BRAZIL '98 COMMITTEE
1630 Connecticut Avenue NW, 4th Floor Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-7790 (202) 667-0793 Fax
Contact: Anita Bonds
Campaign Manager
667-7790
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 25, 1998
Mayoral candidate Harold Brazil today announced a six-part plan to
achieve public school excellence and declared that his education proposals will be a
cornerstone of his campaign and his administration as Mayor.
“Bringing our public school system into the ranks of excellence is
the single most important issue facing our city,” Councilmember Brazil asserted at a
news conference at which he released the first of two education position papers. The
second, dealing with public higher education, will be released soon.
“Keeping the budget balanced, reducing crime, creating jobs and
economic growth — all of those issues are important, and I am committed to achieving
and sustaining progress in all of these areas,” he said. “But the hard truth is
that we will never be able to sustain progress in these areas until we get smart and
get serious about achieving excellence in our public schools.”
The Brazil public school excellence plan, to be phased in over a
five-year period, calls for:
- “Better Teachers, Better Principals,” including
incentives for teachers to seek national certification.
- Comprehensive annual evaluations of school performance, based on whether each
school meets goals in several categories, including student test scores, attendance,
dropout rates, the extent of enrichment opportunities that are offered and the level of
student participation, safety and security, and parent involvement.
- Smaller classes. Mr. Brazil said his Mayoral administration “will work to
achieve classes of no more than 20 students in every kindergarten through eighth
grade classroom in the city, whether it’s East of the River or West of the Park. For
kindergarten through third grade, I would like to see even smaller classes, down to 1 5
children, particularly in schools serving disadvantaged neighborhoods.” These are the
class sizes that education studies have shown to be most beneficial in promoting student
achievement.
Mr. Brazil said he will continue to oppose School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s
plan to increase class sizes by one or two students as a budget-cutting measure. He was
one of three Councilmembers who sought to block that plan though legislative action
earlier this year.
- Expanded enrichment opportunities. He said he will forge partnerships with
businesses and non-profit organizations to expand before- and after-school care, tutoring,
mentoring, and recreation programs. Public schools, he said, “must become community
centers of learning, enrichment, and recreation from early morning into the evening hours
and on weekends and all year round.”
- Upgrading the public school system's alternative-school programs for children with
special needs.
- New “Smart School.” Mr. Brazil proposed to halt the sale of surplus
schools and instead use the property to develop new, smaller, “smart schools.”
“Having surplus property provides an opportunity we must use to
develop new schools without disrupting classes through renovation of the old buildings now
in use. As new schools are completed, we can move students out of the old, dilapidated
buildings. And, if we are correct in forecasting an emerging period of growth in our city,
our population will increase, our public school enrollment will increase, and we will need
new schools to house the larger student population,” he said in his position paper.
“I urge the Superintendent to take another look at the surplus
schools now on the market to determine whether some should be withdrawn and held in our
inventory as the sites for 'Smart Schools' of the future,” he continued. “It is
short-sighted to sell now for short-term profit because, ten years down the road, we would
be forced to buy more land at outrageously high prices. We cannot forget that buildable
land is scarce in the District, and sells at premium prices even today and will sell at
far higher prices in the next decade.”
“Smart schools,” he said, “will be schools built with
modern, long-lasting, durable construction materials, equipped with efficient and
cost-effective heating and air conditioning systems and modern security systems, and fully
wired to accommodate 21st Century technology.”
These schools, he continued, “should be small schools — no
more than 500 students — because we can see in our own city that smaller schools are
safer and more conducive to learning, less costly to heat, cool, and maintain, and more
likely to encourage cooperative work and study because the smaller numbers make it easier
for the principal, teachers, and students to get to know one another. I believe smaller
schools also promote more extensive parent involvement, also because the smaller numbers
make it easier for parents to get to know teachers and the principal.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recommends 500
as the maximum for elementary schools. Mr. Brazil added, “I think 500 also makes
sense as a maximum for junior- and senior-high schools, particularly in urban areas where
security must be a major concern.”
Mr. Brazil said he will work cooperatively with the City Council, the
elected School Board, the Superintendent, parent organizations, and District citizens to
build a consensus of support for his plan.
“I recognize that the Mayor has little day-to-day authority over
the operation of the public schools — even less under the present arrangement —
and I do not seek day-to-day control over public school operations. We have an elected
School Board and a School Superintendent who are charged with those day-to-day
duties,” Mr. Brazil stated.
“But I do not buy the argument that the Mayor and Council lack the
authority to influence the schools. To the contrary, there is no question that the Mayor
— who is this city’s chief elected official, elected by popular vote of the
citizens — has enormous influence over the public school budget, and has enormous
leadership influence to rally the Council and the School Board, and rally the people, in
support of public school reform. If I did not believe I could use the authority of the
office to achieve these goals, I would not be running for this office.
“As Mayor, I will lead the campaign to build a public mandate for
this plan With a strong public mandate and the cooperative efforts of all city officials,
I am confident that we can put this plan in place ”
He noted that members of Congress and the Executive Branch have
“talked a good game” about wanting to improve D.C. schools. “If they are
serious about supporting genuine reforms,” he said, “I will offer them an
opportunity to do that and I will work with them and welcome their help — on this
issue and others — in a constructive partnership with local officials and citizens.
“But I will not sit back and let members of Congress or other
federal forces use our schools to experiment with every fad that comes along, or to carry
out some political agenda.”
He continued, “I learned long ago that when your cause is right
and you are willing to fight for it and the people are on your side, the obstacles come
tumbling down. In this campaign and as Mayor, I intend to build and lead the powerful
force of the people to accomplish public school excellence in our city.”
Paid for by the Brazil '98 Committee, John J. Mahoney, Treas. Our
reports are filed with the Director of Campaign Finance |
