Please take 10 minutes to call your Councilmember for the first, second or third time to keep Eliot-Hine Middle School and Eastern High School in Ward 6. Think about 10 minutes now versus the hour you could spend each day schlepping your kids to a better high school in the city in five years or paying $25,000 a year in tuition!!
At last night's Ward 6 redistricting hearing, Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander said straight out that she wants Eliot-Hine Middle School and Eastern High School to be moved into Ward 7. She repeated this to anyone who even mentioned the word "school" in their testimony.
Although there seems to be some council support for the proposal to keep Eliot-Hine MS and Eastern HS in Ward 6, I am not sure how much influence Ms. Alexander has on the rest of the city council.
The full city council will vote on this issue on Tuesday, June 7 or June 14th (depending on when the subcommittee file's its report).
Councilmembers can make amendments at several points in this process. Ms. Alexander said she wants Eliot-Hine MS and Eastern HS in Ward 7.
Here is my argument:
1. Ward 6 parents will be disenfranchised if the city council moves Eliot-Hine MS and Eastern HS into Ward 7. We will not be able to vote for, or against, the Ward 7 council person in any elections if we approve, or disapprove, of how he or she is supporting, or not supporting, our schools. We would not have a democratic means to pressure him or her to act in a timely or appropriate fashion, push for necessary changes at our schools, or hold DCPS accountable.
2. We need accountability and consistency across our school district so the schools are able to work together efficiently. We need to expand on, not cut off, the hard work that so many Ward 6 parents have already done to improve Eliot-Hine MS and Eastern HS.
Moving Eliot-Hine and Eastern to Ward 7 would insert an
artificial political wall between the ten feeder elementary and schools in Ward 6 and their inbound middle and high schools. For the past three years, the Ward 6 community has come together to propose a plan to revitalize the natural destination schools for our local elementary schools. The Ward 6 Middle School Plan - supported by Chancellor Henderson - includes raising the academic standards, instituting new curriculum, and invigorated community outreach. We have made substantial progress and DCPS is using our model as a template for continued middle school reform across the city. Now, is not the time to inject new voices and new issues into the process.
3. All of the ten feeder schools for Eliot Hine and Eastern are in Ward 6 (except for Thompson Elementary School in Ward 2). No elementary or middle schools in Ward 7 feed into Eliot-Hine Middle School or Eastern High School. Ward 7 has 15 elementary schools, three middle schools and a high
school. This proposition would leave Ward 6 without a high school. Eastern High School only teaches 352 students at this time. Eastern's 10 feeder elementary schools teach 3,151 students. i.e there is a huge amount of promise, but only if our political support and voices continue to be heard.
3. In 2007, the DC City Council took the oversight role for DCPS away from the DC school board and gave this responsibility to the city's elected ward council representatives. However, if this redistricting measure goes through, you will be taking this oversight mechanism away from Ward 6 parents. This proposed redistricting would not only drive a wedge in the middle of the community we have created ¨C and kill the promise our public school system sees in Ward 6 ¨C it would undermine the democratic representation we deserve and expect.
4. Do not take us for granted. We hope to send our children to Eliot-Hine Middle School and Eastern High School,
but we will only do so if we determine these schools will offer our children an excellent education. We do not want to be forced to move to the Washington suburbs in search of better schools ¨C we expect to find them here in Ward 6 ¨C where a contiguous system would offer accountability, high expectations, and superior academic standards.
We do not have the time for our children to be the subjects of a failed DCPS attempt ¨C due to a lack of proper accountability and continuity. The momentum is here today - if we leave, our energy and resources will go with us.
It is important that you call the following council members. Phone calls are better, but send an e-mail as a back up or if you are not able to call:
Chairman Kwame R. Brown
(202) 724-8032
kbrown at dccouncil.us
cc Lisa Raymond, Chairman Brown's education advisor at lraymond at dccouncil.us
Jack Evans, Councilmember (Ward 2)
Co-chairman, Subcommittee on
Redistricting
(202) 724-8058
jackevans at dccouncil.us
Michael A. Brown, Councilmember (At-Large)
Co-chairman, Subcommittee on Redistricting
(202) 724-8105
mbrown at dccouncil.us
Phil Mendelson, Councilmember (At-Large)
Member, Subcommittee on Redistricting
(202) 724-8064
pmendelson at dccouncil.us
David A. Catania, Councilmember (At-Large)
(202) 724-7772
dcatania at dccouncil.us
Vincent Orange, Councilmember (At-Large)
(202) 724-8174
vorange at dccouncil.us
If you have time, please contact other members of the council since they will also vote on this issue and could be influenced by Ms. Alexander. Don't feel badly about calling them - your taxes pay their salaries too!
Jim Graham - Councilmember (Ward 1)
(202) 724-8181
Jgraham at dccouncil.us
Mary M. Cheh - Councilmember (Ward 3)
(202) 724-8062
mcheh at dccouncil.us
Muriel Bowser - Councilmember
(Ward 4)
(202) 724-8052
mbowser at dccouncil.us
Harry Thomas, Jr. - Councilmember (Ward 5)
(202) 724-8028
hthomas at dccouncil.us
Marion Barry - Councilmember (Ward 8)
(202) 724-8045
mbarry at dccouncil.us
