First Day of School for Returning Teachers

Important Dates:

Tuesday, August 21st

First day of school for returning teachers

Monday, August 27th

First day of school for students

9th Grade Orientation Sessions from

DCPS website

Anacostia August 21

Ballou July 21

Banneker August 27

Bell Currently during SummerBridgeCardozoAugust 23

CoolidgeAugust 22

SummerBridge

McKinleyJuly 28

MooreAugust 27,

September 5

RooseveltAugust 21

School Without Walls August 22SpingarnAugust 14

Washington, MMAugust 20

WilsonAugust 29,

September 1

WoodsonAugust 15

Please contact the school directly for exact hours

Community Meetings with Chancellor Rhee:

August 9th SHARPE Health Center with Council Member Murial Bowser of Ward 4

Cathy Reilly – SHAPPE Director

723-3310

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DCPPAC Parent Political Action Committee Formed

(from press release)

DCPPAC will proactively engage DC public school parents, educators, activists and education non-profits to identify the educational needs and priorities for children within each of the 8 city wards and on behalf of all publicly funded schools. Membership is open to all parents of publicly funded schools. Advisory membership is open to all publicly funded school teachers, principals and non-profit educational institutions advocating on behalf of public school children. For more information on DCPPAC contact Hugh Allen at 244-8311 or Mai Abdul Rahman at 362-9174

Parent Advisory Council

(Information from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education) In the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education there is the Office of Parent and Community Involvement. An integral part of this office is the D.C. Parent Advisory Council (PAC). The DC PAC will advise the Office of Parent and Community Involvement and the Deputy Mayor for Education on issues related to parental involvement.

This D.C. PAC will assist the Office of Parent and Community Involvement in understanding parents’ needs for information, training, and education. The PAC will advise the Office of Parent and Community Involvement on several activities, including the development of a parent handbook, parent academies, and a parent newsletter. The ultimate goal of this work is to both increase parent involvement and ensure that parent involvement is effective in order to increase student achievement.

Huan Huan Zhen, Sari Henry, Norma Benavides, Karen Molina, Susan Campbell,

Salanda Thomas, Denetrice Williams, Rosalind Lyle, Paula Lynch, Barbara Young, Vanella Crawford, Blake Taylor

Demetria Stowe, Felecia Retland, Pamela Battle, Oliver Roy, Marsella Smith, Karen Bernola, Tom Black, Clarence Brown,Karen Hall,Theresa Davis

The Every Student Counts Act

According to the Alliance for an Excellent Education’s Straight A’s Public Education Polic and Progress : This act would ensure that schools are held accountable for increasing the graduation rates of all students by requiring graduation rates to be disaggregated for both reporting and accountability purposes. The bill would also require that schools make incremental annual improvements in their overall and disaggregated graduation rates. These annual goals are based on rates of improvement that have been achieved in successful high schools.

In addition to holding high schools accountable, the bill would also help to better identify low-performing high schools for additional attention and support and would give schools credit for graduating students who need extra time by allowing increases in both the four-year and five-year graduation rates to count toward achieving AYP.

Currently, twenty members of Congress have signed on as cosponsors of the Every Student Counts Act. A complete list of the cosponsors, as well as other information on the bill and other high school legislation currently pending before Congress, is available at For more information, contact Lee Paczulla at (202) 638-0252 (ext. 235) or .
Visit DCPCA on the web at .

DC VOICE

Ready Schools Project:

Get involved in DC VOICE’s Community School Audit 2007 – Make sure your schools are receiving the systemic supports they need; provide valuable information to school officials and the community; work with other parents and community members to visit local schools and check on teaching and learning conditions- call 986-8535 or email

Acorn: Town Hall Meeting with Chancellor Rhee

When: Saturday, August 4, 2007

Time: 12:00noon to 2:00 pm

Location: Lamond-Riggs Public Library

5401 S. Dakota Ave NE (near Ft. Totten Metro Station)

Come meet and talk with the city’s new school chancellor. Chancellor Rhee has agreed to participate in an “Open Question and Answer Session” with city residents! You will have the chance to:

Ask questions to ensure better education.

Have a voice in shaping school policy.

Speak for our children and their educational providers.

Voice concerns on school facilities/maintenance.

Sponsored by the ACORNSchool Modernization Oversight Committee, Fix Our Schools, Save Our Schools, D.C.P.S. Full Funding Campaign and other community groups.

For more information, contact D.C. ACORN 202/547-9292

June 27, 2007 SHAPPE/Middle Grades Meeting

Highlights from the meeting: Approximately 70 parents, teachers, principals and community members attended the meeting. Please contact Cathy Reilly at or Margot Berkey at if you would like the full version.

