Michelle Rhee Kicking Ass Taking Names

July 24, 2010 by 7 Comments


Looks like our school Chancellor,  Michelle Rhee supported by Mayor Fenty are gone in a firing rampage. They are about to fire 241 teachers who did not meet standards set forth by a new district-wide evaluation system.

The new system, known as IMPACT, for the first time ties D.C. teachers’ job performance to their students’ performance on standardized tests.

According to a statement on the D.C. Public Schools website, IMPACT “seeks to create a culture in which all school-based personnel have a clear understanding of what defines excellence in their work, are provided with constructive and data-based feedback about their performance, and receive support to increase their effectiveness.” Read more of this post

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Where Do Women Stand Event

June 16, 2010 by Leave a comment


The next “conversation” among three of America’s most influential and fascinating women: Katharine Weymouth, Michelle Rhee, and Katherine Bradley tomorrow at Washington Water Front.

Speakers:

Katharine Weymouth
Publisher
The Washington Post
CEO
Washington Post Media

Granddaughter of family legend Katharine Graham, Katharine Weymouth became publisher of the Washington Post and CEO of Washington Post Media (which includes washingtonpost.com) in early 2008, after serving in a variety of legal and marketing jobs since 1996. The Post has a M-F circulation of 715,000 and 2,600 employees. She is a product of Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford Law School, and has also been a lawyer at Williams & Connolly. She is widely seen as the next generation of leadership that will help take her storied institution of traditional journalism into the digital age. Read more of this post

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Google Apps for DC Public Schools

June 1, 2010 by 6 Comments


Ever since, I blogged about our DC chancellor, Michelle Rhee and her recent accomplishment for our school system, I’ve become more jazzed to provide our public school system with more support.

In addition to my blog post yesterday about integrating the power of social media to our school system, here is another one – The Google Apps for DC school, which has already been embraced by other public school including both the school officials and the students.

As a father of two little ones myself, I believe Google Apps could bring great benefits to our school system – both financially and academically. The only concern I have is making sure Google docs are implemented correctly. Chatting between kids in the classroom and sharing docs could cause a problem if not administered properly. Read more of this post

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Integrating Social Media Into the DC Schools

May 31, 2010 by 2 Comments


Here are a couple of great social media tips I found on mashable that I think our DC chancellor, Ms. Rhee should look into them for DC schools. Given one of her recent accomplishment I  covered yesterday and given our kids will be  hooked on  social media regardless  how much we try to discourage them not to be, these tips should not be overlooked.

The fact is, social media and social networking sites are  here to stay, and with or without rules, kids are going to use them. These are four tips for educators on how to develop a technology policy that seizes on social networking as a learning tool and teaches children how to use it responsibly. Read more of this post

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D.C. schools Tops in Reading among Urban Systems

May 30, 2010 by 4 Comments


Here is another list DC made it to the top.  A federal study of trends in 11 major urban school systems shows that only D.C. Public Schools  has made significant gains in reading achievement since 2007 in fourth and eighth grades,  according to National Assessment of Educational Progress this week. The results also echo gains city schools made in the same span on federal math tests. Read more of this post

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How To Explain Sexuality To kids In DC

February 9, 2010 by 43 Comments


by Elias Shams
Answering kids’ questions about sex is one of the responsibilities many parents dread most. It is particularly going to be harder for the Washingtonian parents. It has always been difficult for parents to acknowledge this, just as it’s difficult for kids to think of their parents as sexually active. Certainly, the subject shouldn’t be avoided.

Why would this subject be harder for the Washingtonian parents? Given Dr. Ruth plans to transform Washington to Shaggington, and gay marriage is about to be legalized in DC next month, go figure. Not that there is anything wrong with gay marriage or Dr. Ruth’s initiative. They are both great things for DC. Gay marriage is a given right anyway. It’s just Washington and the rest of our nation are about waking up to it. Gay marriage was legalized in Europe several decades ago. Therefore, I can totally see how the Washingtonian parents will feel even more tongue-tied and awkward when it comes to discussing sex with their kids in a few month. Read more…

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