By Liane Scott, on November 13th, 2012 
DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson is announcing the list of schools on the chopping block today. This despite the growing demand for a moratorium on school closings which haven’t resulted in any improvement in test scores or student achievement. In acknowledgment of today’s announcement, I’d like to remind Chancellor Henderson, the entire administration of Mayor Vincent Gray and public school stakeholders across the city of just a few reasons why this is such a contentious issue.
The epidemic of school closings is not limited to the District of Columbia. Education Week has published an article on school closings as a national issue. Part of that article is reproduced below.
School Shutdowns Trigger Growing Backlash In five cities, groups wage war on school shutdowns Crossposted from Education Week Written By Jaclyn Zubrzycki
As school closures are increasingly used as a remedy to budget woes and a solution to failing schools in many cities, debates are intensifying about their effect on student performance and well-being, on district finances, and on communities and the processes districts use to choose which schools will be shuttered.
Student and parent groups in Chicago, the District of Columbia, New York, Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia gathered in Washington late last month to call for a moratorium on school closings and filed separate complaints with the U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights. In those complaints, the groups allege that in previous rounds of school closings, their districts have not been transparent and have been influenced by outside interests, such as charter school operators. They also argue that the closings have had a harmful and disparate impact on minority students and communities. Each of the districts has predicted new closures for the coming school year.
“This has become the strategy of first instance, not of last resort,” said Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, which has affiliates in the cities…
The rest of this article can be found at the EdWeek.org.
The backlash described in the Education Week article made its way to Washington, DC and took the form of a march called the Journey for Educational Justice, which Grassroots Media Project Producers Ben King and Stephan Scarborough report on below. This is a longer version of a video that we posted on the blog a couple of weeks ago.
Finally, from the DC-based education blog Truth From the Trenches I’m cross-posting this article which I think is particularly relevant to today’s announcement. It should be noted that the creators of Truth From the Trenches are two DCPS teachers who go by pen names so as to avoid retribution for reporting their observations and opinions about DC Public School “reform.” What does that tell us?!
On the Chopping Block
Crossposted from Truth From the Trenches Written by Florence
While everyone is anticipating the proposed DCPS closure list set to be announced tomorrow, those of us who are working at schools that are at risk for closure have endured months of anxiety and turmoil. When a school is on the short list of closures, the academic year begins not with excitement but steeped in a cloud uncertainty that pervades every aspect of the learning environment. It is not an exaggeration to describe the feeling of working at a school that may be shut down at the end of the academic year similar to someone with their head in a guillotine waiting for the blade to drop.
It is important to note that many of the schools on the list have been on the chopping block for years. Not surprisingly, these schools usually have the least resources with the highest concentrations of academically and behaviorally challenged students. In most of these schools parent participation is minimal to non-existent and, therefore, unlike other schools with more involved and more well off parents who can raise tens of thousands of dollars (if not more) a year, these schools at risk for closure are not able to raise outside funds to supplement the schools’ budgets. Plus with low enrollments and DCPS recent per pupil spending cuts many of these schools do not have the adequate staffing and support needed for their high needs populations. With such uncertainty there are increased numbers parents jumping the sinking ship. Why stay in a school that is dying a slow death?
Instead of seriously trying to support these schools, most of the time it appears as if the chancellor makes a half hearted effort for show because in reality she wants . . . → Read More: Stay Tuned: DC Public School Closings Imminent
By Liane Scott, on October 15th, 2012 
On September 20, 2012 education stakeholders and advocates from all across the nation gathered to demand that a moratorium be placed on public school closings. If you weren’t able to make it, the short video below, produced by Grassroots Media Project producers Stephon Scarborough and Ben King, will give you a sense of what you missed.
Mayor Gray and DCPS will be announcing DCPS school closures this Fall. If you want to help fight school closures in Washington, DC, join Empower DC’s Education Outreach Day Saturday Oct. 20th. We are working to to push back against the narrative that Mayor Gray and Schools Chancellor Henderson are using to justify more school closures. Here are the details:
EDUCATION OUTREACH DAY Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 1:00 PM Meet in front of the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station If you are able to join us please contact Empower DC Education Campaign Organizer Daniel del Pielago at 202-234-9119 ext. 104 or Daniel@empowerdc.org.
For more on the resistance to school closures, I’ve cross-posted the following Washington Post article by Emma Brown
DCPS to propose school closures as resistance simmers By Emma Brown
A long-anticipated round of proposed school closures will be announced in the next few weeks, Chancellor Kaya Henderson said Wednesday.
Then there will be a series of community meetings where residents have a chance to challenge the proposals. And by December, DCPS hopes to make final decisions about which schools will be shuttered. Protesters rally against the coming round of school closures at DCPS headquarters Thursday morning. (Emma Brown/The Washington Post)
“We want to build in the time to hear from you,” Henderson said, speaking Wednesday before residents of River Terrace, a community that’s still smarting from the closure of its elementary school last spring.
In 2008, then-Chancellor Michelle Rhee moved swiftly to close 23 schools, sparking angry protests, political backlash and long-lasting distrust.
