Reply to Is Real Change Even Possible?

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Reply to "Is Real Change Even Possible?"

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[quote=Anonymous]Reading through posts here lately, I'm struck by how much frustration there is about DCPS policies. We see it everywhere - the crackdown on principals who don't fall in line (look at what happened at Walls), the way the needs of higher-achieving kids (I mean the top 60%, not just the top 10%) are paid lip-service while the system pretends to focus on struggling students (to little effect), and cookie-cutter approaches that ignore authentic, content-oriented, curiosity-oriented education.

Parent complaints seem to go nowhere. I've sat on an LSAT and watched principals nod politely before doing exactly what central office told them to do anyway. These committees feel like boxes to check rather than places where real input happens. And it makes sense. Principals get evaluated on how well they follow central office directives and keep everyone in line.

Meanwhile, groups like Democrats for Education Reform keep pushing for even more top-down control -- more testing, more administrative oversight, more ways to evaluate and control teachers rather than support them. They view teachers as problems to be managed rather than professionals to be trusted and empowered.

Parents and teachers are natural allies -- we're the ones who spend time with and emotionally invest in kids. But we rarely coordinate effectively outside the limited LSAT structure.

So I'm asking — how do we actually get DCPS to listen? Is there a way to appeal to the Mayor, when she is surrounded by Teach for America types who don’t love community control?

For those who've managed to move the needle on anything, what worked? Are there Council members who are actually effective in shaping DCPS policy in a positive direction? Have any parent groups actually won meaningful changes, or secured a degree of individual school autonomy? Or are we all just spinning our wheels?

I'm willing to put in real time and effort, but I want it to actually matter -- not just be another "community engagement" checkbox for a system that's made up its mind to ignore us.[/quote]

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