Principal Selection Process

Acting Chancellor Rhee: There are a large number of vacancies. Having looked at the application pool it is not, in her view, as high quality as she feels we need in DC. Therefore, DCPS will need to fill vacancies with interim principals and do a nationwide search. (DCPS) must begin work now on the principal recruitment process for 08-09 with selection of people in the January-February timeframe so as to have a smooth transition. Ms. Rhee stated that with this process, there is a short term cost for longer-term gain she feels DCPS will get people committed to the job for a longer term. Follow up Question re selection process for principals: What will be the role of parents, teachers and administrators? Does the opening up of a national pool of candidates mean that we won't consider internal or other DC candidates?

Acting Chancellor Rhee: “We'll open it up broadly to internal and external candidates. The idea is to cast the net as wide as possible. The involvement of parents and the community will happen in several steps—the community can be involved in the entire process. They must assess, “What do we want for our school to help it move forward?” Then determine which characteristics make a great principal. Some people are great principals in their own communities in other places but wouldn't be a good fit for DC. Ms. Rhee wants parents to meet the candidates and feel that they have a say in the selection of candidates. Ms. Rhee also conveyed a commitment to a fair and open process of community selection for the principal panels.

Grade Configuration and Staffing Needs

Q: We're lacking the structure in place to serve the social and emotional needs of our middle school children. Some schools have no counselors. DCPS needs to agree on what the staffing plan is that's needed.

Acting Chancellor Rhee: “It is important to differentiate our school models—Elementary School, Middle School, High School—even 9th grade as different from 12th. We need to train staff who work with our students. We need to know what the school program is that will help our students excel and be well rounded. We need to create those models. We need to look at it from an economic viability model as well so we have the number of students in a school that make it affordable. The nationwide problem is that the small school model isn't financially viable. But the balance is being found between small leaning communities while taking advantage of economies of scale.”

Q: How will parents and community be involved to help with policy?

Acting Chancellor Rhee: Ms Rhee stated that she can't stand it when officials come to a group with a prescribed agenda but ask you for your ideas and input rather than a reaction to what they plan. She would rather hear it straight if input is not to be included. Once we know what the policy issues are DCPS will need to engage the community right away. How do we do it? As we start to define the policy areas where new directions are possible we may need to start task forces on early childhood, or other issues. We will involve a broad range of constituents, then, develop a strategic plan around the issue. After this we will go more broadly with ideas and web out to other groups of constituents. We need to be proactive about these things. Be longsighted, not as reactive.

Q: How does her office plan to relate to Allen Lew's office? Building a stadium is entirely different from building schools. How forceful will chancellor be to make sure the new buildings are school appropriate?

Chancellor Rhee: Allen Lew has expertise in building, but not in what a school building needs to be to be educationally appropriate. DCPS is the architect of what we want for the learning environment. We must involve the people who will be working in our buildings. Mr. Lew is someone we can hold accountable to build the buildings.

Rochelle Solomon from Academy for Educational Development (AED)on Middle Schools

Ms. Solomon distributed a handout on the AED Middle Start project.

AED is working with DCPS on the middle grades reform as part of the secondary transformation funded by the Gates Foundation.

Part one was to administer surveys to teachers and students –to get perceptions on school climate and conditions for learning, motivations, etc. 1100+ students took the survey and 400 teachers.

Over the summer the data will be summarized and schools will get it back in August to start working with it as well as other information to inform their school plans. LSRT members should be on the lookout for this data.

High Schools

Mr.Gohl is assuming the position of head of the Office of Secondary School Reform. He will be stepping back from the “treatment” approach to reforming schoolsto identify what the factors are that make secondary schools work well. Building conditions, for example, are one essential factor. As the former principal of McKinley, he knows what a difference his physical plant is making in supporting the success of McKinley’s students.

Mr. Gohl reviewed the components of the Gates Foundation grant and secondary reform efforts:

• America's Choice has been extended to the middle grades schools and to more High Schools
• DCPS will work with partners such as Academy for Educatonal Development and extend the middle grades model
• Focus on transfer of 6th grades to middle schools will begin now.
• A review of professional development (PD)is part of the grant: currently some is central and some is local school driven. DCPS is experiencing a loss of potential because it limits transferability of Professional Development as teachers move among schools. The consultants working under the grant on PD are looking at issues such as: How much is aligned to MEP and how much is spent differently? They will make a report and recommendations.
• Dan Gohl plans to bring in a speakers program: Every two weeks we're bringing in principals from other places that have made progress over the last 3 years—with leaps of test score improvements, not just incremental gains. Website and audio files will be up of these events and other community events to make them accessible to more people.
• The office of Secondary School Reform will work with Local School Restructuring Teams in the fall. He has all ready spoken with DC VOICE and will be contacting Parents United and SHAPPE to determine which schools they might work with on community outreach.
• Mr. Gohl has been meeting with the Children's Youth Investment Trust re: the My Time program focused on Middle School Afterschool programs. He wants to establish a coalition that provides wrap around school services.

