Month: June 2020

Jessica Wodatch steps down as executive director of Two Rivers PCS

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When my Facebook feed popped up yesterday, I really could not believe my eyes. My friend Jessica Wodatch announced that after 16 years it was her last day as executive director of the wildly popular Performance Management Framework Tier 1 Two Rivers Public Charter School that she co-founded. Here is what she wrote:

“After 16 beautiful years, I am stepping down as Executive Director at Two Rivers. Today we had our last closing circle together and my staff shared this beautiful video. It has been a true honor to work alongside such amazing people to do such important work. I have loved getting to see children grow and grow up, getting to know families, and collaborating with brilliant educators to create and nurture a joyful learning community. I’ll be staying on for a few months to help our talented new ED, and then I’ll be setting off to work as a leadership coach. Of course, TR will always be a part of me and in my heart, so I won’t be far away. Thanks to everyone for their long-time support of me and the school, and to the Two Rivers family for such a meaningful and loving celebration!”

I interviewed Ms. Wodatch eight years ago and it made a tremendous impression on me. I remember it like it was yesterday because she did something that I still believe is highly impressive. Upon meeting her, the Two Rivers PCS executive director walked me right up to some randomly assembled students so they could tell me about their school.

That day began a professional association with Ms. Wodatch that I have cherished ever since. One of my favorite times of the year was when I could attend one of the school’s Showcase Nights so I could hear student presentations around the academic expedition that had recently concluded. Almost always my visit ended with me experiencing tears of joy for what these scholars had accomplished. I have reprinted my interview with her below:

My time with Ms. Wodatch began with what I hope will be a new tradition for my exclusive interviews. She marched me right up to a classroom in her bright and colorful middle school off Florida Ave, N.E., and pulled out three young students for me to meet. I even had the opportunity to ask them some questions. But I will come back to these students later.

We then sat down in her office so that I could learn more about Two Rivers. The Executive Director explained to me that it was founded by about three dozen parents who were looking for alternatives to the traditional schools for their children. Ms. Wodatch was familiar with the work being done by Capital City PCS and asked their representatives if they would open a branch on Capitol Hill. While she was told that there were no plans to do so she was informed that there were a group of individuals living in this area trying to form their own school. Ms. Wodatch immediately became involved.

Two Rivers opened in 2004 with 150 students and 25 teachers. It has grown to 450 students pre-K through 8 th located in two buildings across the street from each other. Ms. Wodatch estimates that she experienced “about 20” failed facility deals before they settled on their permanent site.

It is a Performance Management Framework Tier 1 school. Their elementary school DC CAS proficiency rate in reading of 78 percent is the highest of all charter elementary schools. The 72 percent DC CAS proficiency rate in math for the elementary school is the fifth highest of all D.C. charters. The scores are not quite as high for the middle school with a 58 percent proficiency rate for reading and a 54 percent proficiency rate for math.

Ms. Wodatch was extremely eager to tell me the reasons behind the school’s success.

“First you have to understand that change takes time,” Ms. Wodatch informed me. She said that she has worked closely with her board on this subject and has received their support and encouragement.

“Second,” Ms. Wodatch explained, “you need to pick a curriculum that is research based and stick with it.” Two Rivers uses the Expeditionary Learning, which according to the school’s web site “emphasizes interactive, hands-on, project-based learning. The school focuses on the whole child, recognizing the importance of character education and the social-emotional needs of children while helping them achieve academic excellence.”

I then asked Ms. Wodatch for her motivation behind opening the school. “I have a passion for equality and justice,” she answered without a moment of hesitation. “My father was a civil rights lawyer and one of the authors of the American for Disabilities Act. I started out at Teach for America working with third graders in the Bronx. I have worked with special education children at both St. Coletta and Kingsburry Day School. Engaging with this population of kids instructs you how to teach all children. I believe that all children can learn and that they deserve the same opportunity to do well in life.”

It was at this point that I understood what really drives Ms. Wodatch. She is doing this for the children. This founder has none of the self focus I have seen from others who have created successful schools despite the tremendous odds working against them. Ms. Wodatch believes in her heart that “learning ​should be fun and relevant to the kids’ lives,” and that “building a school involves building a community.” The executive director quickly got to the bottom line. “Walking into school is like walking into a hug. Having a kid here (her three children attend Two Rivers) makes me a want to be a better parent.”

