Writing about the DCPS has expanded my lens. Reading from books, one notices staggering statistics, such as, the number of students in DCPS that are minorities, number of schools that have unfit facilities, and number of teachers who are not certified to educate. The deficiencies in DCPS do not stem from one source and there is no simple solution. Volunteering has physically shown me student academic deficiencies at play.
On Saturday, when asked about student achievement on standardized exams at West Elementary, the principal told me that the school used to be one of the higher performing schools. However, with the new standardized tests, they are underperforming. I was told that because of budget cuts, classes such as Physical Education, Arts, and Reading have been cut. With the federal government pouring money into the school system every year, it is astounding to me that schools are unable to get the funding they need for basic classes.
It is a vicious cycle. Schools do not get funding or are completely eliminated if they fail standardized tests. Schools cannot perform well if they eliminate classes. The school administrators, school board, cannot account for where funding is leading to. Shrouded in secrecy, the bureaucracy is suffocating its students.
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