DC VOICE
To Inform and Mobilize....
Greetings!
 
There are two things that I wanted you to know about 
 
DC VOICE To Co-Host OSSE Policy Forum
 
This Tuesday, DC VOICE will join DCEC in co-hosting the OSSE Policy Forum from 5:30 to 7:30 at One Judiciary Square.  As DC VOICE prepares to expand our Ready Schools Project and Community Action Research approach in 2008 to reach more elements of the student experience, we are especially pleased to co-host this forum with DCEC and OSSE (formerly the State Education Office) given it's topic - Establishing School Climate for Academic Success. 
Panelists for this forum include:
  • Jonathan Cohen, Center for Social and Emotional Education and Columbia University's Teachers College
  • Darryl Jones, Community In Schools of the Nation's Capital
  • Angela Brown, Office of the State Superintendent of Education
  • De-Lea Deane, Kipp DC and Key Academy

In 2008, DC VOICE will also be conducting youth survey's of school climate affecting student drop out trends in conjunction with Colin Powell's America's Promise Foundation. To RSVP for tomorrow's Policy Forum please email: stephanie.cheng@dc.gov or call 202-724-1398 to reserve your space for this event.

Campaign for Good Information ReportCommunity Groups Release Special Report on School Closings.
As reported in the Washington Post this Saturday Closures Article last week DC VOICE joined nearly a dozen community organizations in authoring a letter to the Mayor, Chancellor and Deputy Mayor advancing a proposal for comprehensive community engagement around the recently announced school closings.  The letter, signed by the DC Congress of PTA's, the Washington Teachers Union and DC VOICE, points out that school closure discussions should include a broader range of topics than simply square footage and building structures.  We requested that 1) school-system budget implications, 2) educational program impact and 3) the equally daunting task of school "restructuring" to meet the Federal No Child Left Behind provisions for failing schools, be presented equally to the public in a setting that includes and objective voice and opportunities for facilitated discussion within the affected community.  Given the lack of response to and inclusion of these requests, DC VOICE has joined with DC ACORN, the DC Congress of PTA's, Fix Our Schools, Parent Watch, Parents United, the Washington Teachers Union and others to produce a special report on the DCPS School Reorganization Plan.  This report, entitled "The Campaign for Good Information," is designed to provide parents, council members and the public with objective information on the four primary areas critical to any discussions on reorganization: school closings, the budget impact, educational programs and No Child Left Behind. This four-page report also lists over 40 questions for community members to ponder and pose as they attend meetings on reorganization and address their representatives.  Hard copies of the report will be available at each of the community meetings on reorganization (full schedule available at www.dcvoice.org
or can be viewed by visiting http://www.dcvoice.org/Good_Information_Report.pdf .You can obtain a copy by calling 986-8535.
 
Please stayed tune to www.dcvoice .org for more information on the city's proposedreorganization plan and other critical issues affecting education in the
District of Columbia.

Jeff Smith
Executive Director
DC VOICE