DC Schools

Thomas Toch and Sara Mead explain in some detail what Districtites are always wondering -- why are the schools here so bad? It turns out to be a bit complicated. On the other hand, the potential improvement glossed near the end of the article seem rather small-scale relative to the scope of the difficulties at hand.

Comments

I worked for 36 years in "bad" NYC neighborhoods and, thus, feel qualified to comment. First off, many ghetto (a word out of favor--but accurate) kids come into pre-k already 4 years behind, as if they lived in a closet. They know playstation, hip-hop, and basketball. They don't know numbers or colors and before and after are not concepts fully comprehended. Thus, to truly fix the schools, you do have to improve the pre and post natal environment. I haven't a clue how this can get done other than integration--spread the children geographically and their peers will fill in some of the gaps.

Teacher quality is another unaddressed area. Higher salaries and more prestige is doable with political will but Reaganite philosophy of "lower taxes,always" kills that idea. Nuns are dedicated, and get room and board, public school teachers need salaries equal to the opportunities open to others with so many years of college.

Finally, test scores mean next to nothing. My last school was threatened with closing if scores didn't improve. As the union leader, the principal asked me to set up a plan to teach to the test. We scored the best in our district the following year--without cheating. But, the students were not necessarily better readers or math students, just higher scorers.

Posted by Mal | October 1, 2006 11:49 AM

"Districtites"? I suppose this is a word we need because "Washingtonians" live in Fairfax.

Posted by JR | October 2, 2006 12:20 AM