By Guest Contributor, on August 23rd, 2012 
The Ward 5 Quality Schools Community Engagement Meeting and the IFF Report: Why Community Meetings Must Challenge the IFF Report’s Legitimacy and Reject Its Recommendations Written by Erich Martel, cross-posted from DCPS Watch. Erich Martel is a Retired DCPS High School Teacher (Cardozo, Wilson, Phelps)
Quality Schools Community Engagement meeting held in Ward 5. Participants were divided into small groups and not allowed to include a statement voicing their concerns about the Illinois Facilities Fund Report.
On July 31, 2012, I attended the Ward 5 Quality Schools Community Engagement Meeting, one of five ward meetings. It was initiated by the DME (Deputy Mayor of Education) to address the recommendations of the IFF (Illinois Facilities Fund) report, which recommends the closure, “turnaround” or “transfer to charter operators” of 37 DCPS schools, including five in Ward 5.
Before and during the Ward 5 meeting, the DME, DME staff and Public Agenda facilitator insisted that the meetings were not about the IFF report, but only to solicit the public’s ideas about school quality. In discussion group #3, efforts to include a statement opposing the IFF report were opposed by the DME staffer and the Public Agenda facilitator. Their response was to minimize the importance of the IFF report and to assure us that our concerns would be best addressed by describing the elements of “quality” that we want to see in our schools. The other part of their strategy was to split the participants into multiple groups, have them spend the entire time discussing, making long lists, then putting colored stickies on our preferences, and, finally, reports from each group to the whole group. No time was allotted for the whole group to vote on the recommendations.
This two-part strategy (divide participants into small groups; focus discussion on broad generalities, instead of the real issue) is designed to isolate concerned parents and community members in small groups and limit discussion to an agenda that avoids the most important issues.
The resulting lists of “qualities” will be attached to the DME’s recommendations, in his report. He will write that every quality criterion can be met by closure, turnaround, or transfer to charter operators, the IFF report’s recommendations. In the meantime, while the DME is diverting parents and residents’ concerns into make-believe discussions about school quality, the Public Charter School Board has initiated a speeded-up process for “experienced charter operators” to open new charters in DC by August 2013 and the DCPS Chancellor is seeking charter authority to cover up her and Rhee’s failed reform policies. Both charter initiatives have the full support of Mayor Gray and DME Wright.
The evidence (with links) supporting this analysis is below, followed by suggestions for moving forward. Statements or documents by the Mayor, the DME, the DCPS Chancellor and the Public Charter School Board all show that each one is seeking to increase “the number of high quality public charter school seats.” In fact, OSSE’s plan to water down graduation requirements may be part of their effort to attract charter high schools.
Evidence: The five “quality school community engagement meetings” are really about the IFF report
In written responses to the Council’ oversight questions, this past February, the DME wrote: “DME is beginning a process of community engagement based on the IFF report data. This engagement will begin in April 2012 and last through the fall. DME is working with DCPS, PCSB, and community members to hold facilitated conversations in each of the ‘Top 10’ neighborhood clusters as identified in the IFF report.”
The DME’s statement clearly means “public engagement” on the subject of the “IFF report data.” His next and final sentence attempts to shift focus away from the IFF report to something vague and undefined, “quality schools”:
“An integral part of these community conversations will be soliciting feedback from communities about their vision for quality schools.” (Office of the DME Performance Oversight Questions, 2/9/2012, p.12: http://www.dccouncil.us/files/user_uploads/budget_responses/fy11_12_agencyperformance_depmayorforeducation_responses.pdf )
Making “quality schools” an “integral part of these community conversations” does not negate the previous sentences’ focus on IFF data. More importantly, “feedback” can only be solicited for information already reported to those expected to give feedback. The community had information on the IFF report’s recommendations and its newly invented category, “performing seats,” after the report was posted in January. That is the only information which ward residents could study and then give knowledgeable “feedback.” The DME provided no information on the subject of a “vision for quality schools,” on which the community could give knowledgeable “feedback.”
. . . → Read More: Challenging the IFF Report’s Legitimacy and Rejecting Its Recommendations
By Liane Scott, on February 23rd, 2012 We Act Radio store front in Anacostia.
Hello all you folks out there in radio land. Empower DC’s Grassroots Media Project has just started producing an hour long program on We Act Radio 1480 AM airing out of Anacostia. The show which we’re calling The Empower DC Community Hour is part of We Act Radio’s Live Wire series. It airs live on Monday nights at 7:00 PM but you can also listen to it at WeActRadio.com as well as right here, where we’ll be archiving the program along with all the other work of the Media Project. Our first show aired February 20, 2012. Empower DC’s Youth Organizer Jonathan Stith and Ivy City Community Organizer Andria Swanson co-hosted the program. Their guests, Empower DC Education Organizer Daniel del Pielago and Bruce Monroe Parent Sequnely Gray, spent the hour focusing on the impending school closings and the implications of the Illinois Facility Fund report. Besides learning about what to expect should your family’s school be closed or to turned over to a charter management company, the show also suggests how you can get organized along with other members of your community before that happens. No one should have to face a school closure alone. As Jonathan Stith says on the show, “get organized because we’ve got your back.”
