Emma Brown of the Washington Post describes the discussion of a panel of experts on urban education in which DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson was a participant. I've included one of her comments:
But the chancellor on Tuesday pushed back against the idea that charters are the answer to what ails public education. DCPS has its failings, she said, but so do charter schools and private schools that take vouchers.
“I think everybody recognizes that urban school districts are not figuring out how to meet the needs of our neediest children,” Henderson said. ”But neither are any of the other sectors.”
Scary. Ms. Henderson seems to be out of touch with the closing the achievement gap work that is being done by schools such as Achievement Preparatory Academy, Two Rivers, D.C. Prep, E.L. Haynes, KIPP, SEED, Thurgood Marshall Academy, and many others. I would suggest that the Chancellor become acquainted with the excellent job her competition is doing by visiting each of the 20 Tier 1 PMF schools.
In the article, Ms. Brown says that Ms. Henderson is attempting to partner with a charter instead of simply closing Malcolm X Elementary. It would be extremely interesting to know the basis in which she selected the charter that should go into this facility.
The title of the piece by Ms. Brown is "Can Traditional School Systems be Replaced by Charters?" In the District of Columbia that question has already been answered. If I were Ms. Henderson I may be looking for another job. In the not too distant future there will not be any more children left for her staff to teach.
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