Quickies

Dear Quick-Witted Readers:

If you think I’m hard on the District, you need to read Matt Welch’s article on our beloved city in the latest issue of Reason Magazine, http://reason.com/news/show/126050.html. Here’s how it begins: “Washington, DC, is lousy with rats, and not just of the human variety. I knew that before moving here — you’d always see them scampering around sidewalks and alleys when walking around town — but it took living full-time in the city to appreciate both the awe-inspiring magnitude of the infestation and the jaw-dropping indifference of a municipal government more focused on giving free money to billionaires than addressing the capital’s legendary civic rot.” It’s all downhill, or uphill, depending on your viewpoint, from there.

Jonetta Rose Barras has been fired by WAMU-FM as cohost of the DC Politics Hour, recently renamed the Politics Hour, which airs on Fridays on the Kojo Nnamdi Show. WAMU severely diluted its focus on District issues when it expanded the focus of its one-hour-a-week coverage to include Virginia and Maryland. Now it has gotten rid of the one on-air personality who had the most experience and knowledge of District politics, history, and neighborhoods. On WTOP, Mark Plotkin’s weekly hour of political commentary now spends much more time on national politics than on anything local. No District television station has any regular program that covers District politics. The Washington Times had a large buyout and downsizing of its staff two weeks ago, and the Washington Post is in the midst of its second large buyout in the past two years. In all of these moves, the principle seems to be that experience, background, and knowledge can be easily dispensed with, because people who have them are more expensive to hire than people without them. Improving the financial bottom line by hiring cheaper employees is more important than keeping up the quality of the news product. This is the same principle being followed in our school system, except that there inexperienced administrators without background and knowledge are proving to be as expensive, or more expensive, than those they replace.

Philadelphia’s experiment with citywide free WiFi Internet access, a joint venture with Earthlink, has failed, and Earthlink is going to remove all its access nodes: http://www.philebrity.com/2008/05/13/wifi-interruptus-ugly-details-of-earthlink-pullout-emerge.

The growing list of states that are giving up on or cutting back their red-light camera programs is listed in a roundup by Knoxnews.com: http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/silence/archives/2008/05/states_giving_y.shtml (through Instapundit.com).

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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An Open Letter to the DC Examiner and the DC Council
David Mallof, mallof@verizon.net

Thanks to the DC Examiner and Mike Neibauer for a generally good article on May 13 regarding the award of another ninety-nine-year land lease deal downtown by the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, with the support of the DC council. See: http://www.examiner.com/a-1388149~Library_plan_for_old_convention_center_nixed.html. Councilmember Jack Evans was quoted remarking about the old Convention Center parcel and the deal: “This is the most valuable piece of property on the East Coast.”

However, a few very key points seem to be missing in the story: what are the financial terms of the lease? Who will be paying the rent? Was it competitively bid? Or is this another one of those “one appraisal” deals the DC government has pre-wired like Radio One? (In fact, wasn’t the final no-bid price in the Radio One deal for an amount less than the appraisal? I believe so.) Were there three appraisals, if it was not bid? (On the thoroughly shoddy West End deal, Mr. Evans hurriedly said to the West End residents one hot summer night that there would be three appraisals, but I seem to recall that the legislation did not ever specify there must be three.) If the new CityCenter lot deal was indeed competitively bid, as it should have been, who were the other bidders and what did they bid for the valuable right?

In sum: how do we know the government of the District of Columbia is receiving the highest marginal utility from this process for “. . . the most valuable piece of property on the East Coast?” Or are there other interpersonal relationships within the DC government and among its leadership that yet again deflected and prevented real, open, and competitive bidding? Mr. Evans, given your omnipresence and apparent leadership in these deals time and again, would you please help disclose this information to Mr. Neibauer and DCWatch in detail?

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Council Supports DCPS Budget Transparency, Public Input
Marc Borbely, borbely@FixOurSchools.net

Yesterday, May 13, the city council voted unanimously to reject the mayor’s proposal to repeal requirements for DCPS budget information and budget hearings. The sole effect of the mayor’s proposed “Public School Support Amendment Act” would have been to repeal DC Code 38-917 (http://tinyurl.com/6xrk5e), which requires the mayor to hold a public hearing on the Chancellor’s proposed budget at least a month before he submits his final version to the council. (We expect that over the next few months, the council will also clarify the level of detail that has to be included in the Chancellor’s schools budget.)

