The National Education Association, founded in 1857, traces the beginnings of a national teacher appreciation day back to the 1940s when a couple of teachers contacted then first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt suggesting that teachers be recognized across the country. Congress passed a bill to have a National Teacher Appreciation Day in 1985. Later, it became annual, and later still extended to a week. It’s celebrated internationally too, usually on October 5 each year.
In School Year 2017-2018, DC Public Schools had 4,012 teachers, according to its two page “Fast Facts” information sheet. Starting salary, which it describes as “the highest starting salary in the country” was $55,209 ($51,539 in SY 16/17) with $108,262 ($106,540 in SY 16/17) being the highest possible a teacher could earn.
In 2016, DCPS published a “then” and “now” report describing the reforms of the teaching corps system “from recruitment all the way to retirement.” That can be read here: https://dcps.dc.gov/page/we-people-2016-report-dcps-educators.
DCPS teachers are represented by the Washington Teachers Union. Their previous contract expired in 2012 and five years later, in September 2017, a new one was approved that includes a raise in pay and governs their other terms of employment for the next three years.
Teacher Awards in 2018
The 2018 National Teacher of the Year, selected by the Council of Chief State School Officers, is Mandy Manning, an English Language Arts teacher at the Joel Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington. She was honored at the White House on May 2.
The CCSSO selected Paul Howard, a Social Studies and History teacher for 7th and 8th grades at the LaSalle Backus Education Campus, as the Teacher of the Year for DC in the State category.
Tameka Colman of Walker-Jones Education Campus in Ward 6 was selected as the Excellence Award Teacher of the Year at the Standing Ovation awards ceremony on February 8, 2018 and received $10,000. In addition, Jillian Atlas, Joanna Davila, Taylor Parsons, Kaila Ramsey, Lauren Bomba, Lashunda Reynolds and Pamela Tucker each received $5,000 Rubenstein Awards.
Standing Ovation is hosted by the DC Education Fund using money donated by businesses and philanthropists. This year the ceremony was moved from the Kennedy Center to the Anthem Theater at the newly opened District Wharf in the Southwest neighborhood.
FY 2019 Budget update
The budget the Mayor proposed on March 21, 2018 for all the DC government’s operations and capital projects is $14. 4 billion for Fiscal Year 2019 which begins on October 1, this coming fall. Of that $14.4 billion, she proposed to spend a total of $2,766,292,803 for the Public Education System. The table below shows the agencies that make up the Public Education System, the amounts proposed and the change, if any, from the FY 18 budget.
Using those figures and all the public and government testimony, the Committee on Education “marked up” the education budget May 2 to 4th. Once agreed on the changes they wanted to make from the Mayor’s proposed amounts, the committee then sent its recommendations to the Council’s Budget Director where they will be incorporated into the budget the Council as a whole will consider for its approval. The Committee’s report can be read at www.davidgrosso.org.
The Council will hold its first meeting on the FY 19 budget on Tuesday, May 15 at 10 am in Room 500 and its second meeting on Tuesday, May 29, also at 10 am in Room 500 at the John A. Wilson Building.
A part of the education committee’s mark-up report is about the capital budget for school modernizations. In several instances, they questioned or disagreed with the proposed amount or schedule but in most cases, left it to the forthcoming Master Facilities Plan to resolve.
There are several modernization projects in Wards 7 and 8 that are in the works now and had money added, or they are receiving money in FY 19 to start planning. For example, the Mayor added $4 million for the Kimball Elementary School project due to escalating costs as the work progresses. Kimball students are attending classes at the formally closed Davis Elementary School on H St. SE during the work on their building. The Mayor also proposed $500,000 each for Burrville Elementary and C.W. Harris Elementary playground updates.
In Ward 8, MalcomX@Green is scheduled for $1.5 million in window replacements. Johnson Elementary is scheduled for a $2 million full roof replacement. Henley Elementary and Adams Elementary in NW are scheduled for $4,250,000 to replace their HVAC systems.
Modernizing Orr Elementary…the building
A full modernization is underway in Ward 8 at the currently named Orr Elementary. The picture to the left shows Orr Elementary School as it looks while walking south on Minnesota Ave. SE. The entrance is to the right of the rose bushes in the foreground. As we walked toward the entrance to personally deliver our thanks to some DC teachers, we were greeted by a friendly woman standing just inside the open door.
When she learned the purpose of our visit she took us to meet the assistant principal in charge of operations. He too was friendly and welcoming, and, without an appointment, invited us in to his office.
His position, he said, is about three years old and is one of the changes DCPS made to support principals. By dividing the labor into an academic and instructional area and a separate operations area that handles the needs and functions of the building itself, one person is not trying to do everything and can better do what each is responsible for. He’s been there for ten years and says his favorite part of the job is greeting the students and parents as they arrive in the morning. He described his sensitivity to students who come with a feeling of having “the whole world on their shoulders” and is happy that he, and everyone in the school, can help the students feel that while they are there, the grown-ups will take care of them and they have only their learning to focus on. Below is the new building going up just to the side of the current one with a part of the church next door on the far right.
