BRAZIL ’98 COMMITTEE
1630 Connecticut Avenue. NW, 4th floor
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 667-7790
Fax (202) 667-0793

Harold Brazil’s Plan for Public Schools Excellence

THE PUBLIC EDUCATION CRISIS IN WASHINGTON DC

A mayor priority of the Harold Brazil Administration will be to improve the public schools in Washington, DC. As Mayor, Harold Brazil will be dedicated to making DC Public Schools a quality system that functions at the highest level for all of the city's children. For too long, the public schools system has addressed the needs of only small percentage of our students. The needs of the majority have simply not been met A poor school system is not the way to build a strong and thriving economy, nor is it the way to make a better future. Harold Brazil understands that bringing our public schools system into the ranks of excellence is the single most important issue facing our city.

• Yes, keeping the budget balanced is important, and Harold Brazil will do that as well as encourage and help create the highest quality education for every child that attends DC Public Schools His record is filled with tough and courageous decisions to cut waste and live within out means.
• Yes, reducing crime is important. Harold Brazil’s record is filled with tough and courageous decisions to strengthen law enforcement and punish criminals.
• Yes, creating jobs and economic growth is important. Harold Brazil’s record is filled with tough and courageous decisions to create jobs and growth.

BUT — Harold Brazil understands the hard truth that we'll never be able to sustain progress in these areas until we get smart and get serious about achieving excellence in our public schools.

Budgets cannot be balanced and kept in balance unfit we bring middle-class taxpaying families back into our city. We will not be able to effect this until we prove that their kids can get an outstanding education in our public schools.

Crime cannot be brought down and kept down until we can provide every single child with the knowledge and skills to earn a good living the honest way — with a job not a gun.

Good jobs will not be created, and lasting economic growth will not be attained, until we prove that we are educating our young people with the right skills and right attitudes to do the work of the 21st Century.

The quality of our public school system is the key to achieving all that we hope and dream for our city’s future. That’s why Harold Brazil has developed a visionary plan for public school excellence, and that’s why he wants you to join him to make it happen.

It is not a flash-in-the-pan promise like the empty promises we have heard before, but a thoughtful long-range plan, to be phased in over a five-year period, carefully and methodically, and with full participation by the elected School Board, the School Superintendent, the City Council, teacher and parent organizations, citizens, and yes, the Control Board during the remaining period of the Control Board’s existence. It is a plan that will work.

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1. BETTER TEACHERS, BETTER PRINCIPALS

The Harold Brazil Administration’s message to teachers and principals is simple: If you’re good, dedicated, hard-working, and willing to go the extra mile to educate our kids, you can count on Harold Brazil’s vigorous support to assure that you get the resources you need to do your job, and the recognition and financial rewards that excellence deserves.

We need higher standards for recertification of teachers. Currently, teachers can renew their certification every five years by showing that during the past five years, they have taken six hours of professional development courses — in any area, whether it is in the subject they teach or not. I will work for a system that provides career advancement incentives for teachers who work harder and do more to enhance their knowledge and teaching skills.

In addition, I will create attractive incentives for D C public school teachers to work toward the advanced certification recently instituted by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards — incentives such as those already in place in 26 states and more than 70 school districts. The national certification program has been widely acclaimed and recognized as a badge of excellence in the teaching profession. Two D.C. public school teachers have gained accreditation. We need many more. With incentives — such as financial assistance with tuition costs for advanced training, stipends, and advancement opportunities — we can encourage more teachers to pursue and achieve this advanced status — with the improved teaching skills they will bring to our children.

But for those principals and teachers who are not interested in advancement, those who are burned out, bored, tired, 20 years behind the times, and unwilling to change, I say it’s time for them to go. Shape up or ship out

Teachers and principals must be evaluated. Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has pledged to do that. I applaud and support her efforts, and I want to assure her and all of our citizens that I intend to keep a watchful eye on that process as it goes forward. I will not tolerate any slacking off in the determination to hold teachers and principals accountable.