These notions are consistent with her belief that the school needs to be welcoming and diverse. There are other foundations behind her work and that of her staff. For example, they believe that the arts and physical education are not extras to be provided as an obligation but subjects that should be fully integrated into the curriculum. Music and Spanish are also emphasized at the school.

Besides the high academic results, the end result of these efforts to provide a truly special and caring learning environment are an extremely stable staff and student population. “In the history of the school not one teacher has left to accept another teaching position somewhere else,” Ms. Wodatch proudly said. “On the student population side our re-enrollment rate is around 90 percent.”

But the school is not content to stay in one place regarding their progress. The staff spends time every week on professional development and is heavily dependent on data to drive student assessment. According to Ms. Wodatch “the goal is not to just teach the basics but for our kids to learn 21 st century skills. We focus on subjects such as equality, expert thinking, and complex communications.”

Which now brings me back to the students I met at the beginning of my visit. All three were well- dressed, professional, and extremely articulate. They looked me straight in the eye as they spoke. These kids had a confidence you don’t usually see in kids their age.

The students uniformly described their school as a community. When I asked whether they missed their friends since Two Rivers is not a neighborhood school they each shook their heads no. “We have made plenty of new friends here,” remarked one of them, “and the work is harder than it would be at my regular school.”

The fight for educational equity is not over

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I’m inspired this morning by the words of my friend Virginia Walden Ford, the woman who became the symbol of the fight for private school vouchers for disadvantaged children in Washington, D.C. Below I reprint her Facebook post from yesterday:

I am a Black Woman. I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. When my father, William Harry Fowler, was named as the first Black Assistant Superintendent of the Little Rock School District in the late 60’s, “they” burned a cross in our yard and threw a rock through our window. From that point forward, I can say that I have seen and experienced racism my entire life.

Systemic racism is rooted deeply in America and, therefore, cannot easily be corrected. For many of us who have spent a lifetime fighting for racial justice, this is a moment of reckoning that has eluded us for far too long.

I read this today and was inspired.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”…James Baldwin- from The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings (2010)

Therefore, I believe that for any change to occur, that it absolutely must be faced. That is why I am happy to see young people taking to the streets to exercise their constitutional right to protest. The world needs to know that BLACK LIVES MATTER. Seeing their faces in protest means America MUST face the issues that have been prominent in our lives far too long.

I have been fighting for justice for a long time, longer maybe than many of the young people who are out protesting have been alive. In all of those years of activism, I have learned about the power of love and the power of hope. Even in times of great struggle, it is important that we do not forget love or lose hope. We can make the world better, but only if we work together. When we come together as people of all races, sexes, and creeds we create change.

When we were fighting for educational opportunities for the young people of Washington, D.C., people tried to divide us. Well, first they tried to dismiss us, and when they could not do that, they tried to defeat us, and when they could not do that, they tried to divide us. It is important that the people fighting for justice today remember the lessons that we learned then. Do not let the most extreme voices define you. Stay true to yourselves. Find people who want to help and work with them. Forgive. Be kind. But fight HARD for what is right and never give up.

I am not done fighting for educational opportunities for kids. I am inspired by the young people making their voices heard. They give me hope for a better world. Let us get to work making this happen.

#BLACKLIVESMATTER

Blessings,
Virginia Walden Ford

We can never be done fighting for educational opportunities for kids. I may be overly optimistic, but I believe that if we had figured out how to close the academic achievement gap years ago we would not have seen the pandemic kill so many in the Black community. If we had solved the challenge of providing all children a quality education independent of their zip codes then the economic damage we are witnessing today would not have fallen so much harder on minorities.

We know the right thing to do when it comes to public education reform. We must provide quality seats to all students in whatever form that takes, private school vouchers, charter schools, or traditional ones. But we must act now. This should be the lesson from current events.

D.C. Democrats for Education Reform apologizes for campaign mailers

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At the end of May, the Washington City Paper’s Mitch Ryals identified serious problems with the accuracy of campaign literature distributed by the D.C. Democrats for Education Reform, a pro-charter school organization. The pieces attacked Janeese Lewis George, who successfully challenged DFER’s endorsed candidate incumbent Brandon Todd in Ward 4, and Brooke Pinto, who won her Ward 2 contest against Patrick Kennedy, who was also favored by the education group.

The criticism of Ms. George has proved to be especially problematic in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd. The flyers stated, according to Mr. Ryals, “Janeese Lewis George bragged: ‘I will divest from MPD!'” . . . “That’s politician-speak for cutting police officers in Ward 4!” The City Paper reporter quotes another piece as stating, “Our police officers have dedicated their lives to keeping Ward 4 families safe. But Janeese Lewis George calls them ‘one of the greatest dangers to the future of urban life.'”

