The neighborhood party is almost here! Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 9. Join all your neighborhood friends at Lincoln Park – 7:30-8:15 AM.
Taste of H St. for JO Wilson is Sunday, October 13th, 2013
Join us for our Second Annual Taste of H Auction for J.O. Wilson Elementary School, Sunday, October 13th, 2013 from 5-9 p.m. at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Enjoy a food tasting from some of the best restaurants on H Street, as they delight your palate with items from their diverse and delicious menus. Indulge in some wine or beer, while listening to live music and bidding on amazing items in our live & silent auctions kicked off by our master of ceremony, Tommy Wells. Come Taste, Toast & Bid for a great DC public school! To buy tickets please go to www.tasteofh.org.
Report on the Bills Before the DC City Council Education Committee
> Chairman Catania and the Members of the Education Committee: >
> There will be an important debate about education policy in our City in the coming months. >
> We welcome that discussion and hope that together we can meet our shared goal of building a system that we can all be proud of and that can fully serve all of our children and communities, >
> In that spirit, the signatories of this report from across the City (cc’ed here) have put together the attached statement of principles as well as recommendations and a detailed analysis of the seven bills put forward in the spring by Chairman Catania as a first step in what we hope will be a collaborative and constructive process to achieve our shared goals. >
> Sincerely,
> Cathy Reilly and Matthew Frumin
SignaturePage.docx
CHPSPO Meeting September 17, 6:30pm at JO Wilson
The Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization (CHPSPO) will meet on September 17 at J.O. Wilson (660 K Street, NE) at 6:30 p.m. We’ll have an open data presentation on where students who attend our schools live, continue planning for Walk-to-School Day, discuss a position paper on the education bills before the City Council (I will send the paper before the meeting), and get an update on school library advocacy. Hope to see you on Tuesday.
Suzanne Wells
CHPSPO Meeting Notes – August 13, 2013
Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization
Capitol Hill Community Foundation
419 East Capitol St., SE (next door to Riverby Books)
August 13, 2013
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
1. Washington Teachers’ Union Outreach – David Street
Discussion by group:
- Union striving towards community participation
- How to ‘maximize’ the ‘ward’ or community meetings?
- Cultural changes around ‘last days of school’
- Is IMPACT a sensible use of resources?
- How can we (community) best support efforts (akin to IB)
- How can we align w/ WTU and community on issues like Catania bills (ex: chartering capability for DCPS)
- Relationship between Teach for America, DCPS and impact to career teachers?
- Principal contracts – 1 year apt
- Aug 27 community organization alliance strategy meeting: Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ 5301 North Capitol Street, NE – 6:30-8:30PM
2. Campaign for Artful Resistance – Bess Altwerger invited (http://saveourschoolsmarch.org/get-involved/the-campaign-for-artful-resistance/)
Discussion by group:
- Do schools, individuals, teachers, families want to create art?
- Ideas around ‘it’s not on the test’?
- Art to be displayed at busboys and poets? Other public spaces?
3. Discussion of Council member Catania’s Community Conversations; Next Steps on Education Bills
- Parents and Communities for Neighborhood Schools
- Soon to distribute comments around Catania bills
- Need to keep close watch on when hearings are scheduled
- Catania may not necessarily introduce all bills for vote
4. Planning Walk-to-School Day – George Blackmon
- Communications to schools this week. Are schools participating? Recruit volunteers.
5. CHPSPO Elections
Nominations:
- Suzanne Wells – Chair
- Sandra Moscoso – Secretary
- Treasurer?
- Vice Chair?
6. Libraries Update
- Librarians for schools 300+ was restored; excess from renovations earmarked to stock school libraries supported by council. However, librarians have not been actively recruited, nor have books been purchased for renovated schools. NOTE – See update on this via Peter MacPherson’s recent post.
- Plan: protest at ribbon-cutting for Dunbar
Next CHPSPO Meeting: September 17, 2013
Upcoming Events:
August 24 School Beautification Day
August 27 WTU Community Organization Engagement Strategy planning meeting: Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ 5301 North Capitol Street, NE – 6:30-8:30PM
October 9 Walk to School Day
Part-Time Chess Instructors Needed for Chess Challenge in DC
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.
Ward 6 Public School Parents Organization 