For Immediate Release:
December 15, 2017
Councilmember Robert White Renews Call for Independent Investigation Into DCPS Graduation Scandal
Washington, DC
—
Councilmember Robert White issued the following statement on the roundtable on Ballou Senior High School.
“Investigative news reports revealed that roughly half of the Ballou Senior High School graduating class of 2017 had not met basic requirements for graduation, but were given high school diplomas. Our public school students graduated from high school unprepared for the difficult world ahead. I support the students at Ballou wholeheartedly and do not believe that these issues are isolated to Ballou—I have heard from too many educators, parents, students, and community members to believe otherwise.
It is fully insufficient that the investigation into this matter is looking only at the school that made the news and not our public school system as a whole. A limited investigation will lead to scapegoats and temporary fixes instead of the real repairs and attention that our students need. An Office of the State Superintendent of Education led investigation, no matter how well executed, will be met with great suspicion by the public. Further, an investigation only into Ballou makes this graduation scandal a Ballou problem instead of a DCPS problem. We have to recognize our duty to restore public confidence in our education agencies and our schools.
I am calling for a broad examination of DCPS schools to be conducted by an entity with full autonomy and independence. Nothing short of this will identify all policy breaches and flaws or give the Chancellor and the Mayor the clear picture needed to make the necessary reforms. We must pull this thread, no matter how uncomfortable, and follow it wherever it may lead.”
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