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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What would operating schools in COVID look like with disjointed agencies all responding to a different manager/oversight body?

You're right...its gone so well here. Lets check

10% testing goal (DC Health): NOT BEING MET
All HVAC upgraded prior to Fall 2021 (DGS): NOT BEING MET
Tools and technology for schools being up to date, including 1:1 devices in grades 3-12(OCTO): NOT BEING MET

I dunno, I think we are seeing how it looks with disjointed agencies reporting to an executive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What would operating schools in COVID look like with disjointed agencies all responding to a different manager/oversight body?

You're right...its gone so well here. Lets check

10% testing goal (DC Health): NOT BEING MET
All HVAC upgraded prior to Fall 2021 (DGS): NOT BEING MET
Tools and technology for schools being up to date, including 1:1 devices in grades 3-12(OCTO): NOT BEING MET

I dunno, I think we are seeing how it looks with disjointed agencies reporting to an executive

Yeah this isn't really my conclusion from the problems that you list. Disjointed government agencies with low-level elected officials aiming for higher office....That's what SF has, correct? And they were even slower at reopening schools than DC, right?

I think there are problems. I think the proposed solution doesn't actually solve those problems. People aren't explaining how the proposed solution would solve those problems. There's evidence from DC's past that suggest the problems would be worse given your 'solution.'

[Anonymous]

This thread is dumb. People say "I don't see the problem mayoral control" Others (including me) show evidence of issues. Then people go, "Well the other way stinks too."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is dumb. People say "I don't see the problem mayoral control" Others (including me) show evidence of issues. Then people go, "Well the other way stinks too."

I don't believe that makes the thread dumb, I think it points out that the proposed solution does not seem to make sense for the problem. I don't like the Mayor. I don't think the Chancellor is good either. In fact, I think oversight should be strengthened for both sectors. However, I fail to see how increasing the power of SBOE or making OSSE more "independent" will be a solution for the issues put forward.

If history is any indicator, an independent board of education with "oversight" of educational funding and operations leads to more disfunction. The problems we see with the current system are only exacerbated by the introduction of 9 more political figures (many of whom are only doing the work so they can get "name recognition" to run in the next election).

I agree that increasing oversight is a good thing- give subpoena power to the Council Committee on Education or the IG. Do it for DCPS and Charters. In fact, mandate that the Council have a separate committee. We have separate powers and we should use them, but I don't see the case for increased powers of SBOE or OSSE and no one has made a good argument that these legislation would offer a solution we can't get in other (less costly, more productive) ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What would operating schools in COVID look like with disjointed agencies all responding to a different manager/oversight body?

You're right...its gone so well here. Lets check

10% testing goal (DC Health): NOT BEING MET
All HVAC upgraded prior to Fall 2021 (DGS): NOT BEING MET
Tools and technology for schools being up to date, including 1:1 devices in grades 3-12(OCTO): NOT BEING MET

I dunno, I think we are seeing how it looks with disjointed agencies reporting to an executive

Huh, you kind of left out that Covid cases are plummeting in the District as a whole, and in DCPS. You also left out how a school board or independent OSSE would address any of those issues (which go to the core of the nitty gritty of running a public service) in a better manner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is dumb. People say "I don't see the problem mayoral control" Others (including me) show evidence of issues. Then people go, "Well the other way stinks too."

I don't believe that makes the thread dumb, I think it points out that the proposed solution does not seem to make sense for the problem. I don't like the Mayor. I don't think the Chancellor is good either. In fact, I think oversight should be strengthened for both sectors. However, I fail to see how increasing the power of SBOE or making OSSE more "independent" will be a solution for the issues put forward.

If history is any indicator, an independent board of education with "oversight" of educational funding and operations leads to more disfunction. The problems we see with the current system are only exacerbated by the introduction of 9 more political figures (many of whom are only doing the work so they can get "name recognition" to run in the next election).

I agree that increasing oversight is a good thing- give subpoena power to the Council Committee on Education or the IG. Do it for DCPS and Charters. In fact, mandate that the Council have a separate committee. We have separate powers and we should use them, but I don't see the case for increased powers of SBOE or OSSE and no one has made a good argument that these legislation would offer a solution we can't get in other (less costly, more productive) ways.

