This year's Ready Schools Project contained a special supplement on high schools covering the transition of all 9th graders from junior highs to high schools, and the budgeting and assignment of school counselors.  The supplement was developed in partnership with The Senior High Alliance for Principals, Presidents, and Educators (SHAPPE), the Middle Grades Group of Parents United, and the Youth Education Alliance (YEA).  The release of the high school supplement will be hosted by SHAPPE and held on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 6:30 pm at Cardozo High School (13th & Clifton, NW).   Please join us to hear what the RSP community auditors learned about these important high school issues!

          PEN Symposium with DC VOICE and Chancellor Rhee  

DC VOICE was one of two non-profit organizations that joined Chancellor Michelle Rhee at the Public Education Network's annual conference this month to present before a national audience on school reform.  The Public Education Network (PEN) is a national association of local education funds and individuals working to advance public school reform in low-income communities across the country.  At the conference, Michelle Rhee spoke about a number of challenges, including that of confronting bureaucracy when attempting to initiate education reform.  She told the story of one of the district's lawyers coming to her to say, "You've got to stop firing people...we have to follow due process."  Rhee responded that there is no due process for children when they lose a year of their education sitting in the class of an ineffective teacher.  There, DC VOICE, reported on the community's role and its involvement in improving public education including this year's Ready Schools Project in which 191 volunteers from all 8 wards of the city conducted a community audit of 137 DC public schools in 24 days.  Given the success of the project, various communities, such as Atlanta, Newark, and New Orleans are considering launching their own Ready Schools Project in 2008.