Evaluations must be fair, objective, and based on standards everyone understands. But those who do not make the grade, and fail to improve when they are given the chance, must be rooted out of the public school system — not just shifted around to some other school or, just as bad, given a useless paper-pushing administrative job so they can stay on the payroll.

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2. HONEST EVALUATIONS OF HOW WELL EACH SCHOOL PERFORMS

Evaluating the performance of principals, teachers, and students — as individuals — is essential but not enough. We also must establish a system of evaluating the performance of whole schools. The public schools of Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, Maryland, and many school districts across the country have instituted school performance evaluation systems The Fairfax County School Superintendent recently asked the County School Board to adopt a similar system.

Superintendent Ackerman is taking steps in this direction. She has pledged to issue school “report cards” this fall to show how each school performed during the 1997-98 school year in terms of student test scores, attendance and dropout rates.

I support her efforts and urge her to go further. I want a comprehensive evaluation system that measures a school’s success or failure on all of the factors that go into creating a productive learning environment. These factors include not only test scores, attendance, and dropout rates, but also the extent of enrichment opportunities that are offered and the level of student participation, safety and security, and parent involvement. There must be benchmarks in every category, and a system to identify whether each school has achieved beyond the benchmark in each category, or whether it has fallen short.

Ideally, these “report cards” for each school must be produced at the end of each school year and must be available to parents and the public at large before the beginning of the next school year. Schools that exceed the mark must be rewarded, with bonuses for teachers and the principal, and public recognition as an “A+ School.”

I realize developing a system such as this must be done carefully and thoughtfully. I realize that Superintendent Ackerman may not have sufficient resources within the D.C. public school system alone to undertake such a project.

This is one of many projects that can only be accomplished with strong and determined leadership from the top.

As Mayor, I will invite the City Council, the elected School Board, the Superintendent, parent and teacher organizations, and our citizens to join me in this effort. Together, we will bring in the best minds in the education community for advice in developing the system. We will invite participation and financial support from corporations and business organizations who have so much to gain — a well-educated work force — from success in the D.C. public schools, and so much to lose if our schools fail. With a united front. we will work with Control Board members to win their support.

Then we will work to get the cooperation of Congress and the federal Executive Branch. On this and other aspects of my plan, I am willing to give Congress and the Executive Branch a chance to show they mean what they say when they talk about their interest in improving the public schools of the Nation’s Capital. I will work with them and welcome their help in a constructive partnership with local officials and citizens.

But I am not willing to allow them to use our schools and our students to experiment with every fad that comes alone. or to carry out some political agenda.

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There is no way any teacher — even the best can successfully teach a class of 25 to 30 children at the elementary school level. Not in today’s world in Washington, D.C. And certainly not when teachers must be stand-in parents for children of fathers long gone and mothers who are still teenagers themselves. It is just common sense that children learn more — and teachers teach better — in smaller classrooms that allow teachers to devote more individual attention to each child, deal with discipline problems quickly, and maintain an environment conducive to study. That’s common sense that has been proven by the scientific studies as well.

Because I know smaller classrooms are an important part of teaching and learning, I was alarmed that Superintendent Ackerman suggested during the budget process this spring that she is considering increasing class size by one or two students as a means of reducing costs. She also proposed cutting all preschool and kindergarten classes, and all librarians and counselors.

I thought that was an outrageous approach, and I joined two of my colleagues, Councilmembers Patterson and Ambrose, to sponsor amendments to block that plan. Other Councilmembers did not support us because they did not want to interfere with the Superintendent’s authority. I respect her authority, too, but when I see her going down the wrong road, I am going to stand up and fight against what is wrong for our children.

Although our amendments did not pass, our efforts did force the Superintendent to give up the idea of cutting preschool and kindergarten classes and librarians and counselors. At least for now, she has taken no further steps to increase class size.

As Mayor, I will fight for a plan that reduces class size.

The Harold Brazil 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 15 children, particularly in schools serving disadvantaged neighborhoods. It is in those early years that children need the most individual attention to learn to read well and acquire the basic skills of writing and mathematics. Many who fall behind in these grades never catch up.

