Nathan over at DC Education Blog gave his opinion of a Washington Post piece:
DCPS [District of Columbia Public Schools] doesn’t need charity, it needs a swift kick in the ass. It needs a major overhaul. It needs a Board of Education, a DC Council, a Mayor’s office, a union and a management core that actually gives a damn about education instead of feigning interest whenever its is politically or financially expedient, or when they’re trying to cover their ass.
Unfortunately I doubt any of this will happen any time soon. Oh, just as it has been for the last couple of decades people will bitch and moan, editorials will be written, campaign promises will be made, but at the end of the day nothing changes. Superintendents come and (quickly) go. The District’s Office of the Inspector General will continue to chronicle malfeasance and ineptitude. The District’s elected officials will continue to squander any opportunity for progress with their grandstanding, power grabs and squabbling. And people like Courtland Milloy will continue to write twaddle, dreaming about some deus ex Buffett moment where some capitalist swine arrives in the third act and solves all of the District’s problems by writing a check.
Heck I’m not even a parent and this touched me. Maybe because this type of corruption (ineptitude, & apathy towards agency goals are forms of corruption to me) is not just limited to DCPS.
Mari,
Sorry to say that it has been more than a couple of decades..it’s been at least 4 decades.
During the Barbara Sizemore days, the school administration was filled people, who did not have a clue what their job was. She got booted, but they didn’t. It was the start of trend. The system changed Supers almost annually.
shar
The amazing thing is that education is one of the most important keys to growth (and reelection for mayors and council people) in the city. The city isnt growing, because people know how bad the schools are. those that love the city move when they have kids, because they cant educate their kids in public schools and cant afford private schools.
Throwing money at the problem isnt the answer. And empty promises by politicians isnt either.
If NYC can become a much safer place, then one would think that the schools could be improved with proper resources, and solid leadership.
Fixing a leaking roof and replacing old rusting windows in a school is great reason to throw money at a problem. Have you been inside your neighborhood school?
shar
The problem with corruption, mismanagement, and apathy is that when you do throw money at it, the ‘what’ that needed to get fixed, doesn’t.
Once upon a time, during the reign of Barry, DC threw money at Bates Street to fix it up. Contractors didn’t do their part, and the problems that the houses had remained. Just an example of waste and history.
If money goes to the school for a particular purpose I bet you it gets lost in a bueaucratic maze where overhead eats up a majority of it, and confusing rules and paperwork that discourage those who are trying to get the building fixed.
Anon comment was deleted but presented a question “How do we tell both politicians and school administrators that we have had enough of this nonsense and want decent classrooms and decent teachers?”
I think they know. But for some odd reason allow it to fester leaving some parents with little options.