Mara, Warren-Jones want progress to continue
By P.J. ORVETTI
Updated 2:16 PM EDT, Thu, Oct 28, 2010
The District of Columbia has been at center stage in the nation’s battles over education reform over the past few years. The take-no-prisoners model of exiting schools chief Michelle Rhee made her a celebrity -- and the September defeat of her patron Adrian Fentybewildered pretty much everyone who doesn’t actually live in the region.
With Rhee out, Kaya Henderson in (for now), and Vincent Gray so far offering few details on what direction his education policy will take, it’s easy to overlook the D.C. State Board of Education. It was established in 2007 as part of the reform law that gave Fenty control of the schools, and it lacks the power of the pre-Fenty Board of Education.
Still, the SBOE is more than a mere advisory body. It has to sign off on academic standards and graduation requirements, and has authority over No Child Left Behind compliance. As its name indicates, it functions as if D.C. were a state -- which was useful in the District’s successful bid to win $75 million in federal “Race to the Top” funds in August.
The SBOE has nine elected members -- one from each ward, plus one elected at-large. Four of the nonpartisan elections are on the ballot next week. Ward 3 member Laura Slover is unopposed, while Ward 5’s Mark Jones is expected to defeat Republican activist Darlene Glymph. Two other contests are closer, and cast a light on the education reform debate in D.C.
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Follow P.J. Orvetti on Twitter at @PJOinDC
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