School Daze

Dear Dazed:

Over the next month, it is likely that government officials will look at the mess that we have made of our city’s public schools and find a way to make it worse. The experiment with a half-appointed, half-elected Board of Education has not improved either the functioning of the Board or the education of our city’s children, and in the intervening years neither the mayor nor the city council’s Committee on Education has stepped up to provide the involvement and accountability that they promised the citizens when we narrowly voted to approve the Home Rule Charter amendment. But now the council and the mayor are essentially free to do whatever they wish with the board — retain the current unworkable structure, restore an all-elected board, eliminate public control by creating an all appointed board, or even remove all power and responsibility from the board.

The Board of Education has demonstrated its incompetence for decades; the problem is that the city council has less ability than the board to improve our educational system, and this mayor has even less ability and interest than the city council. Since announcing his intent to seize power over the schools several months ago, Mayor Williams has done nothing to discuss his plans with or get input from councilmembers, much less from parents or the public. The public, of course, will be the last to know and, as usual, will hear about whatever takeover plans the mayor has only after it is too late to have any meaningful impact on them. At least with a Board of Education, however incompetent and unresponsive it may be, there are some elected public officials whose primary responsibility is the education of our children. What we are likely to end up with is a further diminution or even elimination of citizen control over public education, and the public schools falling into the hands of officials — and the mayor’s friends in the business community — who will give them the same care and attention that they gave to our city’s public hospital, and with the same result.

On DCPSWatch.com, the companion web site to DCWatch that publishes materials about DC’s public education system, we have posted the report that the Council of Great City Schools released about DC’s school system (http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/0312.htm). What is important about this report is not any one of its specific findings or recommendations, but the fact that it is about education, about what happens in classrooms between teachers and students, and not about power and control and political structure. After three decades of home rule, we are stuck with a mayor and council and even a Board of Education whose attention and interest is focused almost solely on power and control and political structure, to whom education is a secondary and minor concern.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Presidential Primary Comparison
David J. Bardin, DavidBardin@aol.com

Does anyone know how participation in Iowa's Presidential caucuses compares with participation in DC's presidential primaries? It would be interesting to understand, both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages of registered party members who elect to participate. The last three presidential election cycles had enough variety (in one or both of the major parties) to make for an interesting comparison. (Keep in mind that even though DC's primaries have come so late in the past that registered voters might lose interest, at least there is a full day's opportunity to vote. The Iowa caucuses, in contrast, have a short window of opportunity, at night, when it is harder to come out.)

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Request to DCPS School Officials to Correct Misinformation
Erich Martel, ehmartel at starpower dot net

The “agreed-upon procedures” review conducted by Gardiner Kamya & Associates, P.C. (GKA) [http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/030922b.htm] was instituted by Superintendent Vance after receiving my reports that fifteen prospective graduates in the class of 2002 had not met DCMR-mandated graduation requirements. DCPS officials contested my reports, claiming variously that twelve, thirteen, or all fifteen had properly graduated (those claims and their alleged sources of documentation are listed chronologically, below). The DCPS contract with GKA was not an audit, but an “agreed-upon procedures” review, in which the client (DCPS) described the categories of documents to be examined and procedures for selecting staff members to be interviewed. Despite that limitation, GKA reported the following findings in its review of the records of the 15 Class of 2002 Wilson H.S. Students: “Our test of the records with respect to the fifteen students selected by the DCPS from the 2002 graduating class of Wilson High School revealed that 12 of the students did not meet the DCPS academic requirements prior to graduation” (p. 4).

Dr. Fairfax's statement at the DCPS press conference that "all of those students had met graduation requirements" and Dr. Boyd's news release [http://www.dcpswatch.com/dcps/031209B.htm] that fails to mention the GKA findings are, as this report shows, highly improper. The purpose of the December 9th press conference and news release was to release to the public the "agreed-upon procedures" review of the accuracy of samples of student academic records in the sixteen high schools/sites and the "agreed-upon procedures" review of the records of fifteen Class of 2002 students of Woodrow Wilson High School. The report is a public document containing information relevant to the educational mission of the D.C. Public Schools, which the public has a right to know. The DCPS web site is an official bulletin board of the DC Public Schools. Employees assigned to post information and documents to the web site may not post information that is misleading or false or with excisions representing their private opinions. [The full letter is at http://www.dcpswatch.com/martel/031228.htm.]

