Chess Challenge in DC has immediate openings for teachers or those with appropriate youth work experience to serve as chess coaches in afterschool programs at DC elementary and middle schools from September 2013 through May 2014. Chess Challenge in DC, a non-profit organization, uses the game of chess to increase academic achievement & analytic skills, and to build self-esteem, self-discipline & self-confidence. Chess Clubs meet twice a week for 1.5 hours each session. Mandatory training on our literacy-based chess lesson plans provided one Saturday morning per month throughout the school year. 2-3 additional Saturdays required for tournaments. Coaches are paid $30 per hour for teaching and prep and $20 per hour for training and tournaments. Applicant requirements: Bachelor’s degree, very strong chess knowledge, demonstrated ability to engage in a positive manner with youth, and demonstrated effective classroom management. Full background screen required. Applications considered only if a cover letter detailing youth & chess experience plus a resume are submitted tojan.gordon@chesschallengeindc.org by September 16, 2013.
DC School Gardens Tour (on Wheels!)
Over the past year, OSSE and BicycleSpace have organized school garden tours, including various CHPSPO schools. If you missed the tours, you have an opportunity to join the next one on Sunday, September 8, 11:30 AM-2:30PM.
DCPS Libraries Win Big – by Peter MacPherson
Dear Friends:
Our 16-month long advocacy effort on behalf of school libraries has paid off big! DCPS has found $3.4 million to spend on school libraries. Cardozo, Dunbar, Wilson, Woodson, Eastern and Anacostia high schools will be receiving opening day collections, which is between 9,000 and 14,000 volumes depending on enrollment. Kramer, Eliot-Hine and Jefferson middle schools will also be getting opening day collections as well, All schools will get 30 periodical subscriptions each and those not receiving an opening day collection will get a smaller mix of hardcopy titles and eBooks. All this in addition to our victory in securing adequate funding from the council in the spring for librarian staffing. Schools will have these assets by September 30th.
There is still much work to be done. We’re going to have to continue to push to ensure that all schools continue to get an infusion of new materials in order to achieve parity. Additionally it’s going to take advocacy to guarantee that schools in the process of being modernized get opening day collections as well. All of this has happened because of the consistent engagement of the community. I can’t thank you all enough for staying the course in this long battle.
Best,
Peter MacPherson
CHPSPO Meeting Tonight, August 13 at Riverby Books
The Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization meeting will be Tuesday, August 13, at 6:30 p.m. We’ll meet at 419 East Capitol St., SE (next door to Riverby Books). Attached is the agenda.
David Street, the new Community Outreach Coordinator for the Washington Teachers’ Union, will meet with us. A representative from the Artful Resistance campaign has been invited. We’ll also be dividing up planning responsibilities for Walk to School Day.
Hope to see you on Tuesday.
Suzanne Wells
Sent: Sunday, August 11, 2013 9:52 PM
Subject: CHPSPO Meeting August 13The Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization (CHPSPO) will meet on August 13 (2nd Tuesday this month). Attached is the agenda for our meeting. I’ll send around another note letting everyone know the meeting location.
Suzanne Wells
DCPS Beautification Day is Saturday, August 24
Beautification Day will be held this year on Saturday, August 24, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Register to volunteer here.
Councilmember Catania Community Conversations
Dear Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization members,
Please post the following information on your school list serves:
Councilmember Catania has scheduled a series of Community Conversations in each Ward to discuss the future of public education in DC. Councilmember Catania chairs the Committee on Education. The Ward 6 Community Conversation is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31 at the Southwest Library (900 Wesley Place, SW) from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. You can register for the Community Conversation at http://www.davidcatania.com/summer.
Nine bills have been introduced before the Council that cover a wide range of issues including providing chartering authority to the Chancellor of DCPS, establishing a unified lottery and common application for DCPS and the public charter schools, establishment of an Office of the Student Advocate, amendments to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula, and establishment of a process for the disposition of surplus DCPS properties that gives a right of first offer to public charter schools. The nine bills are:
- Fair Student Funding and School-Based Budget Act of 2013
- Individual School Accountability Act of 2013
- Focused Student Achievement Act of 2013
- Unified Public Lottery Act of 2013
- Comprehensive Planning and Utilization of School Facilities Act of 2013
- Parent and Student Empowerment Act of 2013
- Public Education Governance Improvement Act of 2013
- Increasing Access to High Quality Educational Opportunities Act of 2013
- Reading Development and Grade 3 Retention Act of 2013
These are important changes being considered for our public schools. The Community Conversation is an opportunity to make your voice heard on the future of public education in our city. Please try to attend the Ward 6 Community Converation on July 31.
Suzanne Wells
CHPSPO Meeting, Tuesday, July 23 at Logan (215 G St., NE)
The July CHPSPO meeting will be held on July 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Capitol Hill Montessori @ Logan (Room 107). Attached is the draft CHPSPO agenda for July 23. If you have other agenda topics, please let me know.
