermore, they value parent involvement because it will improve behavior in the classroom. Members of the Chinese community emphasize that their parents must be introduced to their schools and involved in the education of their children.

Ward 2 participants believe that better use of resources will enable recruitment, selection, and retention of highly skilled teachers and principals who will create school climates that facilitate learning.  They stress that academic skills are critical to their children’s future success and only well-prepared teachers can ensure strong student achievement and maximize student potential. 

Participants emphasize the importance of involving parents, grandparents, and guardians and ask to increase family literacy efforts.  They believe that there must be a culture that values education that will encourage improved student behavior in the classroom.  Most important, parents must be made to feel welcome in the schools. 

Ward 2 participants from the Chinese community underscore the importance of working with parents not fluent in English.  They urge that highly-qualified staff (language and community specialists) be hired to work with Chinese-speaking parents to enable them to be involved in their children’s learning process.

The participants had numerous suggestions for increasing security, creating before and after school programs, and developing tutoring and mentoring programs.

Dialogue 2: What are the most critical issues we need to address during this school year?
Ward 2 participants state that there must be a radical improvement in communication between the schools and parents, particularly with language-minority parents; intensive work must be undertaken to improve reading; and schools must be made safe and secure immediately.

 

Participants emphasize that communication between parents and decision-makers must be improved quickly, especially with those parents who have language barriers.  They feel that poor communication increases conflict between students.  Furthermore, they want DCPS to develop specific strategies and approaches for parental engagement and stress that teachers need to have more communication with the parents in the school.

Ward 2 participants want an immediate intervention to increase the reading levels of all students.  They state that DCPS must ensure that parents are part of the process to support what is being taught in schools.  

Participants want youth violence addressed quickly. They cite continued fighting after school at several Ward 2 schools.  On the other hand, they question the heavy use of police and suspensions as the only alternative.  They believe that there has to be a better understanding of what is the cause of expulsions and suspensions and work harder at preventing drop-outs.

Participants emphasize that they also expect facilities improved with hot water, heat, and air conditioning in all schools, making them more conducive to learning. They also expect greater safety in schools and areas surrounding the schools.

Dialogue 3:  What is our most pressing question for Chancellor Rhee?
Among the numerous questions, this one stands out:  How are you going to change the culture of our schools so that academic performance is valued?

Chancellor’s Response:
We need to have high standards and change the culture of what we reward.  We have to have pep rallies for students who make the honor roll and for students who get into college, not just for basketball games.  We need to change the culture of what we, with our actions, say we value.