Exactly. I've been a few rounds in agency process and politics, and "oversight" is crucial but has a pretty cabined impact. "Oversight" can only identify problems; it cannot solve them. It's too often a venue for grandstanding instead of actually figuring out what's wrong and how to fix it. What we need is administrative structures that allow the public services to be delivered effectively and efficiently.

[Anonymous]

Many parent have good reason to suspect DCPS is slow walking testing and downplaying outbreaks to deflect from persistent case spikes early in school year They've never remotely come close to hitting the stated targets for testing, which is kind of straight from the Trump playbook. The just incessant inane flex over their non-response with pointless "Re-open strong" bs.

Kids who don't feel well get sent home without testing. Siblings remain in class. In the rare cases where testing actually does occur it takes up to a week to get results with no information in the interim or follow up with contact tracing where appropriate. No one can be considered a "close contact" because they blindly assert that masks are uniformly worn and perfectly fitted at all times no matter the real world application. The so-called HVAC improvements are overblown, unevenly distributed and often insufficient. Very few children get to eat lunch outside even in perfect weather.

If you plant your head in the sand I guess you can honestly say 'I don't see a cloud in sight', but how dumb would you have to be to believe anything they say?

This all goes back to the Mayor's effort to expedite reopening and downplay necessary pandemic response measures. She owns all of this.

[Anonymous]

It’d be curious about the chancellor being elected. I’m tired of the charter school advocates running DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The council does not have the independent power necessary to obtain the information they need.

This is the core problem and why changes to the executive structure are needed.

The Council is just as much of a joke as the Mayor's office.

[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.

OSSE was part of advocating for virtual education this fall for everyone who wanted it, which would not have been practicable for schools. They seem extremely disconnected. and ar I could really envision a board resembling OSSE taking control and that being a disaster. Accountability will go completely out the window..You have to look also at the recent track record of progress on DCPS since mayoral control began (fasting improving school district). The DC Council has been really clueless as far as trying to impose policies on DCPS (e.g. upping the testing mandate and expanding virtual learning with no funding provided). Of all of these actors the mayor has been the one to ensure that schools opened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many parent have good reason to suspect DCPS is slow walking testing and downplaying outbreaks to deflect from persistent case spikes early in school year They've never remotely come close to hitting the stated targets for testing, which is kind of straight from the Trump playbook. The just incessant inane flex over their non-response with pointless "Re-open strong" bs.

Kids who don't feel well get sent home without testing. Siblings remain in class. In the rare cases where testing actually does occur it takes up to a week to get results with no information in the interim or follow up with contact tracing where appropriate. No one can be considered a "close contact" because they blindly assert that masks are uniformly worn and perfectly fitted at all times no matter the real world application. The so-called HVAC improvements are overblown, unevenly distributed and often insufficient. Very few children get to eat lunch outside even in perfect weather.

If you plant your head in the sand I guess you can honestly say 'I don't see a cloud in sight', but how dumb would you have to be to believe anything they say?

This all goes back to the Mayor's effort to expedite reopening and downplay necessary pandemic response measures. She owns all of this.

“many parents” think no such thing. the vast majority of us are extremely happy school reopening is going so well. truly the only change in my perspective is that I now agree early release Weds could be appropriate to give teachers more planning time. I was against the loss in instructional time before, but now see how much extra work adjusting it has been.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

OSSE was part of advocating for virtual education this fall for everyone who wanted it, which would not have been practicable for schools. They seem extremely disconnected. and ar I could really envision a board resembling OSSE taking control and that being a disaster. Accountability will go completely out the window..You have to look also at the recent track record of progress on DCPS since mayoral control began (fasting improving school district). The DC Council has been really clueless as far as trying to impose policies on DCPS (e.g. upping the testing mandate and expanding virtual learning with no funding provided). Of all of these actors the mayor has been the one to ensure that schools opened.

OSSE or the SBOE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parent have good reason to suspect DCPS is slow walking testing and downplaying outbreaks to deflect from persistent case spikes early in school year They've never remotely come close to hitting the stated targets for testing, which is kind of straight from the Trump playbook. The just incessant inane flex over their non-response with pointless "Re-open strong" bs.

