Mayor Williams’s School Reform Plan Picks Up Momentum and Supporters
Press release
January 13, 2000

Home

Bibliography

Calendar

Columns
Dorothy Brizill
Bonnie Cain
Jim Dougherty
Gary Imhoff
Phil Mendelson
Mark David Richards
Sandra Seegars

DCPSWatch

DCWatch Archives
Council Period 12
Council Period 13
Council Period 14
Election 1998
Election 2000
Election 2002

Elections
Election 2004
Election 2006

Government and People
ANC's
Anacostia Waterfront Corporation
Auditor
Boards and Com
BusRegRefCom
Campaign Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Management Officer
City Council
Congress
Control Board
Corporation Counsel
Courts
DC2000
DC Agenda
Elections and Ethics
Fire Department
FOI Officers
Inspector General
Health
Housing and Community Dev.
Human Services
Legislation
Mayor's Office
Mental Health
Motor Vehicles
Neighborhood Action
National Capital Revitalization Corp.
Planning and Econ. Dev.
Planning, Office of
Police Department
Property Management
Public Advocate
Public Libraries
Public Schools
Public Service Commission
Public Works
Regional Mobility Panel
Sports and Entertainment Com.
Taxi Commission
Telephone Directory
University of DC
Water and Sewer Administration
Youth Rehabilitation Services
Zoning Commission

Issues in DC Politics

Budget issues
DC Flag
DC General, PBC
Gun issues
Health issues
Housing initiatives
Mayor’s mansion
Public Benefit Corporation
Regional Mobility
Reservation 13
Tax Rev Comm
Term limits repeal
Voting rights, statehood
Williams’s Fundraising Scandals

Links

Organizations
Appleseed Center
Cardozo Shaw Neigh.Assoc.
Committee of 100
Fed of Citizens Assocs
League of Women Voters
Parents United
Shaw Coalition

Photos

Search

What Is DCWatch?

themail archives

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

MAYOR WILLIAMS' SCHOOL REFORM PLAN PICKS UP MOMENTUM AND SUPPORTERS
Greater Washington Board of Trade Adds Support Of Business Community

(Washington, D.C.) Today, Mayor Anthony A. Williams welcomed the support of the Greater Washington Board of Trade for his bold plan to fix District of Columbia Public Schools and assure quality education for District students.

"Now that the Board of Trade has joined the D.C. Chamber of Commerce in endorsing the proposal, there's a real sense that the momentum is going our way," said Mayor Williams. "Parents, educators, activists, and other concerned citizens are coming together around an agenda of reform — reform that will stop the finger-pointing and make the mayor clearly accountable for improving our schools. If residents continue to voice their concerns to the Council, I'm optimistic that we will get legislation that brings accountability to our school system."

Of the Board of Trade endorsement, Williams said: "It's no accident this reform initiative is drawing support from the business community. Improving our school system is absolutely critical to continuing economic growth and making the District a business-friendly city. If there is one single thing we can do to prevent another exodus of businesses and families from the city, it's fix the schools."

Williams and others have criticized the existing system — under which seven separate entities share responsibility for schools — for lending itself to finger pointing and buck-passing. This new system, modeled after successful efforts in Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and other cities, would make the Mayor and the Council clearly accountable for fixing the schools. If approved in a citywide referendum, the proposal would create an appointed school board and an appointed superintendent, who would serve as a member of the Mayor's Cabinet.

A list of prominent citizens who have endorsed the proposal is attached.

Supporters of the Mayor's Plan to Fix D.C. Public Schools

• Rod Boggs, Executive Director, Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights
• Maudine Cooper, President, Greater Washington Urban League
• George Ferris, Federal City Council
• Sam Foster, Executive Director and Founder, Concerned Citizens on Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Duane Gautier, Executive Director, Action to Rehabilitate Community Housing
• James 0. Gibson, President, D.C. Agenda
• Albert "Butch" Hopkins, President/CEO, Anacostia Economic Development Corporation
• Angela Jones, Director, DC Action for Children
• Ronald King, Chairman, ANC 6C
• Joyce Ladner, Senior Scholar, Brookings Institution, and former Interim President, Howard University
• Mary Levy, former co-chair, Parents United
• Bill Lightfoot, former at-large Councilmember
• Elizabeth Lisboa, President, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce
• Rev. Anthony J. Motley, Redemption Ministry
• Glenda Partee, parent and former Co-chair, Parents United
• John Payton, former Corporation Counsel
• John Pfeiffer, attorney and former Co-chair, Parents United
• John Ray, former at-large Councilmember
• Lloyd Smith, former President, Marshall Heights Community Development Corporation
• Rev. Frank D. Tucker, Pastor, First Baptist Church and Chairman, Church Association for Community Services
• John Tydings, Greater Washington Board of Trade
• Bethann West, Executive Director, Advocates for Justice and Education
• Roger Wilkins, Professor of History and American Culture, George Mason University; former member, U.D.C. Board of Trustees; and former U.S. Assistant Attorney General