How the DC education system is structured - and why oversight of the mayor on DCPS is needed

[Anonymous]

The current situation in DCPS is:

There is a state education agency, like a state department of education. This agency is OSSE. The mayor appoints the OSSE head and has complete control over OSSE: the OSSE head serves at the mayor's pleasure.

DCPS is headed by a chancellor. The mayor appoints the chancellor and has complete control over DCPS: the DCPS Chancellor head serves at the mayor's pleasure.

Both DCPS and OSSE report to the Deputy Mayor for Education. Currently ex-McKinsey consultant Paul Kihn. The mayor appoints the deputy mayor for education and the deputy mayor for education serves at the mayor's pleasure.

Additionally, important during COVID times:
The agency responsible for health is DC Health. The mayor appoints the DC Health head and has complete control over DC Health: the DC Health head serves at the mayor's pleasure.

Do we see the problem here?!?!?!

The mayor has total control over every education agency.

When stuff goes wrong, the mayor and chancellor and DME can just.... lie about it. In fact, they DO lie about it.

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What we need is more democracy. We need an elected head of education who is not the mayor. Directly elect the DCPS Chancellor.

OR, we need OSSE split off from mayoral control so they can exert oversight over the mayor when her people are making mistakes and lying about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The current situation in DCPS is:

There is a state education agency, like a state department of education. This agency is OSSE. The mayor appoints the OSSE head and has complete control over OSSE: the OSSE head serves at the mayor's pleasure.

DCPS is headed by a chancellor. The mayor appoints the chancellor and has complete control over DCPS: the DCPS Chancellor head serves at the mayor's pleasure.

Both DCPS and OSSE report to the Deputy Mayor for Education. Currently ex-McKinsey consultant Paul Kihn. The mayor appoints the deputy mayor for education and the deputy mayor for education serves at the mayor's pleasure.

Additionally, important during COVID times:
The agency responsible for health is DC Health. The mayor appoints the DC Health head and has complete control over DC Health: the DC Health head serves at the mayor's pleasure.

Do we see the problem here?!?!?!

The mayor has total control over every education agency.

When stuff goes wrong, the mayor and chancellor and DME can just.... lie about it. In fact, they DO lie about it.

----------

What we need is more democracy. We need an elected head of education who is not the mayor. Directly elect the DCPS Chancellor.

OR, we need OSSE split off from mayoral control so they can exert oversight over the mayor when her people are making mistakes and lying about them.

Do you have evidence of the lying? I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility but it would good to see some expose or something.

There are too many people on DCUM who see conspiracies when what they are really looking at is ineptitude (see: Covid report timeframes).

[Anonymous]

For more info on DC educational structure, see this -- you need this information to understand what is being debated.

[Anonymous]

I agree oversight is needed. Wasn’t there some proposal to form a school data board? Like in 2018?

I don’t think “democracy” solves the problems, though.

[Anonymous]

Also see this document, which explains DCPS governance in more detail:

https://sboe.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/sboe/page_content/attachments/public%20education%20governance%20%28web%29%202.11.2019.pdf

That's from 2019, but the *structure* is still the same. Here's the simplified view:



Notice that OSSE and DCPS (and DC Health!!) are ALL under control of the mayor. There are no checks and balances. At all. (We don't need a minoritarian Senate to gum things up like at the federal level, but we need SOME checks and balances.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

When stuff goes wrong, the mayor and chancellor and DME can just.... lie about it. In fact, they DO lie about it.

----------

What we need is more democracy. We need an elected head of education who is not the mayor. Directly elect the DCPS Chancellor.

OR, we need OSSE split off from mayoral control so they can exert oversight over the mayor when her people are making mistakes and lying about them.

Do you have evidence of the lying? I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility but it would good to see some expose or something.

There are too many people on DCUM who see conspiracies when what they are really looking at is ineptitude (see: Covid report timeframes).

Here's one example: this heaing.

For example, the DC Chancellor in that hearing said ventilation was fine in all schools. That is just ... garbage. It's false. Teachers have been waiting for 8 weeks with no fixes to the HVAC.

AND we know that ventilation and HVAC are a problem only because Robert White on Council ran a hearing about Dept of General Services (another agency controlled by the mayor!!!) screwing up maintenance tickets for school HVAC and got tons of testimony.

[Anonymous]

Here's another example of DCPS overreach, and lying about it.

