Barack Obama was elected on the promise that he would change the way we do things in Washington. What are the first two things he does?
First, he hires usual suspects like Democratic gunslinger Rahm Emanuel to run his staff. No change there. And when he and his wife, Michelle, investigate schools for their two daughters, they take the path of least resistance down the same old road toward private schools. Like the Clintons. No change there.
Why not consider sending Malia and Sasha to public schools? The thousands of parents who send their kids to D.C. public or charter schools are wondering — what are we, chopped liver? Committing child abuse? Not good enough?
Despite all the dire news about desperate schools and deprived children, the District of Columbia has some of the finest public and charter schools around. Our best elementary and middle schools would measure up well with top schools in Maryland and Virginia.
Though Mayor Adrian Fenty and schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee issued a statement saying they have “gladly discussed the many educational options at DCPS,” and “encouraged them to explore all the alternatives,” it seems to me the Obamas declined to even visit a public school.
On Tuesday the elite chattering classes were atwitter with reports that a motorcade spewing Secret Service agents had pulled up in front of Georgetown Day School. The private school is considered more diverse than other elite schools in the city. Let me assure you, with a price tag of $28,000 a year, it is far from economically diverse.
Mrs. Obama and the two girls are expected to tour Sidwell Friends today; that’s where Chelsea Clinton spent her school years. The parents and partisans of Maret, another elite school, were certainly out of sorts.
Rather than follow the Obamas uptown to Georgetown Day School, I checked out their neighborhood school, Francis-Stevens, on the city’s West End, between Dupont Circle and Georgetown. It’s a fine city school, with a park around the corner, new playground equipment and a student body from across the city. It’s K-8, so Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, could both attend.
I know the Obamas will have to worry about security, which makes Francis-Stevens a great choice. It’s a quick ride down Pennsylvania Avenue and up 24th Street to the school. Let’s say it’s not the greatest school right now; if the Obamas send their children there, don’t you think it would improve real quick?
The first family will have more great choices a bit uptown but not as far, or as exclusive, as the privates. Lafayette, Murch and Janney are top elementary schools. Alice Deal is a great choice for junior high. I know this from personal experience.
I know, I know — choosing a school for your children, if you have the luxury of choice, is a very personal decision. And Michelle Obama wants the best for her daughters.
She can find the best in D.C. public schools and signal a true sense of change.
