For those of us who follow the debate over school reform/school closings in the District of Columbia, the story of River Terrace Elementary School is not unfamiliar. In December of 2010, Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson proposed that the school be closed due to under-enrollment. In January, a meeting was held at River Terrace Elementary to discuss the concerns of the community. Residents were angry about the decision to close the school and the lack of input from the community during the decision-making process. As you can see from the video below, many legitimate questions were raised; none of them have been answered.
River Terrace Elementary School is just one of the many Washington, DC public schools closed or threatened with closure since the reign of Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Despite overwhelming community support, River Terrace was shut down. But the tide is turning. Although Rhee and her policies were in favor during the Administration of Mayor Adrian Fenty, the lack of improvement in test scores and the disruption to communities is causing many to think twice about reforming schools by closing them down.
The latest effort to stop DC public school closures is a lawsuit brought by Empower DC against the city to stop the latest round of school closings. The following excerpt from the Empower DC’s complaint explains their argument:
“The 2013-2014 ‘DCPS Consolidation and Reorganization Plan’ will have a startlingly disparate impact on students of color, special education students and students who live in low-income communities; and that disparate impact violates the United States Constitution, the D.C. Human Rights Law and applicable federal laws. There is a striking juxtaposition between how the Plan treats students “East of the Park,” those in predominantly minority, low-income communities, and yet spares students “West of the Park,” those in predominantly caucasian, affluent communities. The same is true with respect to how the Plan treats schools housing special education students. School closures are not immune to judicial scrutiny.”
Empower DC has their first day in court this Friday, May 10, 2013. Join them and the plaintiff’s in the case for a rally on the courthouse steps. Details follow:
Hello,
I starting to realize that this organization is hurting the black community more than helping it. First Empower DC had a lawsuit with Public Housing. Yes, I all for affordable housing, but when it come to people who use it for a blanket just because they do not want to work or if they’re job end their rent will be zero dollars that’s when it become a problem. I am a tax payer and I do not want to see “Projects” onside of my door. I do not want to see people hanging out, drinking, crack houses, borded up units, all the time. Not saying that all people who live in Public Housing is bad, but they let their neighborhood go to waste. It’s not fair to tax payers. The city had great intention by allowing private landlords to step in and people who doesn’t pay taxes nor own land took the city to court and won??? That does not make any sense. I live in Ward 8 and want this side of town to grow and get better, but I feel as if programs like yours are not allowing it to happen. We deserve a better community, we seserve to have different backgrounds come in and live on this side. This is not just a “Black” community (I am a Black women) this should be a part of town that is growing, not staying the same. I want to see change, I am tired of see this side of SE, Ward 8 not getting the attention that it deserves because it is known to house the poor in DC.
With the schools closing, DC need the money. If the schools are under enrolled then why keep it open. See how many of these parents are on the PTA or are active members in the schools that are closing. This fight is a waste of time. The kids are not being over looked the kids will be able to get to their new schools.
I am not trying to sound like an ass, but our people need to wake up and realize that housing, jobs, great communities, and great schools will not fall in there laps. We as people need to come together to better ourselves. We need to stop trying to take the easy way out and wake up
Hello Tori,
Thank you so much for your comment. You’ve made a lot of points, the most important one I think is the idea the Empower DC is hurting the Black community more than helping it.
As an African-American resident of Ward 7 myself, I share your concerns about those public housing residents who don’t want to work but I also believe that in fact they are really a small percentage of the public housing population. It’s very unfortunate that those people who live in public housing who are working and really need an affordable alternative to the market-rate housing in the District are so often lumped together with those relatively few who are hanging out on the streets and looking like they’re up to no good. The “bad ones” are simply more visible than everybody else. In fact, they are a very small percentage of the public housing population, yet they are the stereotype. And folks like you and me, who live near the projects, have to convince other folks that they are not us. We’re not dangerous or lazy, etc. Problem is, most of them (them being public housing residents) aren’t dangerous and lazy either. Trust me, nobody is more annoyed at public housing residents who feed into the stereotype than public housing residents who don’t. So please, for all of those public housing residents that I know, who don’t fall into that stereotype, I’m asking you to stop assuming the hang out and drink.
As for the Highland Dwellings Court case which I think you’re referring to, in which the public housing residents took the city to court and won, I can’t see how that’s a bad thing. The case was brought by a resident-led organization called Highland Together We Stand. (Empower DC really didn’t have anything to do with it. Empower DC Affordable Housing Organizer Schyla Pondexter-Moore, who lives at Highland Dwellings, helped to spearhead that lawsuit. But that was before she worked at Empower DC.) The issue in question was whether or not the residents would be able to return to Highland Dwellings after the property was renovated. Time and time again, public housing complexes are renovated by private developers and the former residents aren’t allowed back in. The lawsuit made it so this would not happen to the residents of Highland Dwellings. So, how is that bad?
As for the school closures. If I thought for one minute that closing schools helped to make DC schools better then I’d be all for it. But all the evidence is that just the opposite is true. Test scores are not rising. In fact, they were rising under School Superintendent Clifford Janey before Michelle Rhee took over. (If you don’t believe me, read this. http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=6232) After Rhee took over and started firing teachers and closing schools for not bringing up the test scores dramatically enough, guess what, the teachers and the principals, fearing for their jobs, started cheating. Now we have cheating scandal after cheating scandal. The evidence is in. There was no dramatic rise in test scores under Michelle Rhee. In fact, the scores are going down.
They’ll continue to drop as school communities like River Terrace are demoralized by a city government that refuses to listen to their concerns. Whose government is it anyway?!
As for the lawsuits that Empower DC has brought against the city being the easy way out, trust me, there’s nothing easy about any of them. I completely agree with you. Our people do need to wake up and realize that housing, jobs, great communities and great school will not fall into our laps. We have to fight for them. And that, my friend, is exactly what Empower DC is doing. If you have any ideas about how we can get affordable housing, jobs, great communities and great schools without organizing and yes, sometimes suing the city, I’d love to hear them. Thanks for your comments Tori. Keep them coming. And keep standing up for Ward 8.