CHPSPO Meeting Notes – November 18, 2014

Payne Elementary School Library, 1445 C St., SE

November 18, 2014, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Extension of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver, Jeff Noel, OSSE

1. Process of preparing first administration of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment – computer delivered assessment; higher standard of rigor; aligned with Common Core State Standards
2. Proposing a one year pause for high-stakes decision making (school classifications and teacher evaluations) during first year of implementing new assessments
   • in order to evaluate impact
   • Test results often come back late – may be 6 months behind: a lot of analysis follows initial rollout
3. OSSE proposes we come together to have a discussion as the education community to discuss the new assessments. Jeff Noel was invited back to the December CHPSPO meeting for further discussion.
4. Concerns were raised about high-stakes testing, and the desire to see more data on schools beyond test scores, e.g., student re-enrollment, school climate, teacher retention.

Parent Bill of Rights, Monica Warren-Jones

• Goal is for kids to become the global citizens they need to be and DCSBOE are engaging families in a proactive manner
• Draft reflects what is expected of schools
• Not supposed to impede or supersede existing federal/state laws
• Draft Parent Bill of Rights Public Roundtable, 6 to 8:30 pm at the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library
• Aiming to vote in December and adopt as a board
• No Bill of Rights for DC currently (MASS, NY, NH have them)

Challenger Center, Joe Weedon

• Challenger Center was created by family survivors of the Challenger. Today there are 30 Challenger Centers in the U.S.
• Strong desire for there to be a Challenger Center within a few miles of Capitol
• Eliot Hine has been identified as a good location
• In order to move forward, there is a need for a long-term rental agreement w/ DCPS
• The existing Challenger Centers are independent, non-profit organizations.
• All DC schools would have access to it, as well as schools and visitors from outside of the city
• Curriculum, professional development are owned by the Challenger Center. The Challenger Center raises the money to build the Center.
• A trip to a Challenger Center in NY may be planned in near future.

Committee of the Whole vs. Education Committee, Suzanne Wells

• Phil Mendelson considering moving Education Committee back into Committee of the Whole
  • 9 standing committees and 8 veteran councilmembers
• How to advocate?
  • Call Chairman’s office
  • Make office hours apt
  • Joint coalition letter

Disposition of Gibbs School Building, Suzanne Wells

• Deputy Mayor for Education’s office is reviewing two applications for Gibbs. One application is for three charter schools (an adult education program, Monument Academy which is a boarding school for students in the foster care system, and Washington Global which is a middle school).  The other application is for Friendship Edison to move its younger students to Gibbs, and to co-locate with two adult education programs.

Next CHPSPO Meeting:  December 16, 2014

Upcoming Events

November 17  FY15/16 DCPS Budget Hearing, Payne Elementary (http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Press+Releases+and+Announcements/General+Announcements/Our+Budget+Priorities+for+Next+Year)

November 22  EdFEST, DC’s citywide education fair, 11:00am to 3:00pm, DC Armory.

December 2     Draft Parent Bill of Rights Public Roundtable, 6 to 8:30 pm at the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library

December 4     Language Immersion in Urban Public Schools, 6 – 8 pm, MLK Library

December 4     Levine School of Music to present program for instrumental music at Tyler ES, 4PM – Encourage Music teachers to attend

December 7     MOTH School Information Night, 2 pm – 5 pm

March 7           SWS Auction