Regarding The Post’s May 28 Metro article “Parents surveyed about area schools”:
It is important for school leaders to know how parents feel. But to address post-pandemic academic recovery, it is crucial to address how this issue disproportionately affects students across racial and socioeconomic lines and clearly identify potential solutions and the investment needed to make a real difference.
My organization’s recent analysis of academic recovery in DC shows that investments in early literacy and reading instruction are yielding positive results in all districts. On average, DC students are about a year away from meeting or exceeding pre-pandemic early literacy levels. However, catch-up in mathematics is significantly delayed and students need four more years to make up for losses. Surprisingly, the 2023 state math assessment revealed that only 22 percent of DC students overall, and only 11 percent of Black students in DC, met or exceeded grade-level expectations in mathematics.
The importance of early mathematics education cannot be underestimated. Preparation for eighth grade algebra is strongly linked to students’ mathematical fluency beginning in first grade. Students who successfully complete Algebra I in middle school are more likely to pursue advanced mathematics courses in high school and subsequently enroll in STEM fields in college.
There are ways schools can help. A review of schools where students’ math skills were improving most rapidly identified five instructional strategies that help students develop confidence, conceptual understanding, and procedural fluency.
The DC Council’s fiscal 2025 budget should include a citywide strategy to support schools that adopt evidence-based programs and expand these strategies. Such action could position DC to set a historic precedent, allowing black and brown students and low-income students to meet or exceed the national average in academic achievement by the end of the decade.
The writer is founder of EmpowerK12, a non-profit education information and improvement organization.
As The Post revealed in the May 28 Metro article “DC Fails to Track Youth in Justice and Welfare Systems, Report Says” about a new report from the DC Auditor’s Office, city leadership , from Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), to the DC Council, to DC Auditor Kathleen Patterson herself, continue to miss the boat when it comes to helping struggling youth address traumatic experiences that are wreaking havoc on their lives. lives.
Buried in Ms. Patterson’s report was the fact that, in September 2023, about 10 percent of crime involved youth receiving mental health services; none received substance abuse services. These numbers are disproportionate, given that many of these young people have received mental health diagnoses. And it was shocking to read the bland statement that the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services “did not cite specific partnerships with (DC Agency for Children and Family Services), the Department of Behavioral Health, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, the Office of Victim Services and Justice. Grants, or the Office of the Attorney General.” Failure to provide these vital services is a breach of duty. Instead, what Patterson recommended (and what city leaders subsequently promised to do) is better counting and coordination. Can that really be our response to this grave emergency?
As prominent education activist Jonathan Kozol once said about America’s reliance on testing in schools instead of investing in children: “In Vermont they have a saying: ‘You don’t fatten your lambs by weighing them.'” When will our city leaders stop focusing? Looking for better strategies to “weigh” our struggling youth and commit to helping them?
Sherry EttlesonWashington
Much has been written in recent weeks about Blackie Wetzel and the portrait of John Two Guns White Calf that adorned the helmets of the Washington Redskins from 1972 to 2020. Clearly, the controversy isn’t going away anytime soon. But Josh Harris, the team’s new owner, should see this controversy as an opportunity to restore Washington as one of the NFL’s most successful franchises.
As a DC resident for 35 years, I always enjoyed going to games at RFK Stadium and seeing how football brought the city together. On Monday mornings in the fall, conversations around water coolers, on loading docks, and even in the halls of Congress were always dominated by Sunday’s game. Soccer united the divided city; White or black, rich or poor, Republican or Democrat. Football was a common language spoken by everyone. When Daniel Snyder destroyed the profitable NFL franchise, he also destroyed the glue that held the city together. If Harris can put the pieces together and unite this divided city, he and the franchise will be in a strong position to address the contentious conversations about the team’s name, logo and history.
One option could be for the team to follow the lead of the National Hockey League’s successful Montreal Canadiens and change the team name to “Washington Americans” in honor of all Native American tribes. If Harris does that and also restores Wetzel’s mascot design, when Washington fans put on their burgundy jerseys every Sunday afternoon, they will be able to show their pride in both their team and the Blackfeet Nation. These gestures would illustrate the difference between adopting derogatory names and logos and completely ignoring Native Americans. As a member of the Chippewa Tribe of Minnesota, I see this as our opportunity to honor Native Americans before Native American history is completely erased from memory.
By facing this moment, Harris can right many past wrongs. In doing so, he would enshrine his name along with Wetzel’s in sports history and in the hearts and minds of Washington fans who, as Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) accurately noted in his recent letter , they need to be excited. again.
Michael KaiserWashington
Regarding the June 2 Sports article “Nationals can’t get out of their way when they lose”:
The first sentence of the main article in the Sports section of June 2 addresses a decision that the referee got right. But the next few paragraphs covered the Washington Nationals’ objections to the call, which I suppose is to be expected from the local newspaper. The explanation of the correct call is actually contained in those paragraphs:
1. Dave Martinez claimed the ball hit the knob of Jacob Young’s bat. This was clearly false, as replay confirmed.
2. Home plate umpire Malachi Moore explained to Mr. Martinez that he did not hear the ball hit the bat. The sound of a ball hitting a bat is very different from that of a ball hitting flesh. And the deflection of the ball is also very different. That suggests his reasoning for calling Mr Young was well founded. The article mentions that Mr. Young’s hand clearly showed signs of injury after the game, which would seem to further confirm Mr. Moore’s decision. But the Nationals said that was unrelated.
This is what losing teams do: look for excuses. The Nationals played a sloppy game, including three wild pitches. One of them allowed the winning streak to be scored. They should correct their own mistakes instead of suggesting that the mistake is the referees’.
Colin AgeeFalls Church
The writer is a member of the Northern Virginia Baseball Umpires Association.
Take me out of the ball game
Earlier this year, The Post reported on the latest developments in the long-running Nationals-Orioles broadcast saga. The report insightfully captured the contentious history and impact of the deal MASN and Comcast reached to televise the Nationals and Orioles games this year, noting that the parties’ failure to reach an agreement would have “threatened to disrupt the way that most baseball fans in the region consume their teams.” ‘ games.” However, what is now becoming clear is how expensive these new deals would be for fans.
My family includes fans of Washington’s professional baseball teams for over 100 years. My father and grandfather attended the Senators World Series championship in 1924, as did my son and I when the Nationals won the 2019 Series. But watching our favorite team has been a challenge since the Nationals were world champions. . I’ve been watching the Nationals on Verizon’s MASN station since 2005. But when I tried to watch what would turn out to be the Nationals’ victory over the Atlanta Braves on Memorial Day, Verizon informed me that my annual MASN costs had increased by more than $400. .
I criticize the impudence of these agreements. Yes, television broadcast rights are a key way teams make money to field strong rosters. But these types of dramatic price increases also risk cutting off long-term fans without warning. As a reward, perhaps the networks could consider televising Nationals games at 2023 rates for the remainder of the 2024 season. In exchange, we could encourage fans to donate any savings saved from watching baseball to a worthy charity. I would nominate Jesuit or Lutheran immigrant missions in Texas.
No tenant? Verizon? Comcast? Nationals? Listening only to the crickets chirping, this summer I will follow the Nationals on the radio.
Maurice McInerney Bethesda
Keynote USA
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