The Empower DC Community Hour for February 20, 2012
Please listen in and support the program.
By Liane Scott, on February 18th, 2012 
Students and Parents Protest the Demolition of Bruce Monroe Elementary
School officials certainly make a show of being willing to ask; they even appear to listen. At a public hearing about the proposed closing of River Terrace back in November, DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said, “if every community had this level of engagement, DCPS would be the best school district in the country.” So why should Kaya Henderson, who clearly knows how important parental and community involvement is in the success of a school, be perfectly willing to close down schools with very active school communities such as Bruce Monroe and River Terrace? How is it possible, that these communities are simply ignored by the government that’s supposed to represent them? Answering the why would force me into speculations about racism and classism among DC elected and appointed officials, but Empower DC education organizer Daniel del Pielago has some clear ideas about how communities get left out of the decision making process. According to del Pielago:
Key decision makers do not engage in meaningful dialog with their constituency, do not return emails, calls and requests to meet. Elected officials cancel meetings and do not deliver on commitments they make when you are finally able to meet with them. Government officials (and the developers who support them) “wait out” parents and other community members as community interest and action wanes. Ultimately, decisions are made and presented with no input from the community that will be affected.
Clear examples of this are demonstrated in a brochure that he and a number of River Terrace Elementary school families have been sharing with the rest of the community, which I’ve posted below for your consideration.
River Terrace: This Is Our Moment of Truth Save River Terrace Elementary School
Closing our school harms our students, disrespects our parents and assaults our community. If we truly love our school and our neighborhood, now is the time to show it. Know the facts and let’s stand up for ourselves.
Throughout the year, we’ve been reaching out to keep everyone informed of this attack on our community. We’ve contacted our elected officials and decision makers through calls and emails, clearly demonstrating our support for River Terrace Elementary and for keeping it open. We’ve asked for meetings with the Chancellor and other public officials. with only two exceptions, we were ignored.
River Terrace Elementary Timeline of Events
December 2010
DCPS issues a letter stating their intention to close River Terrace Elementary School at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. River Terrace parents meet with Special Assistant to the Chancellor of DC Public Schools Margery Anne Yeager.
January 2011
Over 100 River Terrace community members meet with Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander and Chancellor Kaya Henderson at a public hearing to voice their unanimous support for keeping the school open. The River Terrace Elementary Support Committee visits council members and the community writes letters in supprt of the school. River Terrace community members and allies give testimony at the Ward 7 State of the Schools Public Hearing.
February 2011
DCPS issues a letter stating that River Terrace Elementary has been given a year’s reprieve to build enrollment.
March 2011
River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with the Cluster 1 Educational Superintendent Barbara Adderly. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee gives testimony at Mayor Vincent Gray’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Hearing for DCPS. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee holds an enrollment fair. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee reaches out to council members for support to keep the school open.
June 2011
Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander cancels a meeting with the River Terrace Elementary Support Committee. At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelsohn offers support to the school community. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with Varick AME Church and the River Terrace Alumni Committee.
September 2011
River Terrace Elementary Support Committee collects signature of support at the River Terrace Reunion Picnic. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with Councilmember Alexander who commits to arranging a meeting between them and Chancellor Kaya Henderson.
October 2011
River Terrace Elementary Support Committee continues to follow up with Councilmember Alexander about her committment to set up a meeting with Chancellor Kaya Henderson. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with Councilmember Alexander and Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Henderson announces that River Terrace Elementary will close in June 2012 and the decision is final.
We can still save our school but we need to take ACTION NOW! We have tried to call on the . . . → Read More: Stand Up for DC’s Neighborhood Schools
By Liane Scott, on February 14th, 2012 So, Empower DC went to Mayor Gray’s One City Citizen Summit last Saturday. In the mayor’s invitation to the residents of the District of Columbia, he described the summit as “a frank and open conversation about what needs to be done to create Washington, DC as One City.” He also promised that we would have the opportunity to:
• Learn about current efforts to grow our economy, improve our schools, create more jobs, and other initiatives underway to move our city forward • Discuss some of the biggest challenges that prevent Washington from becoming truly One City • Share your views in small group discussions and listen to neighbors from every part of the District • Vote on specific priorities for action in the coming year • Brainstorm new ideas about how the D.C. Government can work more effectively with its citizens • Identify ways you can be more involved in future efforts to create a more unified city that works for everyone
In keeping with those lofty goals, Empower DC put together two fact sheets, one with information about the school closings that are likely to occur and the other about the loss of affordable housing in the city. As it turns out, those hand outs were considered so subversive that many of Empower DC’s members were threatened with arrest should they distribute those materials in the summit. So much for a frank and open conversation Mayor Gray! Although, many felt the summit was genuinely participatory, others though Gray was using the summit as an opportunity to present his plans to the public in the hopes that they would simply rubber stamp his agenda. One such voice was Empower DC education organizer Daniel del Pielago who is quoted in the Washington Post. Only time will tell if any of the independent ideas generated in the small group discussions will actually bear fruit. We will explore some of those independent ideas in future posts related to this subject. For now watch the video. Decide for yourself if it represents the real-time grassroots democracy that Mayor Gray believes the summit achieved.
