What could a new Mayor mean for schools - DCPS and charters?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Nothing will change unless DC somehow elects a mayor who is more conservative than Bowser who is willing to challenge the status quo.

I think that you may have found yourself in the wrong city if you think that DC will ever become conservative. I certainly don't believe conservatism is required for a leader to create better schools. Fenty did more than any other mayor to push forward our schools and make change and he was far from conservative.

PP here. You've misread what I wrote. I said "more conservative than Bowser." Not "a conservative." Fenty is precisely the kind of person I was talking about. He was "more conservative than Bowser" (not to mention everyone on the city council). We need someone who will stand up to the status quo, and raise standards and introduce a measure of accountability. You don't get that when you vote for extremely liberal Democrats. That's like voting for extremely conservative Republicans and expecting them to raise taxes on the rich. It's simply not in the cards.

I disagree that Fenty was more conservative than Bowser. He went to Oberlin. Bowser is in the pockets of every developer she ever met.

Ok, well, you're just totally wrong. It was Adrian Fenty who put Michelle Rhee in charge of schools. It sounds Michelle Rhee was before your time. The short version is that Michelle Rhee did more to improve schools in DC than anyone else in our lifetime and she did it by doing the exact opposite of what Bowser and the rest of our city council does today re: schools. Michelle Rhee was a parent's dream and a liberal politician's nightmare.

The only candidate that’s declared so far is Lewis-George. Is she more or less conservative and what might that mean for schools?

Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.


+1

Yes to all of the above. Which is unfortunate, because a mayoral candidate who would embrace the Mississippi miracle approach to education would be a game changer for the city's poor educational outcomes. Mississippi, which for years was one of (if not THE) worst public education systems in the nation, has turned itself around.

[Anonymous]

The question is if new Mayor will continue to not implement boundary study recommendations ..,,,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing will change unless DC somehow elects a mayor who is more conservative than Bowser who is willing to challenge the status quo.

I think that you may have found yourself in the wrong city if you think that DC will ever become conservative. I certainly don't believe conservatism is required for a leader to create better schools. Fenty did more than any other mayor to push forward our schools and make change and he was far from conservative.

PP here. You've misread what I wrote. I said "more conservative than Bowser." Not "a conservative." Fenty is precisely the kind of person I was talking about. He was "more conservative than Bowser" (not to mention everyone on the city council). We need someone who will stand up to the status quo, and raise standards and introduce a measure of accountability. You don't get that when you vote for extremely liberal Democrats. That's like voting for extremely conservative Republicans and expecting them to raise taxes on the rich. It's simply not in the cards.

I disagree that Fenty was more conservative than Bowser. He went to Oberlin. Bowser is in the pockets of every developer she ever met.

Ok, well, you're just totally wrong. It was Adrian Fenty who put Michelle Rhee in charge of schools. It sounds Michelle Rhee was before your time. The short version is that Michelle Rhee did more to improve schools in DC than anyone else in our lifetime and she did it by doing the exact opposite of what Bowser and the rest of our city council does today re: schools. Michelle Rhee was a parent's dream and a liberal politician's nightmare.

The problem with Rhee was that she improved some things and ruined others. She was a big proponent of the “college for all” mantra that did a huge disservice to many kids. In the process she dismantled career and tech vocational programs in the city and they have yet to fully recover. And she may not have meant this but her followers who also embraced the “college for all” philosophy then instituted the “honors for all” system because too many students were not getting into college due to lack of preparation and low gpa. The honors for all system artificially boosts gpa as honors classes have a higher weight than regular classes.

[Anonymous]

I support Lewis-George for Mayor. The charter system wants autonomy and DCPS wants support from neighbors and financial support to keep low- attendance schools open. Those seem doable. And I would appreciate a shift from focus on capital projects to spending to get student success.

A lot of what we talk about here is nice to have. I’d rather have a full Roosevelt and Dunbar that drive success than another test- or grades-in high school. That’s not what everyone wants but it’s OK. I’d like a real school board. Some people fear dysfunction but that’s not a given.


Appreciate all the thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.


+1

Yes to all of the above. Which is unfortunate, because a mayoral candidate who would embrace the Mississippi miracle approach to education would be a game changer for the city's poor educational outcomes. Mississippi, which for years was one of (if not THE) worst public education systems in the nation, has turned itself around.