This victory for transparency and public input was thanks to the leadership of Chairman Gray, and the backing of every councilmember, especially Gray, Barry, Schwartz, Cheh, and Wells, all of whom expressed their support for DCPS budget information and public input at a council hearing on April 25. The strong public support of State Board of Education vice president Lisa Raymond was also invaluable, as was the support of the DC Federation of Civic Associations, ANCs 1C, 1D, 8A, 8B and 8D, and the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO.

More than one thousand parents, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, teachers, and other school reform advocates submitted a letter on Friday urging the council to preserve parents’ (and others’) ability to provide meaningful, informed input before DCPS budgets are finalized. The letter, with the list of supporters, is posted at http://DemocracyInEducation.net. Key citizen-leaders of this successful grassroots effort included Iris Toyer, Margot Berkey, Robert Brannum, Cherita Whiting, and Mary Levy.

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Administrative Fee on Unemployment Taxes Defeated
Paul Craney, press@dcgop.com

Yesterday, DC Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) successfully ended Mayor Adrian Fenty (D-DC)’s quest to continue a .02 percent administrative fee on unemployment taxes that was scheduled to continue for another two years. “Councilmember Carol Schwartz deserves credit for removing another tax gimmick that burdens our District’s small businesses. Councilmember Schwartz understands that to attract jobs and growth, you have to remove the red tape that lures small businesses to Virginia and Maryland,” stated District of Columbia Republican Chair Robert J. Kabel.

The DC council successfully rejected the mayor’s 911 fee increase to $.99, fees on ambulance care, and lowered the real property tax rate from the mayor’s proposal of $1.70 per square foot to $1.65 per square foot, saving small businesses in the District an estimated $21 million dollars. “Thanks to Councilmember Schwartz’s efforts, the .02 percent administrative fee is expected to expire on December 31 of this year, which will only make DC more attractive to small businesses,” concluded Kabel.

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Not So Fast
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

They say that figures lie. And, in the case of the survey results that show DC drivers rank fifth as the rudest drivers in the country, I say we need a lot more data. First of all, most of the rudest drivers, in my opinion, come right down Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues from Maryland. In fact, most of the drivers in DC on work days are not from DC but, rather, from Maryland and Virginia. Let’s not tar the DC residents with the brush of rudeness when it is very much more likely the Maryland and Virginia drivers, frustrated in their daily commutes, who are the real culprits.

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Earmarks in Mt. Pleasant
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net

Well, let’s clarify what my friend Laurie Ballenger’s complaint was about (themail, May 11). There’s a new concept in the regulation of entertainment industry businesses called “responsible hospitality,” which is essentially the formation of neighborhood groups, combining business owners and residents, to work out problems at the neighborhood level, as opposed to calling in the downtown authorities for every complaint. (Visit http://www.rhiweb.org for more.) There’s considerable interest on the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for “responsible hospitality,” to relieve them of the burden of resolving countless such disputes. Mount Pleasant has taken the lead in undertaking this approach for dealing with its alcohol-serving establishments.

Councilmember Graham evidently thought this new concept worth supporting, and arranged for this earmark in the Public Works and the Environment Committee report: “The Committee recommends a one-time grant, through the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (“ABRA”), of $100,000, . . . to the Mt. Pleasant Main Street, to support it[s] efforts to promoting the cultural uniqueness and enhancing the economic health of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, through a Mt. Pleasant Responsible Hospitality Zone Pilot Program.”

This grant was not, as Laurie thought, to RHAMP, the Responsible Hospitality Association of Mount Pleasant, nor does ANC Commissioner Gregg Edwards control RHAMP. In fact, there seem to be profound differences in our neighborhood as to who will be in charge of “responsible hospitality” here. It seems odd that the group formed specifically to do responsible hospitality in Mount Pleasant would not be the group chosen to run responsible hospitality in Mount Pleasant. But here in Mount Pleasant, we do bitter battle over everything.

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Civics 101
Laurie Ballenger, lgballenger@yahoo.com

I am delighted to report that Civics 101 still works. After receiving extensive negative public reaction to his proposal to earmark $100,000 to a newly created, untested civic group without broad neighborhood support, Councilmember Graham has decided to redirect this proposed grant to Mount Pleasant Main Street. Created in 1991 as one of the early National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Programs, Mt. Pleasant Main Street has been working for seventeen years to strengthen and improve Mt. Pleasant Street, the commercial center of Mt. Pleasant. I am advised that a significant portion of the proposed grant is to be used for a Green Team Initiative, a street cleaning program which is also a jobs program sponsored by the Columbia Heights Shaw Family Collaborative. Street cleaning for Mt. Pleasant Street is broadly supported by the various civic groups in Mt. Pleasant — including Historic Mt. Pleasant, Hear Mt. Pleasant, and the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Alliance. Councilmember Graham should be commended for listening to a wide cross-section of Mt. Pleasant residents and revisiting his recommendation to reflect the will of the community.

