DCUM Weblog

As reported by Lisa Gartner in the Washington Examiner, Ward 3 Council Member Mary Cheh is drafting a proposal to open a new middle school in her ward. This is a terrible idea that would only exacerbate inequities within DCPS and provoke further division within the City. It would politicize the building of schools, turning institutions of learning into political spoils.

The article states that the school would relieve overcrowding at Alice Deal Middle School -- the Ward 3 middle school that is generally considered to be the best public middle school in the city. However, a closer reading reveals that the school is actually aimed at replacing Hardy Middle School. Hardy has been a source of controversy that may well have contributed to the defeat of former Mayor Adrian Fenty. After former DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee held private meetings with Key Elementary School parents (Key feeds into Hardy), Rhee removed Hardy's long-serving principal Patrick Pope. Pope was very popular with current Hardy families -- many of whom were out-of-bounds -- but disliked by many inbounds families. This fueled allegations that Rhee was attempting to rid the school of out-of-bounds, mostly black, students in favor of inbounds, mostly white, students. The resulting controversy has plagued Hardy ever since and the school has failed to develop to a level acceptable to most inbounds families. Indeed, many current families say the school has gotten worse.

In 2001, I set up a mailing list to be used by my wife, Maria, and a friend of hers for something they were calling "DC Urban Moms". That inauspicious undertaking spawned a hobby of administering and growing both the mailing list and the associated website. For a decade, DCUM has been a side project. It has been something we did in our spare time and mostly for fun. Today, that changed.

Two weeks ago Maria turned in her resignation from the job at which she has worked for the past five years. Today was her last day. She made this move when the two of us could no longer deny that DCUM had outgrown it status of "hobby". Several years ago, the mailing list stabilized at approximately 8,000 subscribers. Members come and members go, but the number of subscribers stays roughly the same. The website, however, has grown massively. Today, a half million people visit DCUM each month. Nearly half of those are return visitors and somewhere in the vicinity of 30% are daily users.

There is a thread in the off-topic forum on this website titled "Best novel you have ever read". Its 16 pages are full of book titles and authors' names. Many classics were mentioned, but there is also plenty of less famous contemporary literature. DCUMs like to read serious dramatic works including mystery, sci-fy, and light "beach reading". It is a fascinating collection of titles and, like many, I'm tempted to go out and get the majority of these books. I think I'm set with this year's reading list. But, I was still curious about which title was mentioned the most. The top vote getter was  "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving with 17 mentions. The next was "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry with 11 votes and third place goes to "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez with 6 votes. The full list ordered by popularity is here.

Earlier this week I found myself on a suburban highway during evening rush hour -- an unusual experience for me. Apparently as a result of a car accident, traffic was at a complete standstill. Cars were bumper to bumper, not moving an inch. Then, suddenly, two black SUVs with flashing light bars on top came careening by on the shoulder. I've seen enough of these trucks to know they were not emergency vehicles rushing to the scene of the accident. Rather, they were delivering a government official -- I am pretty sure I know which one -- to his home. I imagined that official, likely full of feelings of self-importance, must feel nothing but contempt for us plebeians stuck there as he passed by. Once again I was reminded that the black SUV has become one of the most noticeable emblems of power in the District.

This week, interim District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson will apparently be named to permanently fill the position. Henderson may well be the best candidate for the job, but Mayor Vincent C. Gray, the legally-mandated selection panel that has held only one meeting, and the DC Council still should properly examine her qualifications and background. One item that might make for interesting questioning is her role in and goals for EdBuild, a non-profit consulting company founded in 2005 on whose board Henderson served.

In 2007 I wrote about test score data that suggested that claims by Michelle Rhee on her resume concerning test score gains by her students were likely not true. My article went unnoticed until recently when another blogger discovered the same data and managed to get coverage of the issue by the Washington Post. But, there was another topic about which I wrote back then that might be of similar interest. That is the improbable rise and fall of EdBuild.

