The Beat Goes On
Dear Beaters:
Council Chairman Kwame Brown. Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. Former
Councilmember Michael A. Brown. And now the US Attorney’s Office
announces that its investigation of Councilmember Vincent Orange has
entered a new stage. And when you mention to anyone the drumbeat of
corruption cases, the reaction is no longer shock or surprise. It’s no
longer even disappointment or disgruntlement. The reaction is a list of
three or four other public officials who should also be indicted. As a
start.
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no
distinctly native American criminal class except Congress," Mark Twain
wrote in Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar. Marx wrote that,
"Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and
personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time
as tragedy, the second time as farce." If we take Twain’s
characterization of Congress as the original, and our city council as
the repetition, we could say instead that our history appears on the
national stage the first time as farce, and for the second time on the
local stage in miniature as nothing but a travesty.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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DC Statehood Bill Receives Fiftieth Cosponsor
Joshua Matfess,
Joshua.Matfess@dc.gov
House Resolution 292, the New Columbia Admission Act, has reached a
legislative milestone. The statehood bill, which was introduced in
January by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, has officially received fifty
cosponsors within the House. This resulted directly from the
collaborative efforts of passionate local advocates and dedicated
elected officials. Achieving fifty cosponsors for HR 292 is a
significant step in the over two-hundred-year struggle for statehood. By
comparison, the previous statehood bill, which was introduced in the
previous Congress, only received twenty-eight cosponsors. Showing strong
and uniform support for DC statehood is especially important these days,
considering the current political context. The House is currently
controlled by a Republican Party that unilaterally opposes DC statehood,
and so rallying more and more official support for our legislation is
paramount to demonstrating the necessity and strength of our mission for
statehood.
On June 5, a dozen Representatives added their names to the list of
cosponsors in a wave of new support for DC statehood. Among them was
Representative Jim Clyburn, the third ranking member of the House
Democratic Party leadership. That party leaders are proud to show their
support for DC statehood is promising for our mission’s prospects. This
milestone will be a source of momentum to secure even more support in
the House as we continue to fight for the bill throughout the summer.
District residents should rest assured that their elected officials are
fighting for their rights to meaningful equality and full democratic
voting rights and representation. Plus, residents should feel empowered
to contribute towards our legislative efforts. Continuing optimism and
support from District residents is essential to advance our goal of
statehood. Representative Nate Bennett-Fleming and his staff regularly
visit the Hill to explain the necessity of DC statehood to legislators
from around the country, and anyone interested in assisting with these
advocacy efforts should feel free reach out to our office. We’ve only
gotten this far through the persistence of community activists and, with
your help, the District of Columbia will soon enjoy the statehood it
deserves.
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Seems that with the focus on Michael Brown there is a resurrection of
talk about investigation of Mayor Gray. Well, what about Councilmember
Barry? I am not hearing anyone talk about the several thousands he has
received of late from people and companies doing business with the
District government. Perhaps the law says the it has to hit a threshold
of $25,000 or perhaps $50,000 to warrant action? If we are going to
clean house, we need to clean house, and I would suggest that needs to
include Councilmember Barry and Graham, and Mayor Gray. It is time for
some new folks.
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I don't understand something, Marion Barry did the same thing; how
come he was not indicted? Is he working for the feds?
Also Hakim Sutton was Barry's campaign consultant and fundraiser and
wrote checks from Marion's campaign account to numerous people.
This shit is crazy, one law for one set of folks and another for the
others, that's what makes DC politics corrupt.
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More Money, More Problems
Jason Lee Bakke,
jlb@scifibridges.com
A representative of a company seeking assistance with the CBE process
seeks to bribe a councilmember for help with cash. Clearly wrong, but is
it really that different from hiring Patton Boggs (aside from maybe
being cheaper)?
Oh, of course there are the ethics lawyers are bound by, and I’m sure
clear firewalls in place, but has no one at Patton Boggs ever told a
prospect, "And Jack Evans is of counsel here"?
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Why Was Michael Brown’s Indictment Delayed?
Tom Sherwood,
tom.sherwood@nbcuni.com
[Re: Dorothy Brizill, themail, June 9] A possibly less sinister and
simple answer is that maybe Brown was engaging in a continuing criminal
enterprise and Feds were collecting who knows what data and evidence. At
this point it is reasonable to think the whole city political system is
suspect.
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I must take exception to Dorothy’s posting [themail, June 9] titled
"Corruption and Michael A. Brown" as to the timing of the proceedings
against former Councilmember Michael Brown. The US Attorney’s Office
cannot let — and certainly does not allow — political issues to affect
its judgment. This includes, but is not limited to, petition collection,
primaries, general elections, special elections, etc. We have to allow
the professionals at the US Attorney’s Office handle their own caseload
with the professionalism which they embrace and pursue. To criticize the
timing of prosecutions because political motivations were not taken into
account disparages that office and only evidences one’s own lack of
understanding of the professionalism of that office.
