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Anonymous wrote:The business establishment isn’t backing him because they like Duff’s smile.
DC’s entire business and real estate lobby has consolidated behind McDuffie.
Opportunity DC, a super PAC backed by real estate executives and large donors, spent heavily to elect him to the at-large seat in 2022, unseating the progressive incumbent Elissa Silverman.
These groups don’t back candidates out of civic spirit. They back candidates they believe will govern in their interest. When the chain restaurants lobby, the real estate lobby, and the business establishment all line up behind the same person, the reasonable question is: who is he going to govern for?
How do you not understand that this EXACTLY the criticism of JLG being made in this thread regarding her adherence to WTU dogma? And also the people who defend McDuffie's business ties do so in the exact same way that people defend JLG's special interest relationships. They'll say "well, what's wrong with business and real estate? don't we want the city to be friendly to business interests in order to encourage economic development that leads to jobs, tax dollars, and more civic spirit?" And yes, there's cynicism in this argument but there is also truth -- I do actually want a mayor who will seek to advance economic investment in the city, and who will make the city more attractive to (gasp!) real estate developers and businesses of all size who are willing to put money into the city, hire people, and make this a good place to live.
I don't like Kenyon McDuffie, but this cynical argument is actually more compelling to me than the idea that JLG will magically be better on education because she sits in the back pocket of a teachers union that I can assure you has not always worked in the best interests of my kids or my family.
I'm confused as to why you think a teachers union is set up to work for the best interest of YOUR kids and family. A teachers union is in place to advocate for labor rights for educators- such as negotiating salaries, improving work environments for them, etc. Secondly, are you that narcissistic to believe that everything should always work in the favor of your kids and your family? That's not the way life works- the world doesn't revolve around you and you don't get what you want 100% of the time. This is what it means to live in a community.
NP but that PP doesn't think that the WTU exists to serve their kids' best interests - that's their point. So people in this thread repeatedly screaming "YOU HATE TEACHERS" if anyone pushes back against the WTU's positions are very, very dumb. Teachers are entitled to a union that supports their labor rights, but they're not entitled to anyone who has other priorities being demonized because the teachers union is not their moral compass.
PP here and yes, exactly. It's the job of the WTU to advocate for its members. But it's the job of the mayor to advocate for all constituents, not just teachers. Not all DCPS teachers are even DC residents. I don't want the mayor and the teacher's union to be completely unified on school issues, that doesn't make sense. Of course WTU should exist and advocate as it sees fit. I want a voice too, though.
Parents and kids will have zero say in schools if JLG is elected. You can't have a mayor who is backing WTU 100 percent of the time. Sometimes their interests do not align with anyone else's.
If JLG is elected, WTU will demand next year that school ends every Wednesday at noon (early release on Wednesday is a growing and ugly trend). They'll say teachers need time to plan or recharge or whatever. Who will say no to them if not the mayor? JLG will never say no to the union.
This is what I worry about. Parents will be completely cut out and have no say in anything.
It's hard for me to understand why any parent could vote for JLG. You're voting to ensure you have no voice in school related decisions.
Can't wait to see what kind of *insane* demands WTU makes next year if she's elected. It will be a great moment for them to have truly crazy demands.
Unfortunately, this thread has gone off the rails. But I keep coming back to it.
I don’t think the WTU will make insane demands. I think the biggest ask will be to improve IMPACT, and I think if she can do it, it will make DCPS better. Overhauling IMPACT will be an enormous task that requires a lot of care to ensure it’s being replaced with something better.
IMPACT was initially useful for two specific reasons:
One — it helped clear out the worst teachers in DCPS when it was first implemented. But for the most part, that had already happened through RIFs.
Two — it helped change the culture to one of extremely high expectations for DCPS teachers. If you want to teach in DCPS you have to be a very hard worker.
However, IMPACT has probably reached its limit for how much it will improve schools. We don’t need it to keep a culture of high expectations. It is a distraction from other things that are not working. And for every terrible teacher that it drives out (that could also be driven out with a better evaluation system), it is also drives out talented people who would rather find a new school system or even a new career than play the IMPACT game every year.
I also think the most
ardent pro-charter people on this thread should honestly be pleased that Lewis George is talking about improving IMPACT. That will take considerable time, effort and political capital, meaning it will leave very little time for meddling with charters. And here is what anyone who is honest and knows the landscape knows about charters: maybe one-third of charters are either very good or at least comparable to the average DCPS (most of those are the ones mentioned on this forum and then a few others); the other two-thirds range from barely mediocre to significant messes, with some bordering on total incompetency and wastes of taxpayer dollars. It’s a compromise that DC has made over the past thirty years — we get some truly excellent charter schools but it means we also fund and allow kids to go to some very, very questionable charter schools. This is why DCPS now routinely outperforms the charter sector on just about every standardized test. One day we will have to grapple with that fact, but many posts on this thread are good examples of what happens when a politician even says the word charter — people go crazy and accuse you of hating all charter schools.
My shorter take is this: I think it’s good that Lewis George wants to improve IMPACT. I think it’s even better she talks about truancy and middle schools as needing attention. I really don’t think she will be a puppet of the WTU. And I think the charter panic happening in this thread is way over the top.
I’m ranking Lewis George #1 and Rini #2
Just to speak from this perspective... so our child is currently at BASIS and loving it and learning a ton, and I have no doubt he will be well prepared to succeed in college. He getting a very rigorous STEM education and can compete on the debate team and is being supported by a system that gets kids all the way through 12th and into very, very good colleges.
If we didn't have that charter school, he would be at Cardozo High School.
Those are the options. Is there any doubt in my mind that his life path would be dramatically different if he had to go through Cardozo instead of BASIS?
So that's why charter parents feel nervous about voting for a mayor who doesn't like charters. I personally will not be ranking here, and will hold my nose and vote for McDuffie.
But where is this idea that she doesn’t like charters even coming from? I honestly hadn’t heard that except people on this thread saying it.
Also, even if someone did hate charters, schools like BASIS would be the last place they’d be looking to make changes! The first place would be the plethora of charter schools that are terrible. I think we should normalize being pro-charter but also willing to question if all charters are the best use of taxpayer dollars.
Here is every instance that she mentions charters in her WTU questionaire. I don't see any love here:
The vast majority of mid-year mobility flows into our high-need DCPS schools, often from
charter schools after Count Day. The current system of funding DCPS based on its projected
October enrollment and charter schools based on their actual October enrollment provides too
much incentive for charter schools to push students out.
I believe that if charter schools want to be funded like DCPS, they should adhere to the same
transparency requirements as the traditional public schools system.
Parents with children in charter schools often ask me for help as a Councilmember and it can be difficult to support them
in our current system.
Please address your thoughts and philosophy on what a “strong” school is, and decisions
around opening and closing schools in both DCPS and DCPCS, including a moratorium on
charter openings.
● Include a description of what the process would look like.
Planning for strong DC public schools as a system does not seem to be a priority with current
leadership. We cannot simply rely on market forces or parents’ willingness to move mountains to
get their kids into better performing schools far from home. A strong neighborhood public school
system requires thoughtful investment and support. Strong schools offer students a full education:
not only reading and math, but also science, social studies, arts, music and vocational offerings.
Strong schools have activities like sports and clubs that draw students in and keep them showing
up every day. We need thoughtful, coordinated planning cross-sector but also within DCPS about
what’s needed and a commitment that extra resources will be provided long-term.
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