Here is how Mr. Ryals explains the positions of Ms. George regarding the police and law enforcement:

“The first quote about divesting from the police department originates from an October 2019 tweet, which initially left little room for ambiguity (she punctuated the tweet with a ‘full stop.’)

George clarified in a follow-up tweet that she ‘would redirect some of the $550 million in funding that is currently allocated for policing toward violence prevention and violence interruption programs…’

George tells LL [Loose Lips] she doesn’t want to reduce the police force, but she is in favor of using a part of its budget to fund public health approaches to address crime—violence interrupters or putting more social workers in schools.

‘It’s about how we’re using our officers that is the problem,’ she says. ‘Officers sitting in cars is not effective. That’s a leadership problem. I’m not blaming the officers. I’m looking to leadership and asking ‘What are you doing to reduce crime?'”

In other words, Ms. George’s positions are consistent with the defund the police movement that is now sweeping the country.

A couple of days ago, DFER apologized for their literature:

“During this election season, DFER-DC endorsed Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, a champion for education reforms that have helped make D.C. the fastest improving urban school district in the country and have better prepared Black and Brown children for college, career, and life. In furtherance of this, DFER-DC distributed mailers to Ward 4 voters informing them of Janeese Lewis George’s position on divesting resources from traditional police programs, a position that polling showed Ward 4 voters opposed. These mailers oversimplified a more nuanced conversation about public safety without calling out the problematic history of policing Black people, causing misunderstanding and pain on an issue vitally important to the students and families DFER-DC serves. We have taken the time to reflect on the implications of these mailers: We made a mistake, and we have learned from it.”

The director of DFER-DC originally explained the thinking behind the release of the flyers to the City Paper this way:

“Ramin Taheri, director of DFER-DC, says the organization crafted its mailers based on poll data. In Ward 4, for example, 68 percent of the 303 registered Democrats polled say they are less likely to vote for someone who wants to cut police officers from the force, according to a memo Taheri shared with LL.”

Ms. George opined to Mr. Ryals that the literature was meant to spread fear. Now, it appears that the flyers were as inappropriate as they were at the time they were distributed.

Failure is not an option when it comes to educating D.C. students

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I learned a few things from reviewing the testimony of Shannon Hodge and Dr. Ramona Edelin offered at yesterday’s D.C. Council Hearing on the Budget before the Committee on Education and the Committee of the Whole. First, I observed that the city is willing to consider a charter school co-location at the closed Spingarn High School. It’s not much of a concession as the entire building should have been turned over to charters. I guess its 225,000 square feet is even too much for DCPS to handle.

I was extremely satisfied to see, as indicated by Ms. Hodge, that the 2.2 percent increase in the charter school facility allotment has made it into Mayor Muriel Bowser’s revised fiscal year 2021 budget. I previously reported that she had pushed for a three percent increase to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula, which was a decrease of one percent from her original plan, but there was no mention of the revenue for buildings. I also discovered that the Council may push to restore the entire four percent jump in the UPSFF.

Moreover, Ms. Hodge pointed out that a regulatory change by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education had the effect of lowering alternative education dollars for many schools “serving adults and disconnected youth” by twenty percent. She called on the money to be restored at a time when this type of education has become even more crucial in a tenuous economy.

Lastly, the structure of the new DC Charter School Alliance is beginning to become fleshed out. Dr. Edelin revealed that she will become a senior advisor to the group. In her remarks, Ms. Hodge filled in her new role as the Alliance’s executive director:

“As I look ahead to my new position, I want to pledge today my commitment to use my leadership in this newly created organization as a willing partner. A partner with whom you can always reach out to for advice and with whom you can work. A partner who will praise and criticize when necessary but who will also work alongside you to find solutions to overcome, not just close, the opportunity gaps for students who need it most. It is a partnership that must succeed, as failure is a cost that is too high a price for our students, our families, our communities, and our city to pay.”

These comments are important because so far we have not lived up to the underling commitment of public school reform made over twenty years ago in the nation’s capital that any student that needed a quality seat would get one. Instead what we have are wait lists as long as the eye can see for families trying to get their children into high-performing charters and an academic achievement gap that is one of the largest in the country that will not budge.

I’m hoping with every cell in my body that when we finally emerge from the deep fog of the pandemic and racial strife that these are not just words.