Anonymous wrote:The problem is for most places the question is Mayor, accountable for many things with education rarely being the voting issue, or actual school board, accountable for it’s education policies specifically. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. But in DC it’s mayor or council, which is equally unaccountable for education, but which also can’t be replaced all at once even in the event on calamitous school policy. Mayoral control may not be ideal, but council control is even worse for many of the same reasons… but also half the council is totally entrenched, corrupt and incompetent. There is just no world in which non-corrupt voters should prefer the council to do anything.

Anonymous wrote:So I would attribute any issue your school has had with DGS to Mayoral control. Inability to respond to specific conditions in specific schools because only the Mayor is accountable and she had no one run against her. Meanwhile she hobnobs with developers and does nothing with the dchools. Mayoral control means DC is run by the DME, Chancellor, OSSE boss, Central Office and the PCSB.

I can feel that some like it that way. To me it’s profoundly undemocratic. Elites choosing for us. I get it. Some of us ARE the elites or like their choices. But I don’t like it.

Anonymous wrote:So, I work in the Federal government and get to watch the garbage policies that get hastily passed based on trying to appease several constituencies. I would not like to see more of this in relation to DC schools.

Anonymous wrote:No one mentioned the Union. Mayoral control has not helped DC students. Look at the surrounding areas in the DMV. All better schools, none with mayoral control.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the study the school board proponents are scared of, showing that the period of mayoral control in DCPS led to education gains: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/impacts-of-school-reforms-in-washington-dc-on-student-achievement

It seems to me that the anti-mayoral control people are against accountability for schools and anything that limits union power. I have yet to hear a coherent, fact-based argument against running schools in the same way all government services are administered- directly by the executive.

That study was refuted here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2021/10/03/is-dc-really-an-education-reform-success-story/amp/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but some things I'm pulling out as I do the reading that OP posted:

"On average, districts under mayoral control also focus on teachers: A greater percentage of their total staff is teachers, producing lower student-to-teacher ratios. Relative to the largest city districts, mayor-led districts have less central office staff and administrators as a percent of their total staff. This prioritization on teaching and learning might be an important factor in contributing to higher student achievement, as discussed below."

"Mayor-controlled districts have seen increases in student achievement
Although other factors are important, the ultimate measure of any change in our education system is whether it improves student learning and achievement. In Boston, Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other cities, mayoral control is associated with just that. Students saw improvements—in some cases significant improvements—on both state assessments and on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test administered nationally to fourth and eighth graders. Looking at the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, for example, the percentage of Bostonian fourth graders proficient in math went from 12 percent to 33 percent—an increase of 21 percentage points—under mayoral control. Similarly, the percentage of fourth graders in Washington, D.C. that were proficient in reading went from 10 percent to 20 percent—an increase of 10 percentage points—after the city moved to mayoral control."

"Some of the most notable gains in achievement were among minority and lower-income students."

Have you looked at the central office budget in DC? Bc you are speaking in general tones about things that are not true here. Teachers are not being given additional benefits or salary due to mayoral control

Teachers have very high salary here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but some things I'm pulling out as I do the reading that OP posted:

"On average, districts under mayoral control also focus on teachers: A greater percentage of their total staff is teachers, producing lower student-to-teacher ratios. Relative to the largest city districts, mayor-led districts have less central office staff and administrators as a percent of their total staff. This prioritization on teaching and learning might be an important factor in contributing to higher student achievement, as discussed below."

"Mayor-controlled districts have seen increases in student achievement
Although other factors are important, the ultimate measure of any change in our education system is whether it improves student learning and achievement. In Boston, Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other cities, mayoral control is associated with just that. Students saw improvements—in some cases significant improvements—on both state assessments and on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test administered nationally to fourth and eighth graders. Looking at the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, for example, the percentage of Bostonian fourth graders proficient in math went from 12 percent to 33 percent—an increase of 21 percentage points—under mayoral control. Similarly, the percentage of fourth graders in Washington, D.C. that were proficient in reading went from 10 percent to 20 percent—an increase of 10 percentage points—after the city moved to mayoral control."

"Some of the most notable gains in achievement were among minority and lower-income students."

Have you looked at the central office budget in DC? Bc you are speaking in general tones about things that are not true here. Teachers are not being given additional benefits or salary due to mayoral control

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the study the school board proponents are scared of, showing that the period of mayoral control in DCPS led to education gains: https://www.mathematica.org/publications/impacts-of-school-reforms-in-washington-dc-on-student-achievement

It seems to me that the anti-mayoral control people are against accountability for schools and anything that limits union power. I have yet to hear a coherent, fact-based argument against running schools in the same way all government services are administered- directly by the executive.

Anonymous wrote:Whew, the fear in this thread. For the first time I’m optimistic that mayoral control could be on the way out. Fingers crossed.