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Trying to Answer Karen Loeschner’s Excellent Question
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net

For the better part of ten years, NARPAC has tried to come to grips analytically with the disgraceful socioeconomic statistics that continue to make our capital city a national, if not global, embarrassment. From poor grades, high dropout rates, and illiteracy, to the consequent poverty, crime, and chronic ill health, DC is far below the American urban average, and well below the national average of many other developed and developing countries. We have repeatedly concluded that the root cause is a long-standing failure in urban education, but not just a “schools problem.” Last fall, we published, on our cluttered web site, a primer summarizing our many prior education-related analyses. It lays out the “articles of faith” that underlie our many suggestions for change, at http://www.narpac.org/PEPRIMER.HTM.

We are increasingly concerned that the new Fenty team will waste the advantages inherent in its school takeover (which we supported) unless it, and the DC council, think “outside the schools box.” Both must grapple with the parental/cultural problems that can be magnified by, but not overcome inside, a typical US public school system. The achievements of DCPS school kids by demographic component are not all that far below those of other American urban school systems in which the “counter-cultural element” has become a disproportionate majority. In fact, DCPS is further off norm in operational inefficiency and unit costs. It is unlikely, Karen, that DC can ever exceed those (limited) national achievement averages unless it focuses on improving the lifelong performance of DC’s typical ill-prepared, premature and struggling parent. As NARPAC has often suggested (to accentuate the point), if the output produced by the DC school system were regulated like consumer goods or physical urban infrastructure, the recall program would have been enormous, and the number of dysfunctional communities and schools would be declining.

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The Meaning of Progress
Bill Coe, bceedeec@gmail.com

A concerned reader asks a reasonable question, so I’ll try to answer it. What does one year’s adequate progress mean, when it comes to improving DC’s schools? I have known from the get-go what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that a whole generation of underperforming public students might be transformed into scholars. It doesn’t mean a dysfunctional central administrative bureau could suddenly spin like a top, or that droves of poorly used teachers and principals would all at once start whistling while they work. These are results that were always going to require some very dirty spadework, which the mayor and his new Chancellor are in the process of doing.

Notwithstanding Mr. Fenty’s promises during his campaign, there was no doubt among his supporters that he would make DC schools his top priority and put a laser’s focus on their improvement. None of us believed he would just tinker around the edges of what had failed for so many years in our schools, or that he would do anything short of setting fire to the old system and clearing the ground it occupied in favor of something (almost anything!) else. Had I thought about it when Fenty was elected, or when Michelle Rhee was hired, I would have looked ahead a year and been satisfied — impressed even — had they managed to accomplish just a handful of fundamental and extremely difficult changes to the old order of things, changes without which (as we knew from long experience) no lasting benefit to students, parents, or teachers could be delivered. Among these: 1) streamlining the chain of command, both politically and administratively, so that voters and stakeholders alike can hold one elected official and his executive staff accountable for educational results; 2) creating a powerful Schools Chancellor backed by all the authority a mayor can muster within his own government; 3) establishing and budgeting an organization devoted solely to the construction, reconstruction, and capital improvement of school buildings; 4) ridding the system of excess space and property, along with staff connected to them; 5) redefining the mission and function of every remaining school, so that each might emphasize skills and knowledge needed by young people entering today’s market; 6) cleaning house (i.e., kicking some serious butt) in central administration, convincing those folks, finally, that their one and only reason for being on the payroll is to serve our schools; and 7) getting a handle on what we want to achieve in special education and what we must spend to do it.

This is a short and partial list of hefty chores — offered by a citizen who gets most of what he knows from the newspaper. It is my view that acceptable progress has been made on most of these items. (Special education is, arguably, the exception.) It seems to me a decent year’s work. I also believe no real progress would have been made on any of these things under our previous school system. Over the years, we had very good people serving on the school board and in the Superintendent’s office, but the Byzantine bureaucracy and convoluted politics surrounding them made that situation hopeless. In another year, we’ll begin to see whether Mayor Fenty’s and Chancellor Rhee’s efforts to date are productive. If they are not, we can exercise the power of the ballot to move those two people along. If they are, then we might reasonably hope that public school kids entering the ninth grade in 2009 stand a reasonable chance of getting into college or, at least, that they will be professionally literate enough to hold good-paying jobs in the trades.