At the risk of offending the Gray Administration, who seems to think they have a monopoly on how to improve the city despite rhetoric that says the exact opposite, here’s a link to Empower DC’s “subversive” literature the Citizens Summit Hand Out, which was the cause of all the above controversy. In it we suggest that the 55 percent rise in the cost of housing since 2007 should prompt the Mayor to use funding from the newly found $240 million surplus to fully fund the housing production trust fund in order to protect and preserve low and moderate cost housing. Actually enforcing the Inclusionary Zoning Law which REQUIRES developers to include low and moderately priced housing in their high end developments wouldn’t hurt either. Or that because most DC families who have an income less than $2500 a month are paying over 60% of that income on housing, maybe Mayor Gray should use funding from the newly found $240 million surplus to fully fund (ERAP) Emergency Rental Assistance Program to help prevent the evictions of low-income residents. Should the Gray Administration be afraid of our suggestion that the IFF study is flawed and that a moratorium should be placed on all school closings? Download and judge for yourself.
By Liane Scott, on January 8th, 2012 
Both schools have been considered under-enrolled, yet one was demolished and the other completely refurbished. William Jordan, a member of the list serve Concerned for DCPS has some theories as to why. I’ve reprinted them below because I think they are worthy of your consideration.
Posted on the Concerned For DCPS List Serve on January 5, 2012:
Takoma Educational Campus after the Rehabilitation
I would suggest anyone who has followed or participated in the “Bruce Monroe School” over the years to pick up the Wednesday, December 28, 2011 addition of Northwest_Current 12.28.11 . On the front page is an article about the reopening of the Takoma Educational Campus one year after a fire closed the school. The article is relevant to Bruce Monroe because the city and officials, including Councilmember Graham, etc. found a way to address the needs of Takoma doing the very things they told our community and Bruce Monroe stakeholders they could not do months prior to the Takoma fire. It reveals the pattern of dishonesty and political disdain by then Chancellor Rhee and Councilmember Graham toward this community and the population of families and students served by Bruce Monroe.
Bruce Monroe Elementary after the Demolition
The article explains how the city initially planned to make $2 million in repairs but later decided to invest $25.5 million in a complete rehab. Via a bait & switch, Councilmember Graham and Rhee mislead this community into believing that the DCPS capital budget could not be adjusted to do a complete rehab of Bruce Monroe either as part of the redevelopment of the old site or as rehab of Bruce Monroe at Park View as they promised in prior years.
As evidence of what was actually promised, the notes from community meetings in which the future of Bruce Monroe was discussed can be downloaded via the following links.:
Notes_from_Meeting_With_Graham_and_Rhee_4-6-10
Parents_Meet_With_Jim_Graham_March_16_2010
Notes_from_Meeting_With_Graham_and_Rhee_4-6-10
Bruce Monroe, Park View & Meyer were closed down as part of the 2008 DCPS Rhee closings supposedly because of low enrollment. It should be noted that Takoma Enrollment was on par with Meyer. However, Bruce Monroe was reconstituted and the students shipped to Park View the least hospitable of all 3 buildings. In fact Park View at the time could have easily been considered dangerous. Despite this Bruce Monroe students were not relocated to the Meyer building which was in much better shape, they went to Park View. In the meantime, Councilmember Graham placed a boxing program in Meyer Elementary, to which he had been funneling earmarks for years with no community or practical oversight. Clearly, Ward 1 closings were not so much about education, but politics and real estate development. Rhee closed schools with minimal responsibility and Councilmember Graham place his political concerns above those of DCPS students or the community at large.
In this case Councilmember Graham and then Chancellor Rhee engaged in operating at one of the lowest political and ethical standards possible under the guise of school reform. To politically punish and breakup the Bruce Monroe school family, they place a school primarily serving working class Latino and African American families in building (Park View) which at the time had become unfit when better alternatives were available. The positive outcome for Takoma when placed in context makes clear the dishonest nature of reform under Rhee, the unethical cesspool that is Ward 1 politics and ultimately the nexus between pay-to-play politics, real estate development and school reform.
William Jordan
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