L OCAL LIVING
District
15 DC
CLASS STRUGGLE
How can D.C. schools improve? Look next door.
I have been arguing with readers on my blog about how to improve D.C. public schools. It may sound like the same old fight over D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, which should be resolved soon. (This column’s deadline was Monday, before the polls closed on the mayoral race.) But our online quarrel has evolved into something deeper. All of us want to help low-income kids. Readers say Rhee is too aggressive and uncompromising. I say other school leaders have been similarly pushy, with good results in raising standards, removing low- performing teachers and fighting the apathy that has led many school systems to assume disadvantaged children can’t learn much. Readers, not believing me, have asked for examples. My first instinct is to mention
charter schools across the country that have shown great gains with low-income children by refusing to compromise. But those aren’t school systems. They don’t have large headquarters staffs used to doing things their way. They don’t provide much of a model for the District. Better answers, I realize, are found here in the Washington area. Some of our suburban districts have made great strides with energetic policies that had to overcome resistance. People in the District tend to dismiss places such as Arlington, Fairfaxand Montgomery counties as atypical, because they are among the wealthiest school districts in the country. But they don’t spend much more, and often spend less, per child than the District does. According to fiscal 2007 figures compiled by Mary Levy of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, D.C. schools had an operating budget of $14,405 per pupil, compared with $17,958 for Arlington, $12,853 for Fairfax and $13,446 for Montgomery. (With its new teacher contract, D.C. is spending even more.) Our suburban counties, like the city, have large pockets of poverty where test scores have been low. But they have had more success dealing with that. The Foundation for Child
Development and Pre-K Now, a campaign funded by the Pew Center on the States, has released a report saying Montgomery’s programs for disadvantaged children in early grades are a
JAY MATHEWS
national model. “Almost 90 percent of kindergarteners enter first grade with essential early literacy skills,” the foundation said in a statement. “Nearly 88 percent of third graders read proficiently.” The county succeeded despite criticism that it was putting too much stress on kids. Fairfax County was the first
district in the area, and one of the first in the country, to open Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses to all students, another initiative that challenged old habits. From 1997 to 2008, Arlington raised the percentage of black students passing the Virginia Standards of Learning exams from 37 to 74 percent and Hispanic students from 47 to 82 percent, by making minority improvement its priority, despite some predictions of failure. To me, these programs
succeeded because the suburban districts, unlike the D.C. schools, had a critical mass of involved families. Most but not all of these families were middle class and supported better teaching for all students, rich and poor. That dynamic has worked in certain parts of the District, particularly in Northwest, to which families from other parts of the city, some middle class, some not, transferred their children to join the affluent children attending public schools there. They were willing to sanction tougher principals, more homework and careful documentation of progress through standardized tests. If standards slipped, they got mad. We seem to have more parents like that in other parts of the District these days, if you count those flocking to high-performing charter schools. They form a base of support for more determined school improvement, if the chancellor, whoever that may be, takes advantage of it.
ON WASHINGTONPOST.COM 6
For more Jay, go to
washingtonpost.com/
class-struggle.
animal watch
These were among cases handled by the Washington Humane Society. The society operates its shelter at 7319 Georgia Ave. NW and the District’s at 1201 New York Ave. NE. For information or assistance, 24 hours a day, call 202-723-5730 or visit www.
washhumane.org.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Owner declines treatment for dog that later died
SIXTH ST. NW, 1300 block, Sept. 4. An emergency veterinarian called the Humane Society about a dog owner who left a hospital without getting treatment for a Yorkshire terrier that had been hit by a car and had severe head trauma. A society officer located the owner, but the dog was dead.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Humane Society needs help identifying dead pit bull
M ST. NE, 1800 block, Sept. 3. The Humane Society needs help identifying the body of a tan-and- white male pit bull that was found by a trash can in an alley. The dog, wearing a black collar, was in a tan, plastic dog crate with two plastic food bowls. Anyone with information should call Officer Gardner at 202-723-5730, Ext. 134.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Pup on a balcony
surrendered for adoption GALVESTON ST. SW, 1-99 block,
ADOPT A PET
Stella, a 2-month-old Rottweiler, was surrendered by her Virginia owner to the Washington Humane Society. She was placed in foster care and made available for adoption.
The D.C. Animal Shelter, 1201 New York Ave. NE, and the Washington Humane Society Shelter, 7319 Georgia Ave. NW, offer animals for adoption. The D.C. shelter has viewing and adoption hours from noon to 8 p.m. weekdays except Wednesdays and noon to 5 p.m. weekends. Hours at the society’s shelter are noon to 7 p.m. daily. Pictures of other available animals can be seen at www.washhumane. org. For information, call the D.C. shelter, 202-576-6013, or the society’s shelter, 202-723-5730.
WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY
Sept. 3. A Humane Society officer who was checking another address saw a dog on an apartment’s balcony. The officer met with the resident to discuss proper shelter and care for the puppy. The resident said her son had brought home the dog, which spent most of its time on the balcony. She gave the 4-month- old mixed breed to the society, where it was to be made available for adoption.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII When cats not allowed, owner surrenders them
WHEELER RD. SE, 4300 block, Sept. 2. Responding to a call about two cats abandoned in a vacant apartment, a Humane Society
officer found the cats’ owner, who was moving and unable to take the cats to the new apartment. The owner gave the two domestic shorthairs to the society, where they were to be evaluated for adoption.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Purebred Rottweiler pup is available for adoption
VIRGINIA, Berkeley Town Rd., 100 block, July 20. A 2-month-old purebred Rottweiler, which was given up by an owner who no longer wanted it, was made available for adoption. For information, e-mail
jconway@washhumane.org.
animals continued on 24 ANIMAL DOCTOR
Getting reluctant cats to drink more liquids is worth the effort
Dear Dr. Fox: I recently read your column concerning a cat that died after having crystals in its bladder. I want to share a possible way to prevent this. One of my male cats
developed the same condition, which was probably aggravated by being neutered too soon. I had to rush him to the emergency animal hospital in the middle of the night on three occasions because of his discomfort. The hospital always has
different vets on call, and the last time I brought my cat there, the doctor told me that her cat had the same tendency to produce crystals. She said that she gives her cat one-fourth cup of liquid every day, something
he really likes so he laps it up immediately (it could be chicken broth, diluted juice from a can of tuna fish, etc.). This seemed to cure him, she said. I tried the same thing, but my
cat wouldn’t drink anything I put in front of him, so I used a syringe (without the needle) and force-fed him the equivalent of one-fourth cup of water every night. It was a nuisance, because it was a total of 10 syringes full. Although he hated it at first, he became used to it and was fairly cooperative. It did the trick, believe it or
not. That was eight years ago; I religiously gave the water to him every day. He never had another episode, and he’s 15 now. I
fox continued on 24
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THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010
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