Indiana and Tennessee have been leaders in reducing class size and carrying out well-planned studies to measure the results. In the mid-1980s, Tennessee set up a four-year study to compare the achievement levels of K-3 pupils in classes of 1 3-17 and those in classes of 22-25. Approximately 300 classes were involved, in rural, suburban, and inner-city schools. Across the board, students in the smaller classes had higher performances than students in the larger classes, and the difference was particularly sharp in kindergarten and first grade.

Also in the 1980s, Indiana initiated a statewide reduction in K-3 class size, phased in over three years. In that period, the average classroom size was reduced from 24 to 16. Math and reading scores increased significantly as class size dropped. Dozens of other studies shown the same positive effects of smaller classes in grades K-3.

For grades four through eight, most studies show that students in classes of 20 or fewer perform better than students in larger classes in reading, math, language, social studies, and art, although the beneficial effect of smaller classes is not as great as it is at K-3 levels. However, the class-size studies that have focused on disadvantaged children have found overwhelmingly that students in smaller classes all the way through the eighth grade have higher achievement levels than students in larger classes.

For grades nine through 12, the studies show no significant differences between small-class and large-class achievement levels.

Based on the research, I am setting 20 students or fewer as the overall class-size goal for kindergarten through the eighth grade, with the class reduction effort to be focused first on kindergarten through third grade.

I invite the City Council, the elected School Board, the School Superintendent, and parent organizations to work with me to develop cost estimates and specific plans for implementing the small-class plan over a three- to five-year period, phased in gradually as Indiana did. Together, we will determine if the plan can be accomplished through reallocation of current funds or it budget increases will be required. Even if an increase is necessary, this is an investment that will yield high returns in the long run.

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4. ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES FROM DAWN ’TIL DARK

Public schools must become the center of the neighborhood, all hours, all the time. They are not just places for classroom instruction from 8:30 to 3:30, Monday through Friday, from September ’til June. They must become community centers of learning, enrichment, and recreation from early morning into the evening hours and on weekends and all year round.

The public schools must provide before- and after-school care, tutoring and mentoring, and recreation opportunities for everyone. They must do this by forging partnerships with the many non-profit organizations and for-profit businesses that believe in improving D.C. public schools and want to help. The Harold Brazil Administration will do this. The YMCA and its Y-CARE 2000 program is an excellent example of the type of enrichment programs my administration will promote.

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5. ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS FOR KIDS WHO NEED MORE

There are classrooms where teachers want to teach and most students want to learn. But they can’t because other students, for whatever reason, are disruptive. It may be because they are brilliant and bored, far behind and frustrated, hyperactive, or angry and bent on acting out in a loud or violent way. Whatever the reason, their disruptive conduct destroys the learning environment for the other students and the teachers.

They have to be taken out of that standard classroom so that their conduct does not rob other students of the opportunity to learn. Equally important, we must make sure these students are placed in the right environment with the right opportunities to learn We must provide necessary services and counseling to meet their social and emotional needs as well as offering sound academic Instruction.

Students who are disruptive in standard classrooms must be educated in a different way and a different setting, but to the same high standards as every child should meet, and with the same opportunities that every child deserves. Alternative schools must be places where teachers, counselors, and students face up to and deal with students’ problems, rather than trying to hide them out of sight. Like every school, they must be centers of excellence, not wastelands of ragged books, broken computers, and no laboratories.

They must be well-equipped, with libraries, gymnasiums, up-to-date science laboratories, state-of-the-art computers and Internet access. They must be well-staffed, with dedicated teachers, counselors, and coaches.

At present, the school system offers alternative school programs at five locations:

• The D C: Academy, in the Taft Junior High Building at 18th and Perry Streets N E., and in the Hamilton Building, at 1401 Brentwood Road N.E., for students who have been suspended from other schools or have been referred by the courts;
• The Luke Moore Academy, at 10th and Monroe Streets N.E., for older students who have had problems in regular schools; and
• The STAY (School To Aid Youth) programs at Spingarn High School (an evening program) and at Ballou High School.

As Mayor, I will work diligently to make sure the public alternative schools are adequate to educate and deal with the needs of students who require a different school setting.

