The Post‘s Conor Williams has a good piece looking in further detail at the school reform situation in D.C. and why the election of Vincent Gray as Mayor is not the catastrophe for D.C. ed reform many national voices assumed it was. Williams particularly highlights Gray’s selection of Hosanna Mahaley as State Superintendent (the person who runs the office that carries out state-level education functions for D.C.), a role some folks expect to become more important under Gray and given D.C.'s Race to the Top win; DeShawn Wright as Deputy Mayor for Education; and decision to keep former Chancellor Rhee’s deputy, Kaya Henderson, on as interim chancellor.
I’d agree that those are all good signs. What Williams overlooks is Gray’s support for charter schools, which educate nearly 40 percent of the District’s students and are an important part of the educational landscape here. Conor--as you and your wife consider whether or not to buy a home in D.C. (and I hope you do!), don’t forget to take into account the charter school options here--something, along with widespread access to publicly funded pre-k, that D.C. can offer parents and neighboring Maryland and Virginia suburbs can’t. (disc: I’m on the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, which authorizes charter schools in D.C.)