Mayor Sunshine and Chairman Fully Loaded, you've just been elected to replace two of the most competent local elected officials in recent memory (and one of you was even one of them). What are you going to do now?

Chairman Fully Loaded: We're going to Disney World!

Mayor Sunshine: No, no, Fully Loaded. It might snow while we are there. You'd have to be a Republican from New Jersey to do something that stupid.

CFL: Okay, then, we're buying Navigators. One for you and two for me.

MS: That's more like it. Also, we need to concentrate on jobs. Specifically, jobs for the children of my supporters.

CFL: Black Navigators, with black interiors.

MS: We also need to cut the budget. We will do that by paying my appointees a lot more than the former mayor paid those he appointed to the same positions. We'll save a bunch that way.

While this may be stepping a bit further outside the parenting field than I normally do, it is an issue that affects all DC families. Moreover, what good is a megaphone if you don't use it? To cut to the chase, DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown must resign.

As reported by the Washington Post's Mike Debonis, as Chairman-elect, Brown requested that the City provide him a "Fully Loaded" 2011 Lincoln Navigator L with a black exterior and black interior. A Navigator was procured at a leased cost of $1,769 per month. However, Brown rejected the truck due to its gray interior and lack of a rear entertainment system.

A second Navigator L was then obtained, this one including the rear entertainment system, at a monthly lease cost of $1,963. This one also lacked the required black interior, but did include other options such as a GPS, power moonroof, and 20-inch polished aluminum wheels. The city remained on the hook for the original Navigator, so Brown's leases are now costing taxpayers $3,732 a month. Meanwhile, Brown's purview as Council Chair includes cutting DC's budget to account for a $400 million shortfall.

On February 8th, Jay Mathews -- Washington Post educational columnist and author of the Post's "Class Struggle" blog -- posted a blog article titled "Michelle Rhee's early test scores challenged." Mathews described how local education blogger G.F. Brandenburg had written an article casting doubt on claims by Michelle Rhee to have dramatically raised test scores of her students at Baltimore's Harlem Park Elementary School. Mathews wrote, "He has found the missing test score data from former D.C. schools chancellor's early years as a classroom teacher, something I did not think was possible." Not only did I know that it was possible, I had unearthed the same data and written about it 3 1/2 years ago.

Today's Washington Post describes how children have been racking up unexpected charges on their parents' iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. "Over the winter break from school, 8-year-old Madison worked to dress up her simple mushroom home on the iPhone game Smurfs' Village. In doing so, she also amassed a $1,400 bill from Apple." This is not the first time I've seen stories such as this, so I thought I'd provide some suggestions about how to avoid finding yourself with an unwanted bill.

Many apps in Apple's Appstore are offered for free or at low cost. The programs can then be enhanced by "In-App Purchases." Any purchase through an iOS device -- whether through the Appstore, iTunes, or In-App -- requires entering a password. However, most owners don't realize that after entering a password, it is cached for 15 minutes. Therefore, if you enter your password to buy little Johnny a new application and immediately hand him your iOS device, he has a 15 minute window to wreck havoc on your credit card. Here are some tips for avoiding surprise charges:

This week the Washington City Paper's cover story, titled "Mommy-Fight Club" in the paper version and "The Mommy-Fight Site" online, focused on the frequently contentious atmosphere of the DCUM discussion forums. Kathryn Masterson, who authored the story, is in her final weeks of pregnancy and has been visiting DCUM as both a journalist and an expectant mother. She highlighted some of the not-uncommon flamewars of the forums and addressed issues that lie behind the strong feelings of many posters. Masterson concluded the article by saying that DCUM is making her crazy and she would have to stay away after finishing her article.

Generally I enjoyed the story and appreciated the attention it gained for DCUM. There was one factual error: While I helped set up DCUM in the beginning, I was not a founder and the idea for it was not mine. Otherwise, I found the article to be an accurate and honest portrayal of one woman's experience in our crazy little world. Of course, I would have preferred that her conclusion had been different, and I hope that she will eventually come to see DCUM in a better light.