September 9, 2010
"Kathleen Bowens, a special education teacher at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, was named High School Teacher of the Year at the eighth annual Hoodie Awards..."
Get to Know D. C.
In May 2012, a coalition of local education, non-profit, and business leaders launched Raise DC, a comprehensive and collaborative strategy to connect resources in order and provide every young person the opportunity for success from “cradle to career.”
Led by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, this effort is one of a number of initiatives currently underway across the region, aimed at expanding opportunities for children and families through better alignment of resources, data, and policy. Raise DC’s ambitious goals include increasing the number of students who graduate with a college degree within six years and raising the percentage of youth between ages 20-24 who are employed.
The executive committee of Raise DC includes the Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, the Executive Director of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, the State Superintendent of Education, and leaders of local higher-education institutions. “Our children are our most precious resource,” said Mayor Vincent C. Gray at the press conference announcing the organization’s launch, “and as a city we need to seize the future by breaking down silos and working cooperatively and collaboratively in ways we haven’t before to ensure that our children are born healthy, educated well and prepared properly to compete for careers in our emerging economy.”
Through the work of our corps members and alumni, Teach For America - D.C. Region looks forward to playing a role in supporting Raise DC and other city- and region-wide efforts.
For more information on Raise DC, please visit: Raise DC Partnership Summary
Region Timeline
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A year before Brown v. Board of Education, a group of parents in the D.C. neighborhood of Anacostia successfully fight to desegregate a local middle school in the case Bolling v. Sharpe.
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Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., race riots take place across the District, immediately followed by both white and black flight from the city.
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Legislation is passed approving the operation of charter schools and the D.C. Public Charter School Board is established.
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The Public Education Reform Amendment Act (PERAA) is passed, significantly altering the structures for governance and accountability for public schools. Among other measures, PERAA shifts control of D.C. Public Schools to the mayor and establishes the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education.
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With no school board approval necessary, Mayor Adrian Fenty appoints Michelle Rhee (Baltimore Corps ’92) as the Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools.
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Mayor Fenty loses to present Mayor Vincent Gray. Michelle Rhee resigns and her deputy, Kaya Henderson (New York Corps ’92), is selected by Gray as the new schools chancellor.
Overheard
It’s my job to make it so that every classroom in DC public schools would be one that you’d be comfortable sending your children to and that every teacher that you meet, you would feel comfortable having your children be in that teacher’s classroom.
D.C. Region Corps 1996
Press
August 27, 2010
"In the United States today, the majority of low-income children and a shocking one-third of their more affluent peers are behind when it comes to one key predictor of future achievement: fourth grade reading..."
August 23, 2010
"Monday morning, the 21-year-old will walk into a D.C. classroom, take a deep breath and dive into one of the most difficult assignments in public education...
