Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Candidate for
President, DC Board of Education, in the
November 7, 2000, General Election
Statement and Biography, November 1, 2000

Statement of Peggy Cooper Cafritz
Candidate for President of the DC Board of Education

I co-founded the Duke Ellington School of the Arts because I recognized a burning need for a place where Washington's most artistically creative children could pursue their talents and dreams within the public school system. Almost 30 years later, 1 am running for President of the Board of Education because I see an even more pressing need in our city -- the need to reform a public school system that has failed almost entirely to meet the basic needs of our children.

The school system's failings are numerous. The school bureaucracy is largely dysfunctional. Many of our teachers are not proficient in the subjects they teach. School buildings and facilities are in disrepair. Violence in our schools is commonplace. And true innovation and educational reform have been lacking. As a result, the overwhelming majority of our children are not learning what they must in order even to participate, let alone succeed, in today's economy.

! will tackle these problems by focusing on what I call the "3 A's": Academics for every child's mind; Athletics for every child's body; and the Arts for every child's soul. Academics are of paramount importance because our kids are so far behind where they need to be We must find the resources for intensive remedial efforts, particularly after school tutoring, to bring our students up to grade level in reading and math. We must also focus on teachers and principals, who are the most precious resource of any school system. If elected, l will work with the Superintendent and the Council to recruit and retain the best possible teachers and principals by: (1) paying them salaries that are equal to, if not higher than, those offered by neighboring jurisdictions; (2) providing them opportunities for continuing education and training in their respective disciplines; and (3) giving them financial incentives to live in the neighborhoods. in which they teach. I also support periodic testing and certification of teachers because every child deserves a master instructor.

Restoring our schools' once-proud athletic programs is also important. The research is clear that participation in school sports (both competitive and recreational) not only builds values like teamwork and discipline, it also keeps kids occupied, and out of trouble, during the critics! after-school hours when many parents are not at home- Finally, we must emphasize the arts. I will draw on my experience with Duke Ellington to expand arts education in all of out schools. Arts education is not just valuable in its own right; it also contributes to learning in other academic areas.

This is a critical election in Washington. The new school board will be called. upon to formulate the educational policies that will determine whether our public schools succeed or fail in educating a new generation of citizens and workers. I have the ice and have demonstrated the abilities that will be necessary to lead the board.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Peggy Cooper Cafritz President DC Bond of Education
Diane Simmons Williams, Treasurer - To Volunteer Call (202) 234-2406

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Ms. Cafritz has enjoyed a wide and varied 30-year professional career. Following law school, she was the youngest person ever selected to serve as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson. International Center for Scholars. From 1974 to 1977, Ms. Cafritz worked as a programming executive for Post-Newsweek and a documentary producer for WTOP-TV, earning both Emmy and Peabody Awards for her documentary work. From 1977 to 1979, Ms. Cafritz served as Executive Director of the Minority Cultural Project, a joint venture between Harry Belafonte and WQED/Pittsburg to develop a dramatic literary series for the Community for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Corporation. Since 1986, Ms. Cafritz has appeared as an arts' reviewer on WETA-TV's "Around Town," for which she also received an Emmy Award.

Ms. Cafritz has an extensive public service background in both education and the arts. From 1972 to 1976, she served on the Executive Committee of the D.C. Board of Higher Education, which implemented the merger of Federal City College and Washington Teachers College into the University of the District of Columbia ("UDC"), and she currently sits on UDC's Board of Trustees. From 1979 to 1987, Ms. Cafritz chaired the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and in 1993 was appointed by President Clinton to serve as Vice-Chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. From 1989 to 1990, Ms. Cafritz was Co-chair of the Smithsonian Institution's Cultural Equity Committee, which was primarily responsible for bringing greater racial and cultural diversity to the Smithsonian's professional ranks, exhibitions and educational programs.

Ms. Cafritz has also served on the Advisory Board of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University (since 1992); the American Association of Museums' National Advisory Committee on Education (since 1992); and the Board of Trustees of Pratt Institute (site 1990); among numerous other boards and advisory committees.

In addition to the honors noted above, in 1972, Ms. Cafritz received the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award, given annually to "one young person in the world, for an outstanding contribution toward the well-being of mankind." In 1989, she received the Helen Hays/Washington Post Distinguished Community Service Award for her work on WETA-TV's "Around Town." In 1991, she received Mayor's Art Award for Excellence in Service to the Arts, and the 20th Malcolm X Day Anniversary Award for Arts Advocacy. She has also received the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Outstanding Achievement Award and the National Society of Fundraising Executives Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year Award, both in 1993.

Ms. Cafritz is a native of Mobile, Alabama. She has two children, ages 15 ands, from her marriage. She also has had primary custody and guardianship of six other children. A number of Ms. Cafritz's children have attended D.C. public schools. Ms. Cafritz resides in the Palisades section of Washington, D.C.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Peggy Cooper Cafritz President DC Board of Education
Diane Simmons W Williams, Treasurer - To Volunteer Call (202) 231-2404