At the same time, I will closely watch the progress of the charter schools that are scheduled to open this fall, some of which have been planned as alternative schools for troubled youth. These include the Maya Angelou Public Charter High School, which will offer job training and tutoring to youth involved in the court system; Associates for Renewal in Education, which will serve children involved in the juvenile justice system; the Rosario international Public Charter School, which will focus on dropouts pursuing a GED and also provide literacy, English, and citizenship training for immigrants and refugees; the School for Arts in Learning, which will use an arts-based curriculum to teach young children with learning disabilities, and the SEED Foundation's residential college-preparatory program for children who come from troubled homes.

The development of these public charter schools creates the opportunity to determine whether these approaches are successful or not. We should take the successful models and learn from them, and put the lessons to work in other public schools to serve all of the children who need this approach.

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6. SMART SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE

In 1970, the District population was 725,000, and public school enrollment reached its all-time high, 147,000 students in 223 schools. Today, student enrollment is down to 77,000 in 146 schools. Although 77 school buildings have been closed in the past 25 years, including 11 closed last year, some of those still open are used at far less than capacity and many are in poor condition Many do not even have air conditioning. In the baking heat that we normally see in June, elementary and junior-high graduation ceremonies in steaming school auditoriums become tests of endurance, rather than the enjoyable occasions they were meant to be.

I support the effort to close unused or under-used schools in order to employ our resources more efficiently. But instead of selling off this scarce and valuable land, I will work to halt that process and chart different course. 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.

First, we must identify the surplus properties that can best be used for future schools. Then we must set out, step by step, to build smaller schools at all levels — elementary, junior high, and senior high — and they must be “Smart Schools.” That means they must be 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.

They 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.

Education experts have generally abandoned the 1950s prescription for large consolidated schools, sometimes with several thousand students. Their studies have shown that many students get lost in such a large environment, and that the large schools with many entrances and long, dark corridors are an invitation to misconduct, criminal activity, and violence

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching now recommends 500 as the maximum for elementary schools. 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.

McKinley High School was a distinguished institution in our city for many years. But we should never build another McKinley High for 1,400 students. Instead, we should build three 500-student high schools.

“Smart schools” also must be places for the whole family and the whole community — the hub of neighborhood life — with space and programs and activities that become the magnet for education, recreation, civic participation, and lifelong learning for citizens of every age. That must be the guiding principle for all of them, with each of them tailored, first, to meet the needs of the student population they serve, and then to meet the additional needs of the larger community.

My “Smart School” plan will extend over 10 to 15 years, but we must start now. I urge the Superintendent to take another look at the surplus schools now on the market to determine whether should be withdrawn and held in our inventory as the sites for “Smart Schools” of the future It is short-sighted to sell now for short-term profit because, ten years clown 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.

These are my proposals. I have not dotted every “i”, and crossed every “t”, but I believe I have laid out some necessary elements of a sound plan to achieve public school excellence. It is a long-range plan, and to implement it will take the cooperative efforts of the City Council, the elected School Board, the Superintendent, parent organizations, District citizens, and for the next three years, the Control Board.

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-today control over public school operations. We have an elected School Board and a School Superintendent who are charged with those day-to-day duties.

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 of Mayor to achieve these goals, I would not be running for this office..

The Mayor has the authority to lead, and the Mayor and the City Council have the power of the purse. The Mayor, through his budget proposals, and the Councilmernbers, through their budget actions, have the authority to establish public school policies and goals. Mayors and Councils have always had that authority, but they have not exercised it. As Mayor, I will exercise all of the authority that rests within that office, from day one and for every day that I am Mayor.

I will lead the campaign to build a public mandate for this plan, and I will work cooperatively with all of those involved to win their support. With a strong public mandate and the cooperative efforts of all city officials, I am confident that we can put this plan in place.

Members of Congress and the Executive Branch have talked a good game about wanting to make the public schools of the Nation's Capital the shining star of the nation. If they are serious about supporting genuine reforms, 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. I will not compromise my belief in the importance of this plan and my determination to bring it to reality, no matter how great the obstacles may be.

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.