DCPS Central Office and Chancellor fired the Walls principal because he was calling attention to insufficient ventilation in their schools.

We know this is a problem because ... parents and teachers organized large demonstrations to criticize the mayor and chancellor for doing this.

Imagine if we had an Inspector General of DC schools with subpoena power to figure out if DCPS was telling the truth about why they fired him?
That would be another excellent solution to our current issue, of unchecked mayoral control with no oversight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's another example of DCPS overreach, and lying about it.

DCPS Central Office and Chancellor fired the Walls principal because he was calling attention to insufficient ventilation in their schools.

We know this is a problem because ... parents and teachers organized large demonstrations to criticize the mayor and chancellor for doing this.

Imagine if we had an Inspector General of DC schools with subpoena power to figure out if DCPS was telling the truth about why they fired him?
That would be another excellent solution to our current issue, of unchecked mayoral control with no oversight.

Ehh…that’s not proof (regarding the Walls principal). Do you have something else?

Look, I’m not saying that DCPS is perfect or that the current system doesn’t need reform. But there’s a lot of hearsay and innuendo that happens on DCUM. I just don’t think your cause is helped with these unsubstantiated (but possibly true) claims.

[Anonymous]

You didn't respond about ventilation and Robert White's hearing, where he proved that the Chancellor was lying when he said ventilation was fine in all schools.

Come on, have you ever listened to the Chancellor speak? Let me find the hearing clips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You didn't respond about ventilation and Robert White's hearing, where he proved that the Chancellor was lying when he said ventilation was fine in all schools.

Come on, have you ever listened to the Chancellor speak? Let me find the hearing clips.

Oh I grant that, bc it was also reported in the press in reputable sources. Plus the hearing.

The Walls principal thing hasn’t, so far as I’ve seen. (Hence my asking for sources.)

I think Ferebee isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. That doesn’t mean he’s always lying. There are many DC public officials that just seem inept.

[Anonymous]

Here's another example of the Chancellor lying:

https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/chancellor/important-update-on-asymptomatic-and-symptomatic-testing-at-dcps/

This post is an email sent by Chancellor Ferebee to the DCPS community on August 27, 2021.

Dear DCPS Families,

DC Public Schools is committed to the health and safety of our students and staff. We have a robust, layered mitigation strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 based on three key pillars: prevent, screen, and inform.

...

We are writing with an update on how schools will administer these tests. Students will now be automatically enrolled in the testing program which supports asymptomatic testing, symptomatic testing and testing for close contacts. Please disregard the COVID-19 testing consent forms previously shared in messages from DCPS.

The test will be a non-invasive, saliva-based PCR test. Instead of a nasal swab, students will hold a small vial with a funnel attached and produce a saliva sample.

To opt-out, parents/guardians or students over the age of 18 will now need to email or provide their schools with a signed opt-out form available at osse.dc.gov/page/school-based-covid-19-testing.

Asymptomatic testing will begin on a rolling basis at schools starting September 2, 2021. If any student or staff member is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms while at school, on-site rapid tests will be available beginning on the first day of school.

Two bolded points.

1. It's great the mayor went to opt-out testing. Kudos to her. But it is a sign of the MASSIVE disorganization at DCPS that she did this THREE DAYS before the first day of school. After many schools and parents and PTOs spent a lot of time scrambling to get the opt-in forms signed.

2. In my experience with friends and parents at about 15 schools across the city, it is FALSE that rapid tests are available. My kid had symptoms at our school and got sent home and told to see a doctor for a test. This is utter malpractice. It's bad enough there are no rapid tests - every school system should have them for teachers and kids on hand. But this is the chancellor lying about it. This is the kind of thing an IG with subpoena power would prevent.

[Anonymous]

I think Ferebee isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. That doesn’t mean he’s always lying. There are many DC public officials that just seem inept.

In the best case, he's terrible at his job. In the worst case, he's lying. OK.

In either case we need more oversight. There has to be SOMETHING to prevent the mayor and her direct appointees from covering up things that go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have clips from that hearing? I watched parts of it and was infuriated by Kihn and Ferebee but I don't know how to post links.

[Anonymous]

Oh so you’re saying that DCPS is administered like *every other public service* in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree oversight is needed. Wasn’t there some proposal to form a school data board? Like in 2018?

I don’t think “democracy” solves the problems, though.

“oversight” is called basic separation of powers - the council provides oversight.