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City-wide Health and Wellness Planning and United Medical Center
Richard Layman,
rlaymandc@yahoo.com
In response to Samuel Jordan's recent post [themail, June 9]: 1) in
contracting, the contracting body (in this case, DC government) has all
kinds of outs with regard to modifying a contract and its provisions
once it has been let, in my experiences — positive and negative in
submitting bids — I've learned it's better to submit, even if there are
defects in the RFP, because there are chances you can modify the final
contract, but if you don't submit you prevent yourself from ever being
able to participate. None of the so called strikes that he lobs at the
vendor are really the "fault" of the vendor, but of the contracting
body.
2) With regard to the concerns both about the business form that the
UMC is supposed to take in an economically sustainable fashion as well
as the point made about the provision for a "community health
assessment," if you remember back to Howard University's desire to build
a new hospital at Reservation 17 as well as the economic failures of the
Dimensions Health Care system in Prince George's County, I made the
point that the city needs to do a comprehensive health and wellness
master plan,
http://tinyurl.com/o9lzhcr.
It may be possible to link UMC with the city's system of funded
community clinics (which are in fact a national best practice), the
upcoming affordable health care act health networks, and other programs
for community health and maintenance of chronic conditions. One example
is what Denver has done ( http://tinyurl.com/kje3wtb)
by integrating its main hospital and public health functions. I don't
know Huron Consulting's background well enough to know whether they are
capable of doing a complete health and wellness plan for an entire
jurisdiction. They don't list producing such master plans as an element
of their health care consulting practice. There is no question that DC
needs such a plan (also addressing emergency medical service provision),
judging by all that has been going on in the city and suburban Maryland
with health care issues over the past fifteen years. But by focusing
strictly on the United Medical Center, the broader questions aren't
being asked, and the opportunity for innovation is likely lost.
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ANC’s and the Machinations of Gentrification
Carolyn Steptoe,
carolynsteptoe@aol.com
As a three-term elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) in
the Brookland neighborhood of Ward 5, I appreciate the May 6 article by
Washington Post columnist Clinton Yates ("Squabble over
restaurant's license offers close-up on city's constant change,"
http://tinyurl.com/oz32xqn.) In his piece,
Yates spotlights an example of what he called "the internal machinations
of gentrification." As he put it: "the struggle for DC urban turf in
nondescript rooms across the city with faces that many residents might
not recognize. . . . [It's] a slow deliberate process . . . a playground
renovation here, a liquor license dispute there. By the time you look
up, everything is changing hands, for better or worse. Unless one group
fights back."
Yates' piece cites the very contentious liquor license renewal
between a black-owned establishment on U Street and a small group of
white nearby residents. Ultimately, that Ward 1 ANC voted to support the
establishment. Beginning in January 2009 as a newly elected ANC, I saw
the machinations of gentrification play out in polarizing (frequently
racial) ways within my ANC and single member district (SMD). When the
2009 DC council approved the Brookland Small Area Plan, the die was cast
to effectuate large-scale gentrification processes for Brookland: the
Office of Planning’s policy to "brand" Brookland began; the Zoning
Planned Unit Development application for a behemoth building (901
Monroe) within ten feet of longtime, largely black senior citizens; two
alcohol license protests before Alcoholic Beverage Regulation
Administration split primarily along racial lines (Optimism and
Brookland's Finest Bar and Kitchen); an incomplete Department of Parks
and Recreation park construction (Noyes) in which factions are already
vying for control — are but a few examples of matters before our ANC in
which the voices of the most directly affected residents are typically
minimized, marginalized, or routinely ignored by the city's
gentrification agenda, processes, and policies.
While the ANCs attempt to notify, and provide a voice to the most
directly affected residents about projects and issues, increasingly,
their efforts are met with intense, mob-like anger and hostility from
factions that would benefit the gentrification process. In helping
constituents stand up and "fight back" against the impact of
gentrification, ANCs face insults, verbal attacks, and retaliatory
threats. Indeed, neighborhood listservs and blogs abound with recall
refrain and salacious attacks directed at ANCs. Recently, my single
member district gathering to hear a presentation from an establishment
about its liquor license application became so disruptive and unruly
that the gathering was adjourned within the first hour. The ensuing
electronic attacks and insults directed at the ANCs were base and ugly.
