On January 23, after a surprising and revealing DC City Council meeting, the failed management record and dire school closure proposals of DC Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Kaya Henderson literally went 'global,' as seen published on the World Socialist web site, with the shocking headline:
'One in ten Washington, DC public schools to be closed.'
Describing the impact of the chancellor's latest proposal to close 15 more historic city schools, the article puts many things into a different perspective. For one thing, the impact on teachers has finally been exposed. Authors Adam Sagitov and Nick Barrickman write that,
'In all, the plan will eliminate nearly 10 percent of all public schools in the District of Columbia and an estimated 140 teaching positions.'
The mission of WSWS.org is:
'to become an unprecedented tool for the political education and unification of the working class on an international scale. The World Socialist Web Site, published by the coordinated efforts of members in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, takes as its starting point the international character of the class struggle.'
Apparently DCPS has become their model for the demise of public education and the exploitation of the working class, world-wide.
The selling out of 2,600 children, 140 teachers, 17 beloved schools, 15 historic buildings, 5 special needs programs and thousands of good jobs with benefits in DC to the highest bidders, for profit, is now fodder for the World Socialist web site:
'A DCPS teacher who wished to remain anonymous spoke with the World Socialist Web Site, remarking that DC City Council Education Committee Chairperson David Catania and DCPS Chancellor Henderson were both interested in siphoning money away from public education.
'''They both are making money off of this,'' she said, referring to the six-figure salaries of both. She noted that KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program), a large charter operation in the District, was not the only charter school that benefited from a selective enrollment, and that the practice of dropping students off the rolls after a facility received city funds was nearly endemic.
'Referring to the arbitrary nature of the closings, she stated there were numerous schools in wealthier parts of the city that had avoided Henderson’s axe.'
Their analysis was equally scathing of Nathan Saunders, President of Washington Teachers Union, AFT Local 6, stating that:
'For his part, Nathan Saunders, president of the Washington Teacher’s Union embraced the decisions, with the small caveat that qualified teachers be rehired elsewhere in the aftermath of the closures. “We acknowledge DC Public Schools’ responsibility to efficiently manage public school facilities and resources,” said Saunders upon initially hearing the announcement last year.'
Even the two most recent US presidents could not escape their wrath:
'The Obama administration, carrying on the Bush administration’s 'No Child Left Behind' has established in the 'Race to the Top' program, a bipartisan process in which public schools, after years of critical underfunding, have been forced to compete with charters and other bulwarks of private business, instituting high test recommendations as well as merit pay for teachers.
'The fundamental results are the closing of schools that fail to meet these requirements and a vast shifting of wealth into private hands.'
DCPS has inauspiciously become the 'Poster Child' for public education reform, world-wide.
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