Michelle Rhee Wows CAG
D.C.. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was well received at the Oct. 22 meeting of the Citizens Association of Georgetown, held in the cafeteria of the newly refurbished Addison School on P Street. Addison is now part of the Hyde School campus, serving students from first through fifth grades.
About 100 or so CAG members and Hyde-Addison School parents were on hand to greet the controversial school administrator. Rhee has been getting some critical press regarding her dismissal of more than 400 teachers, but she was upbeat and open in her discussion before CAG.
Introduced by Hyde-Addison Principal Dana Nerenberg, Rhee praised her as "an absolutely exemplary principal" and the school -- "Hyde is an example of a school that can work if you provide the resources." The chancellor then took questions from the audience with "no holds barred," as she said.
Although Rhee was very proud of the fact that D.C. was number one in the nation in fourth-grade growth and eighth graders who tripled the national average last year, she admitted that "We're nowhere near where we should be," pertaining to test scores on a national average. In fact, when asked by a fifth grader at the meeting how she would grade her performance thus far, the chancellor said she would take an "F." Wow, a little harsh there, aren't we?
Some of Rhee's most telling comments were:
"Universities are not doing a good enough job in preparing future teachers for teaching in an urban environment. This is a big hole in teacher education today."
"Our obligation is to graduate students with options . . . either in seeking a college education or in getting a job to support oneself after high school by developing those skills that could be applied in the workforce."
"The reason we see a mass exodus of students from public schools after fourth grade is that we don't have the middle school dynamic in place." (Rhee did reveal that she has a plan which will roll out in December, before private school applications for middle schools are due, however.)
Before the CAG meeting, audience members were given guided tours of the "new" Addison faclity. Student ambassadors Cameron, Lewis, Taylor, Cami, Louis II, Ron, Kira, Talia, Adriano and others showed off their shiny, new classrooms with their high-tech projectors and colorful geography rugs.
Above: Hyde-Addison Principal Dana Nerenberg, D.C.. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Citizens Association of Georgetown President Jennifer Altemus.
Rhee, thanked by CAG members after address, with John Hays and Barbara Gordon.
Hyde-Addison students with their chancellor.
ANNOUNCEMENT!
Hyde-Addison Elementary will hold its 12th annual EcoFest Gala & Auction on Friday. Nov. 13 at the House of Sweden, the Swedish Embassy's award-winning architectural space on Georgetown's waterfront.
With an exciting new theme, this year's event is aimed at supporting the school's new environmental science program along with Hyde-Addison's other educational programs. In keeping with the green theme, the auction co-chairs even had the year's invitations printed with soy ink on 100% recycled paper. A number of the items to be auctioned off will have green themes as well.
A little background: Hyde-Addison, located on O Street just west of Wisconsin Ave., is the only D.C. public school in the heart of Georgetown. About half its 220 students are neighborhood kids; the rest come from across the city to attend this wonderfully warm, diverse and high-achieving school. The school, with an expanded campus this year to encompass the Addison building which backs up on P Street, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.
Hyde's students are blessed with a wonderful principal, Dana Nerenberg, a top-notch group of teachers and administrators and an engaged set of parents. But budget cuts across the D.C. public school system and hard economic times have made it difficult for the school to buy all the supplies it needs for the next generation of young scientists. So this year's auction is more important than ever to raise money for everything from science periodicals and lab coats to books for our library.
Tickets this year are $50 per person and the auction runs from 7-10 p.m. Guests will be served light fare, a dessert buffet, champagne, wine and beer.
For tickets, please call:
Tracey Weisler, PTA VP and Auction co-chair at (202) 329-1425 or Lee Murphy, Auction co-chair at (202) 277-7477.
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