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Dog Abuse and E-mail Addresses
Bob Levine, rilevine@cpcug.org

Since about noon, two dogs have been barking from the rear of 1605 Suters Lane, NW. This is a terrible way to treat animals in this cold weather and of course in our user-friendly city I could get no one to investigate animal abuse on a Sunday. It’s now after sundown and the dogs are still barking, no one is caring for them, and no one from the city is investigating a clear cut case of animal abuse. I guess we’ll just have to wait for them to die and start to smell for quite a long time before the city does anything.

Does anyone have an E-mail address book of our city workers to share? I’d love an address book of the Mayor and Chief of Police and our fair Council Members not to mention the E-mails of some of our hard working city employees. Let’s share our city employees E-mail addresses in themail so we can write them and ask for city services via E-mail.

[The city has not distributed a telephone or E-mail address book since Tony Williams became mayor. The Executive Office of the Mayor does publish an employee telephone book for its own use, but forbids its distribution to the public because it would make it too easy for citizens to contact government employees. Bob Levine’s suggestion is a good one, and we’ll start adding E-mail addresses to the telephone list on DCWatch.com. Until then, most DC government employees can be reached with the format firstname.lastname@dc.gov. Here are a few E-mail addresses: the mayor is at mayor@dc.gov, Chief Ramsey at charles.ramsey@dc.gov, and the councilmembers’ addresses are listed at http://www.dcwatch.com/council/address.htm. -- Gary Imhoff]

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Petard Continued
Alec McRae, admcrae@erols.com

Respectful correction to last week's comments on “Petard.” The correct, oft-used quotation is, “Hoist (not hoisted) with one's own petard” (i.e. destroyed by the very devices by which one meant to destroy others), Hamlet, Act III, Scene iv.

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Petard, The Reprise
Jack Pond, jack dot pond at psitex dot com

As a long term student and implementer of electronic government including political, and governmental services (e.g., DC.gov), I can unequivocally state themail is the finest ongoing and useful example of electronic democracy in action among the literally thousands of other attempts.

Kudos aside, I'd like to thank Bruce Snyder and Gary Imhoff for their erudite etymological analysis of the phrase hoisted by your own petard.” In tracing it back to the French root “pet” (or infinitive form “peter”) for flatulence, you have made my thirteen-year-old son the hero of his eighth grade French class. Our entire family spent twenty minutes literally rolling on the floor laughing — a welcome respite from mad cow disease, terrorist threats, and an inflated flu epidemic. Thank you!

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Two New Year’s Eve Galas, December 31
Michael Karlan, events@dcyoungpro.com

Celebrate New Year's Eve at Washington, DC's, most upscale major galas. The D.C. Society of Young Professionals and the DC Society of Forty Plus Professionals are both hosting separate New Year's Eve Galas this year. These events each feature a top shelf open bar, champagne toast, elaborate food stations, party favors, white glove service, and much more. A special guest at both galas will be Alex Michel, the original star of ABC television's The Bachelor. For more details on either party or to purchase tickets, please visit www.dcyoungpro.com or www.dcfortypluspro.com,  E-mail events@dcyoungpro.com, or call 202-686-6085.

