• SIMMONS: New residency requirements to work for city a shakedown
• Teachers “Audition” for Jobs in Washington, D.C. Public Schools
• Examiner Local Editorial: Only a bureaucrat could love DCPS‘ five-year plan
• DCPS Wins Over $62 Million in Federal Grant to Reward and Retain
• School reform at odds with itself
• Behold the new Ballou High School
• 2012 Education Nation Wrap Up
• Charter schools‘ role in serving neighborhoods to be examined
• DC Council to consider charter amendment on budget autonomy
• DC may tighten school graduation requirements

SIMMONS: New residency requirements to work for city a shakedown
Washington Times
The ground-breaking contract signed in 2010 between the Washington Teachers Union and D.C. schools is set to expire and the chancellor had better have a flame retardant wardrobe ready during the course of the next several months as she rolls out her …

Examiner Local Editorial: Only a bureaucrat could love DCPS‘ five-year plan
Washington Examiner
After making national headlines for her union reforms and spending millions of dollars on teacher incentives, former DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee left a disappointing legacy. Less than half of students in the city’s 123 traditional public…

School reform at odds with itself
Washington Post (blog)
Many urban school districts, such as D.C., agree. Then why do the charter schools they praise avoid the teacher evaluation systems they recommend? The best charters don’t use the assessment systems reformers want regular schools to use.

Behold the new Ballou High School
Washington Post (blog)
(D.C. Department of General Services) This evening, Mayor Vincent C. Gray unveiled renderings of the brand-new Ballou High School in Ward 8. Behold, a sneak peek of the design by D.C.-based Bowie Gridley Architects and national firm Perkins & Will.

Charter schools‘ role in serving neighborhoods to be examined
Washington Examiner
D.C. schools officials are set to discuss Tuesday whether charter schools should give preference to children who live nearby, as DC Public Schools prepares to close some neighborhood schools. Admission for charters is set through a citywide lottery on …

DC Council to consider charter amendment on budget autonomy
Washington Times
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson plans to introduce a charter referendum bill on Tuesday that, if passed, will allow city voters to say whether their elected leaders should be able to spend local funds without pre-approval from Congress.

DC may tighten school graduation requirements

The DC State Board of Education this summer released a proposal to update graduation requirements for DC public school students. Many of the proposed changes have merit. Others seem overly prescriptive and raise some questions which the board does not explain in its report.