District of Columbia

Great Collection of School Library Posters from the 1960s, Back When People Cared About School Libraries

/ The Old Crank

RETRO POSTER - Interested in Sports?A Flickr user recently uploaded a collection of 1960s library posters discovered “while digging through old library stuff.”

I love the poster here in particular. Who doesn’t enjoy a good book about track? (I’m sure there must be one, actually. By the way, a great collection of boxing writing was published just last year, “At The Fights: American Writers on Boxing,” edited by the late George Kimball.)

Most of the posters in this collection, like the one here, are promoting school libraries. Today, school libraries are under threat. Here in Washington, the city recently eliminated funding for school librarian positions in D.C. Public Schools with fewer than 300 students. And those with more than that 300 students, while they will still receive funding for the position, they’re not compelled to fill it.

New Policy Brief from D.C. LEARNs

/ The Old Crank

D.C. LEARNs has just published a policy brief that reviews the research on the influence that a parent’s educational attainment and literacy level has on his/her child’s literacy development and success in school. The research review was conducted by our spring policy intern, Nahid Al-Tehmazi, and the paper itself was co-written by Nahid and myself.

You can view/download the paper here.

Community Schools Get a Boost from the D.C. Council

/ The Old Crank

(Cross-posted on the D.C. LEARNs Blog)

An article today in The Washington Post on the J.C. Nalle Elementary School, the District’s sole community school, noted that the D.C. Council recently gave preliminary approval to spend $1 million in the District’s FY 2013 budget for a pilot program to establish five new  community schools. I wanted to share Council Member Brown’s comments regarding the potential for community schools to address adult education needs (according to the article, the Nalle currently offers help to community members trying to obtain a GED):

“Schools have always traditionally been the anchor in the community,” says council member Michael Brown (I-At Large), who sponsored the measure. “And you can’t be an anchor if you’re just open from nine to three.”

In the council’s vision, he says, schools would serve as neighborhood beacons, catering to the needs of individual communities. One might offer an adult literacy program and another job training services. At Nalle, adults have been offered everything from conflict resolution classes to help with obtaining their GEDs.

The Post also provided a few details about the staffing and costs associated with the Nalle’s community school:

Unlike the District’s new pilot program, which will be paid for using city funds, Nalle operates through a 12-year partnership between the school system, the Freddie Mac Foundation and the National Center for Children and Families. Freddie Mac has contributed nearly $8 million to the school, and the National Center for Children and Families oversees the after-school program and employs four day-time staff members, including Sherman and two social workers.

One of Four New D.C. Charter Schools to Open in 2013 Will Serve Adults

/ The Old Crank

According to The Washington Post, four new charter schools have received tentative approval from the D.C. Public Charter School Board to open for the 2013-14 school year. One of them, the Community College Preparatory Academy, will offer “an educational second chance” to unemployed and under-skilled adults. According to the Post, the school will hold classes at the Backus Campus of the University of the District of Columbia Community College, the Shadd School and the P.R. Harris Educational Center.

h/t @PostSchools