A key member of the U.S. Senate with oversight of D.C. affairs said Thursday he will take an aggressive oversight role as Mayor Adrian Fenty embarks on his school reform efforts.
The “sad state” of the D.C. Public Schools, dating back decades, demands active participation by Congress, said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the subcommittee on Oversight Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia.
But after a hearing with Fenty and five other major players in the District’s educational system, Akaka said the nation’s capital sits “at the edge of meaningful reform.”
“The challenges facing Mayor Fenty and his new leadership team are monumental, and I want to commend the mayor for making the education of the District’s children a top priority,” Akaka said.
That said, Akaka added, Fenty’s plan still lacks sufficient benchmarks and “clear details.”
“Obviously, what we have now is not working,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
During the hearing, Fenty was joined by schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, acting Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso, Facilities Chief Allen Lew, state Superintendent of Education Deborah Gist and state Board of Education President Robert Bobb.
“I took office in January knowing it was time to do something radically different in the schools,” Fenty said. “Why? Because we’ve had study after study, dating almost back to when I was a D.C. Public Schools student, documenting how the schools are failing our children. This has to end.”
The hearing revealed very few new details about how reform will play out. Rhee pledged to “focus relentlessly” on training, building a corps of effective principals and teachers, improving professional development, providing adequate resources and implementing a consistent instructional approach.
Lew, meanwhile, reiterated that critical repairs at 37 schools are behind schedule. But his office, he said, has “selected contractors for each school and negotiated contracts based on solid estimates,” and work in some cases started this week.