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How to Think about Adult Education in the District of Columbia
William Haskett, williamhaskett@hotmail.com

I have to leave on one side the existing formal program of the DC Public Schools, which is now in the care of the mayor and his chosen Chancellor. I agree with those who say that, however it is handled, it will be some years before we know what the result of this move will be At the moment, there is a general recognition that the movement for Charter Schools is probably of greater importance, certainly in terms of numbers, and probably in terms of expectations of improvement on the side of parents who have registered in this alternative.

The simplest observation suffices to confirm that most public high schools have failed to graduate enough students prepared to perform adequately at higher levels in the District’s University, and that this fact has distorted and diminished the effectiveness of the latter over the thirty-two years of its existence. Not only that — the rate of actual graduation from it, and the preparation given for employment or for further study within the University is relatively poor, and certainly inadequate. It is fair to ask, therefore, whether the time has not come to consider replacing this device with another, or at least to think of more useful alternatives, as in the widely-noticed proposals for a system of junior and community colleges, which should essentially replace what has to evidently failed to deliver for so long adequate results within the present University, so staffed and so administered.

I mean here simply to refer to the reports from Brookings and from the joint project of DC Appleseed and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (both published earlier this year, and available for comparison). Straightforwardly put, this last report is focused on that section of the District’s present population that is regarded as poorly prepared to make a living within the socioeconomic system they encounter when they try to enter it after leaving school, or move beyond its ambit when they reach the age of twenty-five. It is argued that it becomes absolutely necessary that what was not done in the public schools has to be done and even extended when they leave that system. If (as is assumed in my earlier comments) the present university system has shown itself to be unfitted to play an adequate role in these changes, it is incumbent upon all of us (private groups as well as governmental agencies across a broad spectrum) to attempt to do whatever is required, and to think hard about what course of action is best suited to deal with the array of problems we find in doing this.

My straw in this pile is to insist that formal systems are not enough, and that we will have to consider a project of social reform that picks up old and introduces new elements that go beyond questions of race, class or culture (however important each of these is), and takes into account whatever is required of informal measures, at least as great as the partial successes achieved by earlier civil-rights legislation or the war on poverty. Whether we can actually do this, aside entirely from our willingness even to attempt it, is all the question. It should be added, of course, that we presently lack most of the basic institutional framework of social forms and thought to get these ideas considered. Private bodies can propose, but it must be public authorities (here the mayor and/or the council) that dispose, to the best of their means and abilities, of whatever is found to be necessary.

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Hatred of Cab Drivers Continues
Qawi Robinson, qrobinso@lycos.com

In reading many of the comments in themail for the past weeks, I’m coming to believe that there are a lot of disgruntled folks who ride cabs in DC and read themail. As I obviously haven’t been taking the same cabs the folks on this list have been taking, I would like to offer some advice. Meter or no meter, write the cab driver’s license number down. By law, their “face” (DC Hacking License) is supposed to be clear and visible at all times. If you feel you have been cheated, disrespected, or anything else, write the cab driver’s name and number down and complain to the DC Taxicab Commission (http://www.dctaxi.dc.gov), the mayor’s office (311), or the cab company. Whining about how you’ve been cheated on themail is highly ineffective and won’t get you as close to the justice you wished for as if you had gone through proper channels. It is rather ironic that some of the same folks who presume that all taxi drivers are cheats find no problem spending ten times the reasonable amount for concessions at a ball game.

