The 2006-07 District school year will be a successful one, D.C. leaders said Monday, but only if parents, teachers, administrators and the private sector organize to kick off the year by challenging the status quo.
“This is a new school year that must be marked by a nontraditional approach to opening our schools,” Superintendent Clifford Janey said during a news conference at City Hall. “It can’t be business as usual. We must take on this school year very rigorously and not wait until a week or two once the school year has begun to get engaged with
education.”
That means parents must be involved from Day One — next Monday — ensuring their children are immunized, registered for school and in class on time on the first day, school officials said.
It means new academic benchmarks in a range of subjects, rigorous assessment tests and tougher standards for truants.
Mayor Anthony Williams is offering all D.C. government employees a two-hour excused absence to take their young ones to class on opening day. He urged the private sector to follow suit in “granting this indulgence.
Barbara Lang, chairman of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, said she would recommend a liberal leave policy for Monday morning.
“We have a fighting chance of turning this around if they are in school,” Lang said of students. “If they’re not, the streets will claim them.”
Upcoming school events
» Janey to share “school readiness plans” with Board of Education on Wednesday
» Immunization clinic 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the ARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE
» DCPS Beautification Day, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at neighborhood schools
» First day of school, Monday
