Open Letter to the Eastern Senior High School Community
Members of the Program Advisory Team and others interested in the new Eastern High School:
Based on the conversation at our September 1st PAT meeting, and on lots of subsequent conversations—I have been drinking coffee with folks all over Ward 6 and part of Ward 7—we are changing up the schedule of PAT meetings and what will occur at those meetings.
The community discussion process began with several absolutes already decided:
- Eastern will be a top-flight, comprehensive high school
- Eastern will not be a high school to which students will have to apply for admission
- Eastern will support the success of all kinds of students
In discussions and deliberations thus far, PAT meeting attendees have been clear about the kind of school that you want Eastern to be. Thus far, a school with:
- high expectations for students, teachers, and principals
- academic rigor
- high-level, career-based internships
- for all ninth graders, a small learning community tailored to the needs of ninth graders
- a small learning community focused on the health sciences
- appreciation and support for every kind of student, and investment in the success of every student
- a focus on positive and supportive teacher-student relationships
At this point in the process, what seems most productive is for us to show you some models of what a school like the one described above might look and feel like, and how it would function. And after you consider some concrete models, you will have another level of excellent, guiding feedback for us. We have heard this desire for specificity and a desire for more knowledge about high school best practices from many of you, and therefore are changing a few things to meet your needs:
1. The September 29th PAT meeting will be postponed until. . .
2. Thursday, October 22nd At this meeting, Hilary Darilek, Director of Human Capital Strategy, Principals, will update you on principal recruitment in general, recruitment for the Eastern principal, role of the community in that process, and more.
3. The November 17th meeting will also be rescheduled to Monday, November 16th due to a community conflict. This will be a larger community meeting at which a number of DCPS staff working on Eastern will present a range of concrete ideas and models to you. (PAT meeting attendees, if you feel that a preview of this would be useful for you, let me know.)
4. On an early December date TBD, the PAT will meet with Chancellor Rhee so that you can give her your thoughts and recommendations directly and in person. We are working with her calendar now and will post this as soon as possible.
5. In order to continue the knowledge flow, keep checking the Future of Eastern High School section of dcps.dc.gov (which can be found under the “Community” header on the home page). Right now you will find there the schedule of meetings, notes from past PAT meetings, and contact information for your thoughts and questions. Next week, we will begin to post articles on topics you have told us that you want to know more about:
- 9th grade small learning academies
- AP courses
- AP for All, philosophy and practice
- Courses required for graduation from a DC public high school
- Other articles relevant to the kind of school we all want Eastern to be as more topics arise
These changes are based in large part on your feedback, so we trust they look good to you. If you have questions and/or comments, contact me at peggy.obrien@dc.gov or 202-535-1584. If you are new to this conversation and would like to get caught up, we’re happy to arrange a session to accomplish that.
Thanks for all,
PO’B