Alliance for an Excellent EducationHigh School Conference

FourthAnnualHigh School Policy Conference: From No Child Left Behind to Every Child a Graduate
October 4-5, 2007
WashingtonCourtHotel
Washington, DC

REGISTER ONLINE at
Conference space is limited and registrations are accepted on a “first-come” basis.

REGISTRATION FEES:
$100.00 if received by September 5, 2007
$150.00 if received after September 5, 2007

Job Openings at American Youth Policy Forum

*Senior Program Associate

*Database Manager/Administrative Assistant

Salary is competitive depending on experience AYPF offers a comfortable work environment with excellent benefits (health, retirement, etc.), and we are conveniently located two blocks from the Dupont Circle Metro station. EOE/AA. Please send resume, cover letter, and complete list of three references to the following address by August 20, 2007. For more information on AYPF, please visit

Senior Program Associate Search or Database Manager/Administrative Assistant Search : American Youth Policy Forum

1836 Jefferson Place, NW

Washington, DC20036

202-775-9733 – fax

(no phone calls please)

SAVE THE DATE: OCTOBER 25, 2007
DCPCA 10th Annual Meeting
In our tenth year hosting one of the most influential conferences onhealth reform in the District,we invite you to join us for a jubilee gathering to celebrate the history and future of reformers' struggle on behalf of the DC's medically vulnerable residents.DCPCA will go back to its roots, recognizing the impact of the health care system on DC residents' lives over time, and the contributions of our own community health centers. We will also plant the seeds of changewith atown hall meeting on strategies for the future, and special exhibits by young reformers from across DC. Event will Feature Keynote Speaker Dr. Maya Angelou. For more information, contact Lee Paczulla at (202) 638-0252 (ext. 235) or .
Visit DCPCA on the web at .

SHAPPE Meeting on Health 7-25-07

The following notes represent the discussion held at the meeting; therecommendations and suggestions made by those attending.

About 20 people attended including representatives from School Based Health, Metro TeenAIDS, Children’s Hospital, DC Action for Children, Center for Disease Control STICC,( Sexually Transmitted Infections Community Coalition (STICC) of Metropolitan Washington, DC, CSS) , the Deputy Mayor for Education, DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp, DCPS, MM Washington, Cardozo, Eastern, Roosevelt, Wilson and the ELL students.

Brief overview of the health issues facing our students:

Major areas of concern expressed by those present in no particular order included

* Sexually Transmitted Diseases

30% of all reported cases of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are in 15 to 19 year olds. Most often there are no symptoms so the adolescents do not know they have a contagious and serious disease.

HIVDC has one of the highest infection rates in the country and it is growing. A recent Metro TeenAIDS survey of young people found close to 85% respondents reported being sexually active and almost half of the young people surveyed reported that they use a condom only “sometimes” or “never” (41%).

* Pregnancy and parenthood for students is not necessarily a poor health issue but it does have many ramifications for health. Schools are not set up to support these students in making more informed decisions prior to becoming parents or to help them once they are pregnant or have children. They miss class more often and some are asked not to live at home so are dealing with housing, support, childcare etc.

* Obesity, Poor Nutrition, Poor Hygiene, Asthma and other chronic diseases needing medicine

Many students do not eat lunch or eat unhealthy food; there is also just a poor understanding of hygiene and cleanliness leading to other complications.

* Mental Health Issues including depression,

Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Strategies Going Forward

Screening:

Dr. Bruce Furness: The Department of Health will be conducting a screening program for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia in two pilot high schools this year. There will be a 20 minute presentation possible through the English classes but that will be worked out on each site. The most important thing is that all students are involved. Everything is confidential; students will have a code and not be identified by name. Following the presentation every student will be given a brown bag and urine sample container and everyone will be permitted to go to the restrooms to participate. While participation is voluntary, the aim is to make it easy and to in no way stigmatize anyone wanting to take advantage of this opportunity.

The specimens will be tested at health lab and students will be notified, not by being called over the loud speaker. Treatment will be free and can occur at school. There was also discussion about having treatment available at off school sites perhaps by collaborating with Medical Homes.

Members of the group strongly suggested that teachers at the school be briefed on the whole process before it takes place so that they can be supportive and informed if students come to them with questions. It will also be important to work with the different languages we have in our schools and ensure that everyone can understand what is communicated.

This project including all the free medicine is being funded at least partially by a federal grant and eventually they would like to reach all the high school students. Chlamydia in particular is a silent killer; there are no symptoms and it is very easy to contract. Current programs do not include partner management. This program will give students the opportunity to tell their partners and for testing, treatment and counseling to also be available to them.