FOCUS DC News Wire 1/12/12

 

 

 

Charter School Board Names New Deputy Chief [FOCUS is mentioned]

The Washington Examiner

By Lisa Gartner

January 11, 2012

 

One day after the deputy chief of the D.C. Charter School Board announced she was resigning, the position has been filled, the board says.

 

Well, that was fast.

 

Naomi Rubin DeVeaux has been appointed the new deputy executive director of the charter board, replacing Tamara Lumpkin, who is pursuing independent consulting for charter schools.

 

DeVeaux is hardly a stranger to the D.C. charter school world, or a strange pick for that matter — she's currently the deputy executive director of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS), a D.C.-based charter advocacy group. DeVaux worked closely with Lumpkin and other board staff to create the Performance Management Framework, first-time ratings of the D.C. charter campuses on an intensive 100-point scale.

 

There will be a little lag time in the post switchover, with Lumpkin packing her things on Friday and DeVaux taking her office on Jan. 30. It's a far cry from the nine-month search for the executive director, which concluded last month with new chief Scott Pearson.

 

“Naomi’s commitment to charter schools, her knowledge of the D.C. charter and schools community, and her strong leadership skills make her a tremendous addition to the PCSB team,” Pearson said in a statement.

 

 

 

 

Naomi DeVeaux Takes Tamara Lumpkin's Job at Public Charter Board [FOCUS is mentioned]

The Washington Examiner

By Mark Lerner

January 12, 2012

 

In not a particularly well kept secret the D.C. Public Charter Board revealed yesterday that the deputy director and director of school quality at FOCUS Naomi DeVeaux has agreed to replace Tamara Lumpkin as its deputy executive director.  Ms. DeVeaux is best known as the developer of the fine School Quality Dashboard.  She was also co-author of an important American Enterprise Institute study on school choice in the District of Columbia.

 

Apparently the move has been in the works for awhile.  The change provides FOCUS with tremendous influence regarding the work of the PCSB.  For example, I can imagine that if Ms. DeVeaux had been in this job during the initial design of the Performance Management Framework we would have avoided the entire mighty struggle between charters and the board over what was regulated.

Is this a good thing?  I'm not sure.  There has always been a healthy low level of tension between the PCSB and the schools they oversee, which has led to a higher quality charter school movement.  If this is further reduced then will the oversight role of the board become less as well? 

 

It will also be interesting to see how the PCSB staff reacts to these changes.

 

Ms. DeVeaux begins her new job on January 30th.

 

 

 

 

LeBon: D.C. College Test Proposal Strikes the Right Chord

The Washington Times

By Cherylyn Harley LeBon

January 11, 2012

 

Education experts, counselors and parents often debate the question, “How do we persuade students to start thinking about college?” The answer, according to D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown, is simple and innovative: Require all students in District schools to take a college-entrance exam and apply to a college.

 

Announced last week, Mr. Brown’s plan has been described as “dramatic” and “provocative,” and he defends it saying, “We have to get more young folks prepared to go to college.”

 

Mr. Brown’s idea already is under attack and is certain to become an even bigger target as it is considered by the D.C. government. Even a quick look at his plan reveals many unanswered questions. But Mr. Brown has managed to strike a profound chord among students and families when it comes to education. His proposal assumes that students can succeed and complete high school while pursuing higher education.

 

District schools are often held up as an example of what critics call the failure of public education, partly because of the city’s high dropout rate, which recently stood at a tragic 43 percent. With nearly half of any given freshman high school class not making it to graduation, it’s a small wonder that many students see dropping out as a viable alternative to earning a diploma.

 

But Mr. Brown’s plan turns conventional wisdom on its head by presuming that all D.C. students can and should take an ACT or SAT college entrance exam, and then apply to a college or another institution of higher learning. While it seems to lead toward a “nanny state” by forcing students to go through such a process, I appreciate Mr. Brown’s effort to address the dropout rate and force children to think about their futures.

 

One of the greatest barriers to higher education among students of color or those of lower socio-economic status is the fact that no one in their family ever attended college. The admissions process is confusing, even for a child from a family in which one or both parents have attended college. It’s even more intimidating for a student who does not have the benefit of a parent or sibling able to guide them through the application ritual.

 

Mr. Brown’s proposal does more than just compel students to engage in the college admissions process. It compels them to think about college as a genuine goal, a realistic option and a path to success. For many, it may be the first time they even entertained such an idea and visualized a realistic path for getting there. It’s also quite possible that the process would be a self-fulfilling prophesy for some students who might otherwise gravitate toward the 43 percent of their peers who drop out of school.

 

Some critics question how to pay for such a program, and Mr. Brown says he has sketched out the cost, but, in fact, it may be less than estimated. For example, the College Board, which is responsible for the SAT, routinely provides 100 percent fee waivers for qualifying students from low-income families. As for the college application fee, many institutions similarly waive or reduce this fee for qualified students. Again, this may require additional paperwork and time, but I think the investment of time in one’s future is worth it. Fee waivers also would serve to underwrite part of Mr. Brown’s plan, virtually taking the issue of finance off the table.

 

I still question requiring that children apply to a college when the city council previously wasn’t supportive of school choice. I also want to see how Mr. Brown’s plan would ensure that students actually are prepared to enter college. Without prerequisite schooling, the mandate is meaningless.

 

We need to take baby steps with respect to this plan but encouraging children - especially students of color in Washington - to think about their futures is a plan that can yield tremendous dividends not just for the students but for the District as well.

 

 

 

 

Score for Scorecards: Good, But More Details, Please

The Washington Post

By Bill Turque

January 11, 2012

 

Parents and school community leaders who have seen the new DCPS scorecards had generally positive things to say about them Wednesday, but also expressed the hope that future data reports offer more detail.

 

“I think it’s a good step that [Chancellor] Kaya [Henderson] is taking in terms of giving parents something beyond whether a school met AYP,” said Monica Warren-Jones, a D.C. State Board of Education member and parent at Watkins Elementary and Stuart Hobson Middle School.

 

But Warren-Jones also said that the scorecards need to provide more information about school facilities, an important issue for parents. “My sense is that it doesn’t speak to things like the age of the physical plant, which is important, or if a school has a working science lab.”

 

Lisa Kilpatrick, head of the parent organization at Seaton Elementary in Ward 2, called the scorecards “very useful for parents who are looking for placement” but said they were missing other key indicators that could sway their decisions. “There was nothing about before or after-care,” said Kilpatrick, who also works as Seaton’s after-school coordinator. “That would be a nice piece to put in the future.”

 

Others expressed concern about the lack of history to explain certain data points. SHAPPE (Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators) Chair Cathy Reilly said, for example, that Cardozo High School’s mid-year move into swing space could well impact academic performance and would be important to note on future scorecards.

 

“Overall I certainly applaud schools being able to be seen through a wider lens than the DC CAS data,” Reilly said in an e-mail. “I do wish the document provided a way to give more of a context.”