DC Teacher Chic

Is one of the more interesting teacher blogs up right now, providing a ground-level perspective on how things are playing out in DCPS amidst all the national attention, ongoing reforms, tense contract negotiations, general tumult, and of course the day-to-day challenges of a very difficult job. Check it out. 

In other news, preliminary 2008 enrollment numbers indicate that 37 percent of all DC public school students are now enrolled in charter schools. In part, this is because some formerly private Catholic schools converted to charters. But it also reflects the ongoing loss of students from DCPS and continued growth in and parental demand for charters. Charters continue to enroll a very small percentage of all student nationally, but in some areas they are now clearly established as by far the most influential school reform model. The numbers also serve as a reminder to those who think the current DCPS reforms are going too far, too fast. The days of unlimited time horizons for turning around failing school systems are, thankfully, starting to fall behind us.