D.C. principal's hands-on tack transforms Sousa Middle but also ruffles feathers
GALLERY
Sousa, one of a few middle schools in Washington to substantially improve students' test scores, used to have some of the lowest results in the city. Now, it's a model for others.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
It was 8 a.m., and 21 teachers had gathered in the library of Sousa Middle School for the meeting that Principal Dwan Jordon has convened nearly every morning for two years, part of his crusade to improve one of the District's worst public schools.
They pulled out laptops, set down their coffee and, in the language of education reform, began assessing where the quest stood:
"Reading was 61, 62 and 65, and we did it with Test B and C," began Ronda Robinson, an instructional coach,
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (TWP)
"Reading was 61, 62 and 65, and we did it with Test B and C," began Ronda Robinson, an instructional coach,
Fenty outlines plans to cut special-ed costs
Fenty said his office will study ways integrate special education students into public schools.
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Rhee should get out of the mayor's race
Saying she would leave if Gray is elected is good news to those people who want Rhee gone. It is bad for the principals she has appointed, the teachers who share her commitment to raising achievement and the parents who are beginning to see the same teamwork, creativity and persistence in regular city public schools that they have found in many charter schools.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (TWP)