Sorry - forgot to sign in before posting. I'm the reporter who wrote the above comment.

I've had a chance to talk to some parents disappointed with the lottery results, Now I'm hoping to talk to families happy with the lottery results they got this morning. Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com.

I'm a reporter at ABC7 News. I'd like to talk to parents nervous about what the waitlist numbers mean for their HS child. What options are you looking at if you don't get in? Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Time to move to MD or VA. That is ok. I think better in the long run. I just won’t let my kids attend a school where most kids are not on grade level just so we can enjoy urban life.

I'm a reporter with ABC7 News. I'd like to talk to you about the decisions you face as a parent looking to your child's education. Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NathanBacaABC7 wrote:We'd like to talk to parents disappointed with the lottery results and thinking about the next step for their children's education. Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com. We're hoping to interview some parents at home or work by this afternoon.

Why not speak to parents who are happy as well? #bias

How is that biased? The parents who are gnashing their teeth and vowing to take their tax dollars to the suburbs make for a better story.

Show the contrast. That's the story of today, the disparate outcomes.

Excellent point - I just know from past experience it's going to be a bit more challenging to find families negatively affected by today's lottery results to be willing to talk. I need to reach out to them first. I'd love to talk to families that received good news this morning after I find a family willing to talk about their next education options.

Again, that email is ndbaca@sbgtv.com if anybody wants to chat.

I'm looking to talk to parents disappointed with the MySchoolDC lottery results first thing today because they are the ones that may have to make difficult life decisions soon for their children: private school, move, neighborhood school. If you're free for a quick 10 minute interview at your home or work, please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com. I'd like to talk to parents who got their top picks too - but I'm needing to find families scrambling to find options first. Thanks!

I'm looking to talk to parents disappointed with the MySchoolDC lottery results first because they are the ones that may have to make difficult life decisions today for their children: private school, move, neighborhood school -- Those that got their top picks will likely enjoy a relaxing Friday.

We'd like to talk to parents disappointed with the lottery results and thinking about the next step for their children's education. Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com. We're hoping to interview some parents at home or work by this afternoon.

http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/faking-the-grade-dcps-gave-out-8-million-in-bonuses-despite-grade-inflation


WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Data exclusively obtained by the ABC7 I-Team show DCPS gave a total of $8,755,975 in IMPACTplus bonuses to teachers and administrators since 2014.

An Office of State Superintendent-commissioned audit, states an average of 34 percent of students graduated last year in violation of DCPS attendance policy requiring students to be present. As first reported by the I-Team last week, only 42 percent of high school seniors are currently “on track” to graduate this year.

Three schools graduated a majority of their high school seniors in violation of attendance policy, yet still handed out large bonuses since 2014:
- Anacostia High School: $651,000
- Ballou High School: $569,000
- Luke Moore High School: $134,000
Teachers are eligible for up to $25,000 annual bonuses under the IMPACTplus system. Eligibility depends on their ability to increase student grades. An investigation by the ABC7 I-Team and the State Superintendent indicated student received grades that should have been impossible to achieve based on exceeding the allowed amount of absences.

When asked in January about the bonuses, State Superintendent Hanseul Kang replied in reference to their audit, “The scope of the investigation did not allow for looking into every single teacher's records, but they [auditing firm Marsal & Alvarez] did not find any pattern or any broad indication that teachers received bonuses based on the policy violations.”
However, an ABC7 I-Team analysis of the numbers indicates that schools with higher percentages of graduating students in violation of the attendance policy did receive more bonus money than those which had lower percentages of passing students in violation of attendance policy.
The DC Attorney General’s Office says they are looking into whether they would possibly be involved in any effort to recover bonus payments. Questions to the Office of the DC Mayor, State Superintendent and Washington Teachers Union remain unanswered.

https://www.scribd.com/document/373044268/IMPACTplus-Bonuses#from_embed

Anonymous wrote:The article does not identify any person from Central Office (other than Kaya Henderson, who it says was at the meeting) who was pressuring principals to pass and graduate students. Does the recording identify any persons other than Henderson who were applying the pressure?

Only by title - and not by name. Multiple people held the title at the time, so I felt it unfair to add names without certainty.

Anonymous wrote:This is happening in Montgomery County too. I personally know of 2 cases where the kids where graduated despite never going to school and failing classes.

Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com. You can remain anonymous.

Anonymous wrote:Congressional oversight is definitely not the answer.

Members of Congress rightly care about their own constituents, not DC. The only time they mess in DC things is when they have some pilot project to try out that they can't get support for back home.

Here's a question for the reporter. Are there ANY urban school districts, with demographics roughly equivalent to DCPS, that are succeeding in both 1) raising achievement among poor students and 2) increasing graduation rates.

Let's find someplace that has done it -- if there is one -- and emulate it.

That is a good question and one I do not yet have an answer for. I need to find out. If you hear of any school districts you believe may fit that bill, let me know. I've previously looked into Columbus Ohio Schools and Clark County School District in Las Vegas. Both had their share of problems that many would not like to emulate.

Anonymous wrote:I think many current and former DCPS teachers all have secret recordings they might be willing to share with certain assurances. I have one.

Please email me at ndbaca@sbgtv.com. You can remain anonymous. Please provide as many details about the place/time/people involved.

I'm the reporter that aired the story on the Roosevelt STAY recordings. I'll try and answer any questions you have.

I'm the reporter that aired this story Monday night on ABC7. It's from November 2015, when the then-principal of Roosevelt STAY High School, Eugenia Young (now at Eliot-Hine MS) meets with her teachers to discuss pressure she was getting from then-Chancellor Kaya Henderson to pass and promote students. The ideas the principal came up with were violations of DC student attendance law. We've heard teachers talking about this for months - this is the first time I've come across a recording where you hear the principal talking to teachers this way.

http://wjla.com/features/faking-the-grade/faking-the-grade-secret-recording-exposes-teacher-pressure-to-pass-and-promote-students