Is ANC 4C going through the motions or will they actually take community input? (Community Opinion)

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Is ANC 4C going through the motions or will they actually take community input? (Community Opinion)

A Community-Submitted Opinion Article
Today, after significant pleading from a long standing community resident, three ANC commissioners released the draft resolution.  While I am grateful that the ANC Commissioners finally heeded the advice of community members to be more transparent, the proposal continues to fall short and does not sincerely address the concerns of those most impacted by the DDOT proposal.

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DCPS Term 3: In-person learning starts with equity and transparency questions

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DCPS Term 3: In-person learning starts with equity and transparency questions

After a false start on February 1st due to snow, DC Public Schools starts Term 3 with some in-person learning at most elementary schools this week. After months of trying to reopen schools, city leaders have allowed each school through their Reopen Community Corps to develop their own plans. As a result some schools in upper northwest are bringing back a large percentage of their students, such as Key Elementary bringing back 75% of their students.

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Update: DCPS plans for 15,000 students to return to schools in Term 3

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Update: DCPS plans for 15,000 students to return to schools in Term 3

On Wednesday, January 13th, DCPS resumed their town halls to discuss reopening for Term 3. Dr. Lewis Ferebee, DCPS Chancellor, kicked off the meeting by going through the four models that Reopen Community Corps reviewed.

Due to the brief opportunity for questions, Petworth News followed up with DCPS to additional clarity on several questions.

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DCPS survey shows parents split between in-person or virtual learning as Term 3 approaches

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DCPS survey shows parents split between in-person or virtual learning as Term 3 approaches

DC Public Schools Term 3 plans are to be announced on Wednesday, January 13,2020.

Initial reports indicate that each elementary school is taking a very different approach: some are going with a hybrid mode (2 days in-person, 2 days virtual) to offer as many families as possible an opportunity to have in-person learning, whereas others are targeting just specific grades for in-person learning and running a lottery for those seats.

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DCPS opens CARE classrooms in Petworth as Reopen Corps start planning for Term 3 and 4

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DCPS opens CARE classrooms in Petworth as Reopen Corps start planning for Term 3 and 4

DC Public Schools has turned their attention to opening CARES classrooms for elementary students this month for Term 2, and is planning for reopening for Terms 3 and 4. DCPS made the announcement that Term 2 would remain virtual after significant pushback from teachers and parents about the reopening plans. The soon-to-open CARES classrooms will allow the most at-risk children to get support for their virtual learning at school with teachers and other adults in safer school environments than before.

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Washington Teachers Union calls for a “Mental Health Day” on Monday, November 2nd

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Washington Teachers Union calls for a “Mental Health Day” on Monday, November 2nd

As Petworth News reported at the beginning of October, a major concern with DC Public School’s reopening plan was whether the teachers would come back to teach in person. In recent weeks it has become increasingly apparent that they will not. The Washington Teacher’s Union has called for a “Mental Health Day” for its members in protest of the DCPS re-opening plans. This is effectively a “sick out,” where teacher’s call in sick.

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DCPS and DC Health say “Layers of Protection” to keep elementary students safe for in-person learning

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DCPS and DC Health say “Layers of Protection” to keep elementary students safe for in-person learning

On Wednesday night, October 14th, DCPS and DC Health held a second in a series of webinars and conference calls to prepare parents for the gradual re-opening of DCPS Elementary schools on November 9th. Dr. Ferebee, Chancellor of DCPS, kicked off the evening outlining the plan for re-opening. He emphasized again that virtual learning is not working for all students, especially children facing homelessness, English language learners and those children deemed at high-risk. At this point in the year, going to a hybrid model for the second term would be more disruptive than a five a day week approach. This gives those students with the greatest likelihood of opportunity gaps more time for learning.

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DC Public Schools are set to slowly reopen: here’s what you need to know

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DC Public Schools are set to slowly reopen: here’s what you need to know

Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled an ambitious reopening plan for DC Public Elementary Schools on Monday, October 5th. Chancellor Lewis Ferebee followed up with a live town hall to walk through the details on Tuesday night. Here’s what we know, so far…

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Can DCPS close the digital equity gap? (take a survey on your experiences)

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Can DCPS close the digital equity gap? (take a survey on your experiences)

Digital Equity in DC Education (Digital Equity DC), a coalition of DCPS parents from all 8 wards, is asking for parent feedback on how DCPS-issued devices and learning platforms are performing. Petworth News spoke with Grace Hu and Alexandra Simbana from Digital Equity DC about why they are putting together the survey, and how you can help.

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Parents jump into virtual learning, saying they're committed to the process

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Parents jump into virtual learning, saying they're committed to the process

With the demands of health and safety during the Covid pandemic, DC public schools decided to go completely virtual for the first half of the 2020 school year. Words like “unprecedented” and “unconventional” don’t begin to describe the work families are having to do to ensure their children are getting the education they need.

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Ready, Set, Login: August 31st starts the 2020 school year (take a survey!)

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Ready, Set, Login: August 31st starts the 2020 school year (take a survey!)

The great “virtual learning experiment” starts for DC Public Schools as well as some Charters on August 31st (September 3rd for pre-K). If you are a parent like me, you have been exploring multiple options to try to get through this first quarter, and some of those plans may have fallen apart quickly. In the end, we all are hoping that the option we landed on will work out.

Let’s take a look at some of the options that parents have come up with to manage the start of the school year, and give you the option of taking a quick survey.

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