One final note. Yes, the meters must be implemented by June 1. Even with the latest court ruling, most cab drivers are not exclusively fighting for an injunction; they just want to get the meters and be done with it. However, most people don’t realize how the city bungled meter installation. The manufacturers of the meters (for example, Centrodyne) are either out of stock or have discontinued initial models. In fact, one cab company will not have meters until June 2 or even June 9. This is also complicated by the requirement that registered installers must be independent of the cab companies; some of them have to be recruited from out of the DC Metropolitan area. Because of the limited supply, some cab companies themselves will install or order meters only for their company drivers. Some cab companies offer financing, while others do not. The cost of the meters can vary from $170 to $379, and taxes and installation are over $120; the total cost can easily reach three to five hundred dollars. When the mayor declared that “thou shalt have meters in all taxicabs” he either never realized or didn’t care that the folks responsible for the implementation plan didn’t know how to get this done. He just expected the Deputy Mayor and Taxicab commission Chairman Leon Swain to get it done. However, things like how the meters were to be installed, who would install them, and basic stuff like which meters were recommended meters weren’t released to even the industry task force until late March, for the initial April 6 deadline. Yet, when riders gets in a cab, all they sense is that cab drivers have a defiant attitude toward the meters, without knowing the full story. While most are trying to comply, no cab driver could get in this much trouble without DC government help. One final thing: cab companies didn’t invent the zone system exclusively. Congress supported it and thrived under it, since traveling within the ever-expanding Capitol Hill zone the least expensive of all routes.

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Fund for Future Klingle Road Repairs
Daniel Wolkoff, amglassart@yahoo.com

To all the determined road builders in Rock Creek Park, I am starting a collection for a fund, The Lorrie Collins Klingle Valley Road Repair and Rebuilding Fund. With these five- to seven-inch rains, like today, the Lorrie Collins Road in the Park might get washed out, as it has been numerous times before. I was very impressed with the worst ever flooding today from Manassas, Virginia, to Upper Marlboro Maryland, and the sinkhole that spanned an entire divided highway in both directions. But that’s only a little bad weather, climate, hydrology , geology and hill failure; why should we worry? Why should we pay any attention to the National Park Service? Just because they are our neighbor and their job is to steward parks all over the Metro area. No! We are the Repair Klingle Road SUV Drivers Club. So come on, please contribute as much as you can. Put some money behind any future repairs necessary to keep the Lorrie Collins Klingle Valley Road open and the best way through the park and across the town! But watch out for those big cracks and nasty sinkholes! Let’s throw twelve million dollars down the muddy gulley and let the feds or the District government pay for it. After all, we all agree that the District of Columbia government is unsurpassed at throwing taxpayer money away! And besides the Northern Virginia Asphalt Paving Association is eager to repave this vital road over and over again. Thanks to all. Please make your check out to The Lorrie Collins Klingle Valley Road Repair and Rebuilding Fund, and thank you for being generous.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Free Public Forum on Preventing Mortgage Foreclosure, May 17, 31
Michelle Phipps-Evans, michelle.phipps-evans@dc.gov

The DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking will host a series of public forums this month to address subprime lending and mortgage defaults around the city. These will help residents take control of their personal finances and protect themselves from abusive lending practices. A Ward 7 forum is scheduled for Saturday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Holy Christian Missionary Baptist Church, 5110 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE. A Ward 4 forum is on Saturday, May 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Emory United Methodist Church/Emory Beacon of Light, 6100 Georgia Avenue, NW. At the forums, attendees will learn how to identify and avoid bad loans and learn about better options for financing their mortgages and refinancing their current loans. Other forums are planned for June and July. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Lucy Drafton at 442-7775.

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National Building Museum Events, May 18-19
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org

Sunday, May 18, 2:00-4:00 p.m., Family Program: Pop-Up Architecture. Experience the street you live on in a whole new way by creating a pop-up version! Join artist and author Carol Barton for this fun, creative 3-D workshop where you will learn how to make basic on-the-fold pop-up structures, develop your dimensional design skills, and bring architecture to life. $15 per family. Prepaid registration required. Ages 8 and up.

Monday, May 19, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Building for the 21st Century: Staying Ahead of the Curve: Recent and Upcoming Legislative Changes in Energy Efficient Building. Mary Luevano, policy and legislative affairs director at Global Green USA, discusses recently adopted and pending policy initiatives designed to improve energy efficiency and conservation measures in various building types. Free. Registration not required. Both events at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.

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Help Prepare the Republican Party Platform, May 19-20
Paul D. Craney, pcraney@dcgop.com

On May 19 and May 20, the DC Republican Committee office will be open after hours to take testimonies from the public in crafting our party platform for the 2008 Republican National Committee Convention. The DC Republican Committee will compose a party platform and present it at the convention in September. If you would like to learn more about this event, please contact us at 289-8005 or E-mail us at: info@dcgop.com.

DC residents with expertise in policy that affects the District are encouraged to attend and let us know what you would like the DC Republican Party to include in its 2008 party platform.

