Have you ever felt cheated? Did you ever wait in a long line, hungry and thirsty, only to be told when you got to the head of the line that there was no more food or drink? Well, you might know how the D.C. charter schools feel.
Have you ever felt cheated? Did you ever wait in a long line, hungry and thirsty, only to be told when you got to the head of the line that there was no more food or drink? Well, you might know how the D.C. charter schools feel.
Is this a Redskins town or what? The ‘Skins still own the news cycle days after their devastating defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks.
Is this a Redskins town or what? The ‘Skins still own the news cycle days after their devastating defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Front page articles, stories that lead newscasts, an explosion of comments on Twitter. The inauguration? What inauguration? I exaggerate, but not that much.
It's been one crazy political season. We have, up to now, endured an onslaught of ads from political parties, candidates, PACs and other "for and against" groups.
It's been one crazy political season. We have, up to now, endured an onslaught of ads from political parties, candidates, PACs and other "for and against" groups; we have watched as the candidates have risen or fallen in the polls as the result of debate performances. But then along came Gallaudet University.
What would you do if you had $1 billion? Start your own cable network? Buy a Hawaiian island? Or maybe buy yourself an NFL franchise?
What would you do if you had $1 billion? Start your own cable network? Buy a Hawaiian island? Or maybe buy yourself an NFL franchise? What if you decided to give back to your community, to have a decade's long impact on the quality of life.
If you are truly objective, it would be hard to argue that charter schools haven't been one of the most effective ways to elevate academic achievement.
If you are truly objective and you place the interests of the students of the District above all the politics surrounding public education, it would be hard to argue that charter schools haven't been one of the most effective ways to elevate academic achievement.
The 2012-2013 school year in the District will feature 58 schools, all with populations under 300 students, opening their doors without the compliment of a school library and librarian.
The 2012-2013 school year in the District will feature 58 schools, all with populations under 300 students, opening their doors without the compliment of a school library and librarian. We are talking about schools that serve around 17,000 students.
When reporters sought comment from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray about the illegal shadow campaign that helped him win the election, here's what he said: "This is not the campaign that we intended to run."
When reporters sought comment from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray about the illegal shadow campaign that helped him win the election, here's what he said: "This is not the campaign that we intended to run." I'd say that is a gross understatement.
This represents a dramatic decrease in the HIV infection rate, but the rate in the District is still above that of any state in the union and still qualifies as an epidemic based on the threshold established by the World Health Organization.
That said, progress is progress. It will take a collective effort at raising awareness, increasing education and testing to reduce the infection rate in the city. That collective effort does seem to be taking shape.
Kudos go out to the District of Columbia for its efforts to ramp up testing for HIV among its residents and city employees. The District announced that its employees would be allowed two hours of paid leave to attend HIV awareness training and to get tested.
Adding to the District's efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the launch of a $1.2 million program that will offer free rapid HIV tests at drug stores in 24 cities, including Washington, D.C. Currently, there are two Walgreens locations in the District that are offering these free tests:
Walgreens 1217 22nd Street, NW
Community Pharmacy 1325 14th Street, NW
And then we have the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Ward 5, who a few Sundays ago as a part of Plymouth's Love in Action HIV & AIDS Ministry, HIV tests were made available to its congregation, during the service, no less. This effort, staged by such a powerfully influential part of the fabric of the community can not be taken lightly. It was a powerful statement.
An estimated 20 percent to 30 percent of HIV-positive residents do not know they are infected. Testing is the first step to getting those D.C. residents that are infected into the District's free health care and medicine programs. Further success will only come from a continued group effort.