I happened across this article yesterday about selection bias in the MS data. Lots of interesting questions about the data: https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/12/01/how-much-of-mississippis-education-miracle-is-an-artifact-of-selection-bias/

[Anonymous]

I support Lewis-George for Mayor. The charter system wants autonomy and DCPS wants support from neighbors and financial support to keep low- attendance schools open. Those seem doable. And I would appreciate a shift from focus on capital projects to spending to get student success.

A lot of what we talk about here is nice to have. I’d rather have a full Roosevelt and Dunbar that drive success than another test- or grades-in high school. That’s not what everyone wants but it’s OK. I’d like a real school board. Some people fear dysfunction but that’s not a given.


Appreciate all the thoughts.

JLG has a reputation of being anti-charter. She is also very pro-teachers union and unionization of charter schools typically results in the closures of those schools because they do not have the financial wherewithal to meet union demands. So unionization of charters is the back-door way for anti-charter forces to destroy the sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I support Lewis-George for Mayor. The charter system wants autonomy and DCPS wants support from neighbors and financial support to keep low- attendance schools open. Those seem doable. And I would appreciate a shift from focus on capital projects to spending to get student success.

A lot of what we talk about here is nice to have. I’d rather have a full Roosevelt and Dunbar that drive success than another test- or grades-in high school. That’s not what everyone wants but it’s OK. I’d like a real school board. Some people fear dysfunction but that’s not a given.


Appreciate all the thoughts.

A vote for Janeese is a vote for the status quo. If you think she is going to raise standards, I have a bridge to sell you.

[Anonymous]

I don't support her because she'll raise standards. I'm more interested in investment in getting our poorer residents to be employable. The rest of us will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't support her because she'll raise standards. I'm more interested in investment in getting our poorer residents to be employable. The rest of us will be fine.

DC schools are extremely well funded. It's not the funding that's the problem...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.

Source? Or just your perception based on....? She is a Walls graduate and sounds like she had a positive experience so I'm curious where you are coming from other the progressive label.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.

Source? Or just your perception based on....? She is a Walls graduate and sounds like she had a positive experience so I'm curious where you are coming from other the progressive label.

DP. People keep saying she's DC's Mamdani (based on her DSA affiliation and leaked outreach planning). Mamdani came out against some G&T policies and has talked about ceding some mayoral control. He's also a graduate of Bronx Science, a selective high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.

Source? Or just your perception based on....? She is a Walls graduate and sounds like she had a positive experience so I'm curious where you are coming from other the progressive label.

DP. People keep saying she's DC's Mamdani (based on her DSA affiliation and leaked outreach planning). Mamdani came out against some G&T policies and has talked about ceding some mayoral control. He's also a graduate of Bronx Science, a selective high school.

Nothing will change because people want to vote for left wing Democrats and they all believe the same things about schools, which are:

1. The primary purpose of schools is not to educate all students, but to fight inequality
2. Any system, whether it's tracking or gifted schools, that results in white kids tending to go to one place and black kids tending to go to another place, is inherently racist and must be avoided at all costs
3. No real plan to reduce racial disparities in academic achievement except to reduce standards by so much that no one can fail
4. A belief that social promotion is necessary because the social consequences of flunking kids, regardless of how little they learn, is devastating
5. The teachers union is your ally, its opinion is important and must be on board with any decision made

We get the schools we vote for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I support Lewis-George for Mayor. The charter system wants autonomy and DCPS wants support from neighbors and financial support to keep low- attendance schools open. Those seem doable. And I would appreciate a shift from focus on capital projects to spending to get student success.

A lot of what we talk about here is nice to have. I’d rather have a full Roosevelt and Dunbar that drive success than another test- or grades-in high school. That’s not what everyone wants but it’s OK. I’d like a real school board. Some people fear dysfunction but that’s not a given.


Appreciate all the thoughts.

Why do charters need more autonomy? I feel like the sudden closures of Eagle and Hope are great examples of why they need even more oversight.

And why in the world do you want to keep low-attendance schools open?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Lewis-George is about as left wing as they come. She will keep schools as is. She will adamantly oppose raising academic standards or flunking kids or creating admissions standards for some schools. People like her see all that as racist because it will disproportionately hurt black kids.

Source? Or just your perception based on....? She is a Walls graduate and sounds like she had a positive experience so I'm curious where you are coming from other the progressive label.

DP. People keep saying she's DC's Mamdani (based on her DSA affiliation and leaked outreach planning). Mamdani came out against some G&T policies and has talked about ceding some mayoral control. He's also a graduate of Bronx Science, a selective high school.

The left despises G&T programs. If you support G&T programs you will not work for JLG, should she get elected mayor.