Mayor Adrian Fenty, Chancellor Michelle Rhee, Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso
Press release: new school initiatives to renew, revitalize, and reorganize DCPS
November 28, 2007

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Government of the District of Columbia
Executive Office of the Mayor

Fenty, Rhee, Reinoso Introduce New School Initiatives to Renew, Revitalize and Reorganize DCPS

Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso announced a proposal to overhaul the city’s poor performing public schools by delivering new, innovative programs to stimulate and boost academic achievement across the school system. The introduction of new programs will align with DCPS’s efforts to right-size the school system ensuring that all resources are focused on supporting academic programs while eliminating excess space.

“We have the resources to offer our students the best programs and services, but we aren’t utilizing those resources as effectively as we should be,” said Fenty. “Our children and parents deserve to have every opportunity to succeed and this proposal lays the groundwork for that.”

RENEW. Academic Programs

Academic success will remain at the forefront of all proposed initiatives. The school system will offer a variety of high-quality programs that provide exciting educational options found in the highest-performing school districts across the nation.

The school system will begin to create and expand the following academic program options for implementation during the 2008/2009 school year:

• Early Childhood
  There is a critical need to increase the quantity and quality of programs for children three- to four-years old. The school system is considering expanding the use of the renowned Reggio Emilia approach—already successfully utilized in one DCPS school—in other schools.  In the Reggio model, teachers follow students’ interests and view children as competent, resourceful, and curious.
• Inclusive and Integrated Special Education
  DCPS will take steps to better serve special needs students in inclusive settings. The school system is examining the development of lab schools that model instructional excellence and serve as professional development centers to improve teacher practice.  Through increasing these high quality options within the District, DCPS aims to decrease dependence on non-public schools for special needs students.
• Gifted and Talented
  There is a critical need for increased gifted and talented programming at the middle school level. Such programs will serve as both neighborhood and magnet schools, drawing students from across the city and providing a more rigorous option at the middle school level that is currently lacking in the system.
• Fine Arts
  The school system will increase the number of early intensive fine arts programs to leverage and enhance creative studies, including partnering with DC’s Fillmore Arts Center - a national innovator in arts education. This program is a rich mix of dance, creative writing, drama, visual, music, and computer arts. Whether or not they attend a fine-arts focused program, all District students will receive fine arts instruction in neighborhood schools.
• High-Tech Campuses
  The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) will partner with DCPS to create technology centers that mirror McKinley High School’s technology initiatives. The program uses technology as a fundamental part of classroom instruction.

Proposed Academic Programs & School Locations

“This initiative will ensure that our schools offer enhanced comprehensive educational programs like successful school districts across the country,” said Chancellor Rhee. “Our kids deserve a variety of high-quality curricula to prepare them for a broad range of career and education options. We owe them that.”

REVITALIZE. School Staffing Models
Each school, regardless of its specialized academic program, will have a comprehensive staffing plan. Plans will differ by school because of varying student enrollment and grade level, and will be phased in accordingly.  The comprehensive staffing models will generally include:

Academic Support
This model will provide schools with an onsite:

• Media Specialist
• Guidance Counselor (s)
• Reading Specialist (ES) Literacy Coach (MS)
• Math Coach (ES and MS)
• Instructional Assistant Principal

Wellness Support
This model provides schools with an onsite:

• Social Worker (non-special ed)
• Psychologist (non-special ed)
• Nurse
• Behavior Counselor & In-school Suspension Facilitator (MS and HS)
• Dean of Students (MS and HS)

Enrichment Support
This model includes staff for:

• Visual Arts classes
• Music classes
• Health & Life Skills classes (MS and HS)
• Physical Education
• Before & Aftercare programs

Administrative and Facility Support
This model ensures that schools have a:

• Principal
• Business Manager
• IT Support (MS and HS)
• Registrar (MS and HS)
• Custodian and Custodian Foreman

“A tremendous amount of work and study has gone into this process, but it will be critical to get community input to bring the full plan together,” said Deputy Mayor Reinoso. “My office has already begun planning those meetings and we look forward from hearing from the community on how to strengthen these programmatic initiatives.”

REORGANIZE. Use of School Resources

Because many of the District’s public schools are under-enrolled, the school system is unable to provide a comprehensive program at every school, shortchanging too many of our students on their education.  By rightsizing the school system, DCPS will gain capacity to offer students rich, quality educational opportunities across the city.  By more efficiently utilizing existing resources, the District will have the ability to ensure that resources and investments have the greatest impact on increasing student achievement.

As part of the rightsizing process, great consideration will be given to ensure that programs at the schools receiving additional students are staffed and resourced appropriately. Additional professional development and training will be provided at schools with new programs and grade configurations.  School attendance boundaries will be carefully reviewed and updated to reflect a logical feeder pattern from elementary through high school.  Facilities repairs and renovations will be prioritized to support the reorganization strategy.

Consistent grade configurations within feeder patterns will ease transitions between school levels and improve curriculum articulation throughout the grade progression.  There will be two standard grade configurations, with all schools within a feeder pattern sharing the same configuration (PK-8 or PK-5 and 6-8).  In some cases, single schools will be organized around multiple campuses, similar to the Capitol Hill Cluster model.

Proposed School Reorganization and Rightsizing

RENEW. REVITALIZE. REORGANIZE.
Over the next two years, the administration will engage in the renewal, revitalization and reorganization of the current DCPS academic structure. This measure is a three-pronged effort that will incorporate high quality programs that support academic achievement, new comprehensive staffing models and strategic use of school resources.

Community Involvement

Over the next several weeks, the administration will engage the public in community meetings throughout the District to discuss the proposed new academic school plan and dialogue with residents.  Below are the dates of the community meetings with locations TBD.