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DC Public Library Events, January 6 and following
Debra Truhart, debra.truhart@dc.gov

1) A Taste of Home: Visiting Our Pasts Through Food and Ritual, Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, 3160 16th Street, NW, Tuesday, January 6, 7:00 p.m. Judge Hiram Puig Lugo, Miriam Morsel, and John Murillo will read poetry. D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, The National Endowment jointly sponsors this program for the Arts and The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library. Public contact, 671-0200. 2) Enhanced Business Information Center (e-BIC) sessions, Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, 901 G Street, NW. Tuesday, January 6, 1:00-6.00 p.m., Get Licensed and Legal, sponsored by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Wednesday, January 14, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Sell to the City of DC, sponsored by the Office of Local Business Development. Public contact: 727-2323. 3) Path to Homeownership Begins at Your Library, Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Avenue, SE, Saturday, 10:00 a.m. A program on how to become a homeowner sponsored by the American Library Association and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. 4) Reading King, A Celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, Thursday, January 15, 10:30 a.m. The D.C. Public Library, the Newseum, the interactive museum of news, and the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund will sponsor Reading King: A Celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday. Participants in the event include elementary and high school students from D.C. Public Schools, who will be treated to a special day-long event honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King. Highlights of the day include special giveaways, a celebrity guest reading of the book, My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris, and the return of the popular black history quiz show, Newsmania, sponsored by the Newseum. Public contact: 727-1151. 5) Boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, Tuesday, January 15, 12:00 p.m. "Boycott," a dramatic narrative film of the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama that started when Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat. All ages. Public contact: 727-1265.

Author talks: 1) Iris Krasnow, author of Surrendering Yourself, will discuss themes of embracing who we really are and not putting off becoming who we were meant to be. Martin Luther King, Jr., 2nd floor East lobby, Tuesday, January 13, 12:00 p.m. Public contact: 727-1251. 2) Gail Spilsbury, author of Rock Creek Park, will discuss her book that celebrates the history and preservation of this wilderness retreat within Washington, DC. Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, Tuesday, January 20, 7:00 p.m. Public contact: 671-0200.

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My Architect: A Son’s Journey, January 11
Briana Hensold, bhensold@nbm.org

The National Building Museum is pleased to announce a special screening on the award-winning film My Architect: A Son's Journey, a documentary that explores the life and work of Louis I. Kahn, one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. Directed and produced by Nathaniel Kahn, the architect's illegitimate son, the film is a fascinating portrait of a man whose life and, in many ways, his work have been shrouded in mystery. Kahn's death in 1974 in a bathroom in New York's Penn Station shocked many in the architecture community. Perhaps more shocking is that he had three children by three different women all living within three miles of one another. This film is the five-year, worldwide journey taken by his illegitimate son Nathaniel, who was eleven when his father died, to unravel and understand his long-dead father.

Join the Museum for a special screening of the film at the newly opened E Street Cinema, featuring stadium seating, 555 11th Street, NW, 1:30 p.m. Following the screening, the film's producer/executive producer Susan Rose Behr will discuss the film with the audience. Considered by many critics to be one of the best documentaries of the year, My Architect is receiving early Oscar buzz. “Not only is it the best documentary in a vintage season for nonfiction films . . . it's also one of the best films of the year,” Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer. “The most insightful and informative nonfiction film that I've seen. . . . For gripping drama and suspense, there are few nonfictional movies that can hold a candle to Mr. Kahn's odyssey through time and space,” Andrew Sarris, The New York Observer.

The film includes interviews with his lovers and design collaborators, the architect Anne Tyng and landscape architect Harriet Pattison (Nathaniel's mother). Also interviewed are Philip Johnson, I.M. Pei, Vincent Scully, and Moshe Safdie. Herbert Muschamp of The New York Times writes, “I have never seen or read a more penetrating account of the inner life of an architect — or of architecture itself — than that presented in this movie.” $8 Museum members and students; $10 nonmembers. Prepaid registration required. No on-site registrations will be accepted. To register, visit the Museum's web site at http://www.nbm.org or call 272-2448.

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Registration for Classes at Guy Mason Center
Toni Ritzenberg, taritzdc@aol.com

Registration for classes at the Guy Mason Center, 3600 Calvert St., NW, began December 1 and will continue until they begin the week of January 12, 2004. The Center is mainly for adults, with classes in art, copper enameling workshops, pottery, and china painting. This year there is improvisation for theater available for teens and adults, ‘Tween Stage for ages 10-13, and Actforteens for ages 14-18. And for the very young (birth to 4) there is Music Together Parent/Child.