We will have a discussion at our meeting about the Campaign for Artful Resistance. Here is a link for more information http://saveourschoolsmarch.org/get-involved/the-campaign-for-artful-resistance/.
Councilmember Catania has scheduled a series of Community Conversations focused on education. The Ward 6 Community Conversation is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31 at the Southwest Library. You can register for the Community Conversation at http://www.davidcatania.com/summer.
Finally, attached is the DRAFT list of the PTA presidents and CHPSPO representatives for SY2013/2014. Please send me any and all corrections.
Suzanne Wells
CHPSPO Meeting Moved to Tuesday, July 23
The July CHPSPO meeting will be held on July 23 at 6:30 p.m. We are moving the meeting to July 23 because the Miner community has a meeting with Chancellor Henderson on July 16 to discuss the firing of Ms. Bunch (July 16 is our regularly scheduled CHPSPO meeting). CHPSPO has been asked to present testimonial at the meeting with the Chancellor.
Atttached are several testimonies that were given at last week’s hearings on the education bills that have been introduced. Attached are testimonies from Cathy Reilly (SHAPPE), Caryn Ernst (Capitol Hill Cluster School), Liz Davis (President-elect of the Washington Teachers Union), and me on the Individual School Accountability Act, and the Mayor’s education bill. Also, attached is testimony by Cathy Reilly on the funding bill.
Please note that Councilmember Catania has scheduled a series of Community Conversations focused on education. The Ward 6 Community Conversation is scheduled for July 31 at the Southwest Library. You can register for the Community Conversation at http://www.davidcatania.com/summer.
Finally, attached is the draft CHPSPO agenda for July 23. If you have other agenda topics, please let me know.
Suzanne Wells
2013-7-9 SHAPPE Testimony.docx
2013-7-9 Liz Davis testimony spoken version.docx
Testimony on School Accountability Act of 2013 – Ernst.doc
WANTED: Cute DC Kids and Their Parents for White House Project
Are you a DC parent, looking for a school for your 3 year old, middle school or high school student? Have you found a terrific elementary school, but worried about middle school?
We want to hear from you as part of a volunteer-run project we hope to showcase at the White House, at the end of July.A team of civic hackers (volunteer data scientists, programmers, and parents) are working through Code for DC (http://codefordc.org/) to help DC families with understanding the school landscape. We are working with DC school officials to publish information about schools, and answer questions like: are there children enrolled in this school that live in my neighborhood? where are the children from my child’s elementary school going to middle school? We will add more information, as we collect additional information about DC schools that goes beyond standardized testing performance (see a preview of the first version below).
We want to hear from you as part of a volunteer-run project we hope to showcase at the White House, at the end of July.A team of civic hackers (volunteer data scientists, programmers, and parents) are working through Code for DC (http://codefordc.org/) to help DC families with understanding the school landscape. We are working with DC school officials to publish information about schools, and answer questions like: are there children enrolled in this school that live in my neighborhood? where are the children from my child’s elementary school going to middle school? We will add more information, as we collect additional information about DC schools that goes beyond standardized testing performance (see a preview of the first version below).
How can you participate today? Help us make a video to get the attention of the folks at the White House, so our project can be included at a showcase. By Thursday, June 20, send us a 20-30 second video (via dropbox, to: Elena Chiriboga <elc64 at georgetown dot edu>) with you or your children (or both), capturing any of the following:
- You, in front of something recognizable in your neighborhood (like Anacostia river, Brookland Metro station, Cathedral- whatever makes sense) saying: “Where do the children in my neighborhood go to (Elementary, or Middle, or High) school?”
- You/your children in front of something recognizable in your neighborhood (like Anacostia river, Brookland Metro station, Cathedral- whatever makes sense) saying: “We live in [XXX neighborhood]!”
- You, at your child’s school saying: “I love my children’s elementary school, but I’m confused about where to send them to middle school”
- Your child, in front of something recognizable in your neighborhood saying: “I want to go to school where my neighborhood friends go!”
- Your child, at their school saying: “My favorite part of school is….”
A few tips:
- To capture the best sound quality, you have to stand reasonably close to the subject (especially since kids don’t always have the loudest voice). Stand about 1-2 feet away from the subject. Try for a shot that is from the chest up. Playback the video after your first recording to make sure the sound isn’t blown out or peaking. If you’re far away from your subject the volume will probably playback very low and boosting it in editing software will only increase all the white noise.
- Try to limit background noise when the subject is speaking.
- Always have the light behind you.
- B-roll can be really tricky with a phone because people tend to move around the phone really quickly when recording. It’s better to be still and have the objects in your frame moving than for you to be panning with your phone.
- Send along a few photos, too, which we will mix in with the video.
Be sure to tell us your first name, and your child’s first name and age and how best to reach you, to share the final video, which will be included in our White House submission.
Thank you in advance from the Code for DC Education Project Team!
Tuesday, June 18, CHPSPO meeting at Watkins
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Ward 6 Public School Parents Organization 