Who listens to teachers in DCPS? Nobdoy.The answer is apparently no one. On the one hand, I am glad after a week of unrest, the district listened to students and changed their ham-fisted and tone-deaf "take off the mask" campaign but incredibly disappointed again at the realization nobody with any authority listens to and cares about teachers. We shouldn't pretend for a second that they do. When Vitti left, he said, and I am paraphrasi
The year before Pratt-Dannals was fired he got stellar reviews.I mention this because the school board recently rated superintendent Greene highly effective, a sentiment I don’t think the majority of staff and, at this point, families would agree with. I have a different take than the school board one that comes from being in the classroom and doing the novel thing of actually talking to teachers, and that is she needs to be thanked for her service and shown
DCPS High schools go on alert because of district incompetenceIt's never good when you wake up in the morning and the media is reporting schools will be on high alert because of threats of violence. It’s made worse because the lion’s share of what’s happening falls squarely on the district’s shoulders. When I wrote about the district’s “take off the mask’ campaign, my wife said, why are they trying to coopt black history month? That’s not going to go over s
DCPS’s no good very bad week.DCPS leadership is failing this district, and it is beyond me how the school board does not see it, which makes me wonder are they willfully ignorant or complicit. A while back, I was talking to a school board member and asked how they were. They told me they were busy as they had visited every school in their district in a short amount of time. Fantastic, I said, but what did you think about the
Why is DCPS misleading families about testing during a pandemic.As testing season fast approaches, not even a pandemic and the threat of getting sick is deterring DCPS. Instead of striving to keep people safe, they have referred back to cajoling families to send their children into schools, which sadly seems to be the only tool in their tool kit. The district has sent out a letter to the DHR families that isn't quite honest. It is so ironic, the state talks a
The District can pretend they care with a video, but their actions speak a lot louder than their words.Ask, and ye shall receive. Here is a DCPS PSA for staff; please watch it and try not to cry, spit out your mile or smash your computer. Warning that will be a challenge. Once again, no mention of the pandemic; you know it's like it's not happening. That is a problem, a big problem. Can you imagine the production meeting? Hey, there is a pandemic going on; should we mention it? How about those sch
It's also the little things that make you think DCPS really doesn't care.If DCPS really cared about the welfare of students and staff, they would cancel all-district testing, tell each group to do their best, get through this, and if we have things to make up post-pandemic, we will, and that staying right, should be your only priority. But they aren't. Instead, they are putting more pressure on teachers than ever before, and for kids, well, it's business as usual. So
In DCPS it is risk your life and get a gift card… maybeIt’s surreal the disdain for staff and students the district has, it really is. Forcing staff to give up their planning, and to violate CDC guidelines is just the tip of the iceberg. The latest affront is the balls to the wall effort to get students in DHR to come in for district testing. Teachers at one school have told me that they have even been offered to be put into a drawing for a really sw
School Board Chair Andersen says teachers have free will when it comes to social distancing in schools.Board Chair Andersen says teachers have a choice when it comes to social distancing, not any good choices but choices. I have been writing about the things our local education leaders have said and done for over a decade. Sometimes they get mad at me and say, well, even though those are my