Kids who don't feel well get sent home without testing. Siblings remain in class. In the rare cases where testing actually does occur it takes up to a week to get results with no information in the interim or follow up with contact tracing where appropriate. No one can be considered a "close contact" because they blindly assert that masks are uniformly worn and perfectly fitted at all times no matter the real world application. The so-called HVAC improvements are overblown, unevenly distributed and often insufficient. Very few children get to eat lunch outside even in perfect weather.

If you plant your head in the sand I guess you can honestly say 'I don't see a cloud in sight', but how dumb would you have to be to believe anything they say?

This all goes back to the Mayor's effort to expedite reopening and downplay necessary pandemic response measures. She owns all of this.

“many parents” think no such thing. the vast majority of us are extremely happy school reopening is going so well. truly the only change in my perspective is that I now agree early release Weds could be appropriate to give teachers more planning time. I was against the loss in instructional time before, but now see how much extra work adjusting it has been.

Enjoy the kool aid!

You can support re-opening AND still be critical of the poor performance. The two are not mutually exclusive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parent have good reason to suspect DCPS is slow walking testing and downplaying outbreaks to deflect from persistent case spikes early in school year They've never remotely come close to hitting the stated targets for testing, which is kind of straight from the Trump playbook. The just incessant inane flex over their non-response with pointless "Re-open strong" bs.

Kids who don't feel well get sent home without testing. Siblings remain in class. In the rare cases where testing actually does occur it takes up to a week to get results with no information in the interim or follow up with contact tracing where appropriate. No one can be considered a "close contact" because they blindly assert that masks are uniformly worn and perfectly fitted at all times no matter the real world application. The so-called HVAC improvements are overblown, unevenly distributed and often insufficient. Very few children get to eat lunch outside even in perfect weather.

If you plant your head in the sand I guess you can honestly say 'I don't see a cloud in sight', but how dumb would you have to be to believe anything they say?

This all goes back to the Mayor's effort to expedite reopening and downplay necessary pandemic response measures. She owns all of this.

“many parents” think no such thing. the vast majority of us are extremely happy school reopening is going so well. truly the only change in my perspective is that I now agree early release Weds could be appropriate to give teachers more planning time. I was against the loss in instructional time before, but now see how much extra work adjusting it has been.

Enjoy the kool aid!

You can support re-opening AND still be critical of the poor performance. The two are not mutually exclusive

You can support reopening AND still be critical of the poor performance AND think greater SBOE control wouldn't solve the problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parent have good reason to suspect DCPS is slow walking testing and downplaying outbreaks to deflect from persistent case spikes early in school year They've never remotely come close to hitting the stated targets for testing, which is kind of straight from the Trump playbook. The just incessant inane flex over their non-response with pointless "Re-open strong" bs.

Kids who don't feel well get sent home without testing. Siblings remain in class. In the rare cases where testing actually does occur it takes up to a week to get results with no information in the interim or follow up with contact tracing where appropriate. No one can be considered a "close contact" because they blindly assert that masks are uniformly worn and perfectly fitted at all times no matter the real world application. The so-called HVAC improvements are overblown, unevenly distributed and often insufficient. Very few children get to eat lunch outside even in perfect weather.

If you plant your head in the sand I guess you can honestly say 'I don't see a cloud in sight', but how dumb would you have to be to believe anything they say?

This all goes back to the Mayor's effort to expedite reopening and downplay necessary pandemic response measures. She owns all of this.

“many parents” think no such thing. the vast majority of us are extremely happy school reopening is going so well. truly the only change in my perspective is that I now agree early release Weds could be appropriate to give teachers more planning time. I was against the loss in instructional time before, but now see how much extra work adjusting it has been.

Enjoy the kool aid!

You can support re-opening AND still be critical of the poor performance. The two are not mutually exclusive

You’re living in an alternate universe. Covid is not spreading in schools. We’ve had two cases in our school and kids will be vaccinated in a matter of weeks and all teachers who want them have boosters, and starting next month all adults will have to be vaccinated. It’s going very, very well.