Yes, Yates does note in his piece that the machinations of
gentrification are painful to watch. However painful the process, ANCs
must remain strong in their commitment to the public trust and their
constituents. For such work, thick-skin is a prerequisite. As the
governmental entities with the closest ties to the community regarding
city policy, legislation, and government agency matters, ANCs cannot be
faint-hearted or cowardly. To better serve their communities and
constituents, ANCs must be knowledgeable about the ever changing
government policy and clear about government processes. They must also
be prepared for the backlash resulting from their decisions on behalf of
their communities. The sole consolation is that by safeguarding the
public trust and protecting the rights of their communities, they are
doing the right thing. So, in the face of the varied hostile
machinations of gentrification, ANCs . . . be brave and don’t be
surprised!
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School Report Cards: All Students to Receive
Team Grades Based on Their School's Test Averages
Erich Martel, ehmartel at star power dot net
(All of the following is a spoof of the education reformers’ policy
of judging the effectiveness of all teachers and support staff in a
school by school-wide average scores on two or three standardized tests
that have no consequences for students. The quotations come from the
description of "School Value Added" in the 2010-11 DCPS IMPACT teacher
evaluation, p. 46, which counted for 5 percent of teachers’ evaluation,
but since removed from the ever-changing IMPACT formulas. The only words
I changed were "school" to "students" and "individual teacher’s" to
"individual student’s.")
On June 6, I participated in a focus group on "school report cards"
sponsored by DC OSSE This is my report. According to a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between the offices of the State Superintendent of
Education (OSSE), Chancellor of the DCPS, Deputy Mayor for Education (DME),
DC Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB) and the DC mayor, starting in
School Year 2013-14, each school’s average DC CAS scores in Reading,
Mathematics, and Composition (Writing) will appear on a publicly posted
School Report Card or SRC.
In turn, these average school scores will replace teacher assigned
grades on students’ report card. In the same manner, in elementary and
middle schools, the school’s average score on the DC CAS Science test
(in high schools, the DC CAS Biology test) will also appear on the SRC
and on each student’s final report card replacing teacher assigned
grades. As Common Core State Standards tests are adopted in other
subject areas, average scores in those subjects will also replace
individual, student grades. The MOU explains that, "we used a
sophisticated model to isolate the impact the school has on [individual]
student learning" and, by extension, on the school’s average test scores
and proficiency percentages, which are then converted into a numerical
value-added score that can be expressed as a traditional letter grade on
students’ report cards.
The office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) reportedly
commissioned an experienced school turnaround firm, funded by a
foundation grant, to develop and roll out this new policy (The practice
of a foundation’s funding a study to drive public education policy is
not without precedent. In 2011, the DME commissioned the Illinois
Facilities Fund or IFF, with funding from the Walton Family Foundation,
to evaluate and rank DCPS and DC charter schools according to the
"demand for performing seats," based on five years of average school
math and reading scores).
The MOU cited the following rationale for this new emphasis on
collective student accountability: "Average school test scores are
value-added measures of students’ overall impact — as opposed to a
student’s impact — on student group learning. They are growth measures
based on the DC CAS. Every student in the school receives the same
score." Or, one enthusiastic staff member put it, on any high caliber
team, all players contribute to best of their ability, but the success
or failure of the team is recorded as a single team score, whether
they’re called runs, goals, points, or baskets.
In anticipation of a parental question, an MOU annex provided the
following FAQ: "Why is my child’s grade determined by the school’s
average DC CAS test score? Because education is very much a team effort
(DC’s public schools emphasize group work and differentiated instruction
to enable teachers to teach to multiple learning modalities or multiple
intelligences), we feel it is important to hold every student in a
building accountable for the overall success of the school. This is the
same idea behind the TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) Program,
which provides bonuses to all staff members in schools that meet certain
performance targets."
#####
The chancellor’s recent "reconstitution" of Cardozo HS and Patterson
ES on the basis that they were "low achieving" is an example of judging
an entire faculty by average test scores without any attempt to explain
why many students were doing poorly or why some, however small in
number, were doing well.
On June 6th, I participated in an OSSE focus group on "School Report
Cards." I posed a rhetorical question to other participants: "How many
parents here think your son or daughter’s report card grades should be
the average school score on DC CAS tests, rather than an individual
grade assigned by the teacher on the basis of your child’s performance?"
I then explained that the School Report Card is being promoted as a
vehicle for parent information, but is intended to collectively evaluate
an entire school faculty on the basis of several student test score
averages. When the students at a school are doing poorly, without even
seeking to know why, it is assumed that some, many or all of the
teachers and support staff are at fault and the school can be threatened
with closure, turnaround, reconstitution without having to determine the
cause. The first question that should be asked is, "Why?"
School report cards are based on the assumption that students’
performance is the result of teacher "inputs," a factor that varies by
student population. There is no scientific basis for it. Since school
officials frequently make unsound choices of curriculums, textbooks,
teaching programs and pedagogical methods without evidence of their
effectiveness, it is an abuse of authority to hold an entire school
faculty responsible for the results of those unsound choices.
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