There are language classes for adults in French and Spanish, ballroom dancing, bridge, Pilates, yoga and dancersize. These classes are one of the best bargains offered by the city. The Center is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-10 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m.-3 p.m. If you have questions, please contact Robert Haldeman or Caryl King at 282-2180, or check the web site: http://www.guymasonstudio.arts.com.

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TasteDC.com, January/February 2004
Charlie Adler, wine@tastedc.com

1) January 13, Tuesday, “Wine Basics 101 — DC‘s Most Popular Wine Class!” The Melrose Hotel, 2430 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 7-7:30 p.m. reception, 7:30-9 p.m. tasting, $40 per person, valet parking available, closest Metro Foggy Bottom (Orange/Blue Lines) about two blocks away. Washington, DC‘s most popular wine tasting: over 6,000 people have attended this event in our six-year history! Learn the basics: ordering wine in a restaurant, determining basic wine styles and varietals, pairing wine and food, drinking better wine and saving money! You will taste nine wines at this event. 2) January 27, Tuesday, "Israeli Embassy Wine Tasting and Reception with Authentic Cuisine and Live Jazz." Embassy of Israel, 3514 International Drive, NW, 7:00-9:30 p.m., $59 per person, inclusive. Please note: this event is walk-around/reception style (no seating). Join us at the lovely Embassy of Israel to taste Israeli fine wines presented by Royal Wine Corporation, cuisine, and live jazz! As wine writer Oz Clarke said, “Israel is now on the world wine map,” and many Israeli dry red and white wines are as good as some of the fine wines of California, Australia, and others of "new-world" wine-producing countries. We will taste over thirty Israeli world-class wines priced from $7 to $70 a bottle (current wineries include Barkan, Binyamina, Carmel, Gamla, and Givon). The buffet dinner will be authentic kosher Israeli delicacies catered by Max's Kosher Catering of Wheaton, MD. We are very fortunate to have a live jazz combo with famous jazz guitarist Avi Rothbard, a graduate of the Berklee Academy of Music in Boston and the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem, and an accompanying singer. Please note: for security reasons, we will need the full name, place of birth and date of birth of all attendees ten days in advance of the event (no later than January 16); no exceptions. 3) February 12, Thursday, “Embassy of Switzerland Reception For Cheese and Chocolate Lovers,” 2900 Cathedral Avenue, NW, limited street parking available, nearest Metro, Woodley Park, Red Line, 7-9:00 p.m., $65 per person. Join TasteDC.com at the lovely Swiss Embassy for heartwarming fondue au fromage (cheese fondue), traditional hot raclette, a wide selection of imported Swiss artisanal cheeses, chocolates, Swiss pastries, specialty foods and Swiss wines. The Swiss have the highest standards in the world when it pertains to cheese and chocolate production. We’ll taste such famous cheeses as Emmentaler, Gruyere, Vignerons, Appenzeller, and many cheeses you may not have heard of before. The Swiss are also world famous for their chocolate confections, and we promise not to disappoint! Wine as well as imported beers will also be served. Attire is business casual. This is a walk-around tasting and reception. Reservations: 1) Secure web form at https://secure.tasteusa.com/cgi-bin/order/order.cgi?X_DC. 2) Phone 244-3700 ($10 surcharge per person)

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CLASSIFIEDS -- HELP WANTED

Computer Guru
Margaret Feldman, mefeldman@aol.com

I am desperate for a coach to tell this inexperienced lady how to print in color with Word Perfect using an IMac and an Epson Stylus C84 printer. Anyone know the secret? Margaret Feldman, 554-0242, mefeldman@aol.com.

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CLASSIFIEDS -- SERVICES

Computer Technician Available
Chuck Jones, mcr-pc@mindspring.com

Professional hardware/software technician available for house calls in the city. Excellent references available. PC or Mac. Call Chuck at 945-1962.

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