Henderson is banking on the idea that communities will be more willing to accept closures if they’ve had the chance to hear and respond to her proposals and rationales.
But resistance is simmering. Dozens of protesters gathered at DCPS headquarters Thursday morning to rally against the coming closures, calling them a veiled attempt to destabilize communities and speed gentrification of poor neighborhoods.
Parisa Norouzi, executive director of Empower DC, which organized the rally, said she doubted that DCPS will really listen to residents. “We have no reason to trust the process that Kaya Henderson has laid out,” she said.
Parents — many pointing to a report issued this year that recommended closing many public schools and replacing them with public charters — described the closures as part of a larger attempt to destroy the city’s traditional public education system.
“The answer is not charter schools, the answer is fortifying traditional public schools,” said Schyla Pondexter-Moore, a Ward 8 parent of four. “I think children deserve a quality education at a school they can walk to.”
Henderson, meanwhile, has long argued that closures are a matter of fiscal reality. The city operates 225 public schools — including traditional and charter schools — for 76,000 kids. Meanwhile, Fairfax County has the same number of schools — and more than twice the kids.
The D.C. protesters were joined Thursday by activists from Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and other cities where charter schools are thriving and public schools are closing.
This reporter left the rally just before noon, when perhaps a hundred activists were chanting and singing in front of DCPS headquarters. Organizers said their numbers later swelled into the hundreds as they marched to the U.S. Education Department to call for a five-year moratorium on school closures nationwide.
By Ben King, on July 2nd, 2011 
Two graduates of the Grassroots Media Project Radio Production course have teamed up to create “This Light: Sounds for Social Change,” a radio series highlighting the connections between arts and activism. Each episode will feature an interview with an activist/artist, as well as an audio mix of their work. “This Light’ is based in Washington, DC and currently looking for distribution channels. Contact the producers here.
Episode 2 profiles Climbing Poetree, a New York based spoken-word duo who uses their art as a weapon “to overcome destruction with creativity.” The group is best known for their show, Hurricane Season, connecting the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with broad social justice issues through spoken word and multimedia performance. The poets, Alixa and Naima, are also educators and have developed a curriculum for high school and university students based on their show. They write (and manifest through their work):
“Art is our weapon, our medicine, our voice, our vision. Creativity is the antidote for violence and destruction. Art is our most human expression, our voice to communicate our stories, to challenge injustice and the misrepresentations of mainstream media, to expose harsh realities and engender even more powerful hope, a force to bring diverse peoples together, a tool to rebuild our communities, and a weapon to win the struggle for universal liberation.”
Check out Episode 2a: This Light: Sounds for Social Change – Episode 2a by THIS LIGHT
Check back soon for episode 2b featuring the music and sounds of Climbing Poetree.
For more on Climbing Poetree, check out their website.
For more on “This Light,” visit soundsforsocialchange.com. Episode 1 features Zami DC, a free LGBT poetry and song-writing workshop produced by B. Steadwell and Taylor Johnson.
By Binnie Katti, on June 14th, 2011 
Zami DC is a free summer creative writing workshop taught by local artists Be Steadwell and Taylor Johnson for lgbtq youth in the DC area. The workshop consists of poetry and songwriting classes, weekly features with local artists, discussions on continuing education, art in the community, and career options. The program ends with a final performance allowing students to take the stage.
The workshop will be held four blocks from Dupont Metro, and scheduling is still open.
Zami DC is featured on “This Light: Sounds for Social Change”, a radio series featuring young artists/activists who use their art to incite progressive social change. Each episode features two segments: 1) dynamic interviews with artists about their work and its relation to activism; and 2) (re)mix of artistic work (music, poetry, soundscape, etc.).
Episode 1a features Be Steadwell and Taylor Johnson, founders of Zami DC.
Episode 1b is a mix of their music and poetry.
To learn more about Zami DC, contact them at Zamidc@gmail.com or visit their facebook page.
By Liane Scott, on May 15th, 2011 
Time is almost up. The city budget is scheduled for a vote May 25, 2011. There are still a couple of things you can do to keep the outrageous cuts to the social services from happening. Call, email, or visit the members of the council who remain against the proposal to increase taxes on DC’s wealthiest citizens by a mere .4 percent. There names and contact information follow:
Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans 202- 724-8058 jackevans@dccouncil.us
Council Chair Kwame Brown 202-724-8032 kbrown@dccouncil.us
At-Large Councilmember David Catania 202-724-7772 dcatania@dccouncil.us
Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser 202-724-8052 mbowser@dccouncil.us
There’s also one more rally. The details follow:
Critical, Unified Fair Budget Action: Social Services Walking Tour Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW May 18th, 11 a.m. -1 p.m.
Even if the budget passes with a slightly more progressive tax code, many cuts to social services will remain. DC’s progressive activists work hard for positive outcomes during budget season, but the low- and moderate-income residents who are most affected by these budget cuts must deal with them year round. We should be organizing year round. The following video, “How to Be an Affordable Housing Advocate,” suggests that we stay informed about legislation and that we hold our elected officials accountable however and whenever possible. Enjoy.
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