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Talk for Change Toastmasters Meeting, May 21
Corey Jenkins Schaut, corey121@gmail.com

Please join us Wednesday, May 21, at 6:45 p.m. for our next meeting of Talk for Change Toastmasters. We meet at the Teach for America offices, located at 1413 K Street, NW, on the 7th floor.

At Talk for Change, we believe in the power of education. By following the Toastmasters curriculum, we have an opportunity to continue to develop and improve our leadership and speaking skills in a safe environment. Many of us our former teachers and alumni of Teach for America. Many of us are making a difference in our community through work in the nonprofit sector. And many of us just value the opportunity to keep learning. We welcome anyone to join our friendly, fun-loving group.

Are you curious what Talk for Change can do for you? We welcome you to join us at an upcoming meeting to see what we are all about. We meet on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. We look forward to welcoming you as our newest member! If you have questions, feel free to send us an E-mail at tfctoastmasters@gmail.com.

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Benning Library Community Design Meeting, June 5
Martha Saccocio, Martha.Saccocio@dc.gov

Please join DC Public Library staff, the design team of Davis, Brody, Bond, Aedas, and your neighbors at a community design meeting to view the near final design plans for the future Benning Neighborhood Library, Thursday, June 5, 6:00-8:00 p.m., at the Benning Interim Library, 4101 Benning Road, NE. For more information, visit the library’s web site at www.dclibrary.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS — CLASSES

Scholarships Available for Full-day Training Seminars
Kim Patton, kbp@foundationcenter.org

Partial scholarships are now available to enable representatives of under-resourced nonprofits serving Washington, DC, to attend our upcoming full-day training seminars. If you represent a nonprofit organization based in and serving the Washington, DC, area with a budget under $1,000,000 you are eligible to apply. Nonprofit organizations may receive up to two scholarships per application cycle. This initiative is designed to assist small, community-based nonprofit organizations in building their internal capacity in preparation for seeking financial support from foundations, corporations, or other grantmakers. Funding for this scholarship program is made possible through the generous support of the Wachovia Foundation, the Jovid Foundation, the Marpat Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. Richard England.

The application deadline is June 16 to attend any seminar from August through October 2008, and the deadline is September 22 to attend any seminar from November 2008 through January 2009. Don’t miss this valuable opportunity! Go to http://foundationcenter.org/washington/dc_scholarship_app08.doc. For more information, contact The Foundation Center, 1627 K Street, NW, 3rd floor, 331-1400, http://www.foundationcenter.org/washington.

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Work Force Training Program
Tracy R. DaCosta, tracy@hawdc.com

The University of the District of Columbia and The Hotel Association of Washington, DC, currently have a program tailored by professionals of the hospitality industry to give District residents high quality customer service experience. Specifically, our front desk training program components are designed to prepare and orient trainees with organizational and management skill set familiarity.

We are looking for energetic individuals who are over the age of eighteen years old, have a high school diploma or GED equivalent, work history, and a District resident. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone that desires a career change in front desk or house keeping. If you have any questions, please contact Bennett, Brooks & Dyson Consulting, LLC at 888-643-9994.

Front Desk and Housekeeping training classes will be held simultaneously at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW. The dates and times for the new classes scheduled are: Saturday, May 17, recruitment and pre-screening (mandatory); Saturday, May 31, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., first class; Saturday, June 7, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., class and job shadowing; Saturday, June 14, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., class; Saturday, June 21, 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., class review; 12:00-2:00 p.m., final exam. If you have any questions, please contact Tracy DaCosta at 202-289-6016 ext. 224 or by E-mail Tracy@Hawdc.com

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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED

Teachers for a Great Early Children Center
Eve Zartman-Ball, ezartmanball@visionsite.org

Great early childhood center in the Washington area is looking for two additions to its team with one lead teacher and one assistant teacher for its classrooms. This is a flexible and positive work environment in beautiful location with good benefits. This position would work with the ED, an experienced mentor with twenty years in the field, to implement social-based age-appropriate curriculum that meets NAEYC and DC Gold Tier standards. Applicants must have experience in early childhood education and have relevant field-based experience. We look to this position to help lead not only the classroom of children, as well as communicate and coach parents in skills that help the child optimize the curriculum through home reinforcement. The applicant must enjoy being around children and the noise and mess that might go with that, as well as all the fun that goes with that as well. The applicant must be physically able to carry children, sit on floors, and be able to climb stairs. He or she must also be willing to go through criminal background checks. Many of our staff have been with us for many years and are looking for fellow team players committed to helping children start their world together.

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