How long must parents wait for parental and community involvement and demand for accountability before their children can receive a good education? One generation, two, or perhaps three.

This public school morass has been present for years, if not decades. Bureaucracy will impede an immediate turn around. When the community demands accountability, the teacher's union thwarts any attempts to meet those demands.

I have a child, so this issue resonates with me. I thank God that I am able to ensure my child can get the best education that I am able to provide. But what about the parents who aren't so fortunate? Why should their children languish in a cesspool?

If folks could only see the big picture. It is community involvement by parents that makes the difference in a school. It is a team effort, money is not the root cause of what ails the public school system. It is a lack of parental involvement across 3 areas; the home, school and community.

The marketing that claims it is choice is sooo deception…like you said…where is the choice when you don't have the other 10-12K to go along with that voucher and now the public schools are gone? Those 'voucher schools' don't have to take 'allcomers' either and will send thoser incorrigble, unruly kids home or pack them off to juvenile delinquency with a quickness ..re named of course SPECIAL Ed!!

I see no hypocrisy at all. All children have the right to an education. Decent schools are the responsiblity of our local and state governments. As a responsible citizen it is my responsibility to pay for the public education system even if I do not use it.

The state has no business issuing vouchers to help people pay for private or parochial schools. The state should be about providing quality education to all students. Vouchers are an attempt to pull even more resources from the public school system and the debate about them is misleading.

Let's be real. If you can't afford 20k to send your kid to private school, a 2,000 voucher isn't going to make much of a difference. Seriously, 18k is doable but 20k isn't?? Most private schools have financial aid and scholarship monies available.

Public schools with involved parents and a community that demands accountablity are the solution to public education. Not vouchers.

I have vague memories of Amy Carter visiting the title one elementary school I went to and her Secret Service folks playing Frisbee with the kids on the blacktop. The story that I’ve heard is that the Secret Service guys were really blown by the whole experience of meeting kids who had never played Frisbee. After their visit they sent a bunch of Frisbees to the school. My elementary school was overcrowded and couldn’t provide the things that the secret service needed. Amy Carter went to another DCPS elementary school that was able to provide the Secret Service with their office space. Supposedly she wasn’t able to participate in recess because the street was too close to the playground.

A lot has changed since then and I could name several DC elementary schools that would meet the Secret Services’ needs and still allow for play. But the last thing the DC schools need is another politician micromanaging them. Parents being involved in their kids education is a good thing, but politicians micromanaging schools has been a disaster in DC. It hurts the schools, hurts the kids, and makes the other parents feel powerless.

And Lincoln Jr High still exists, it’s part of the shiny new building with Bell High school.

Yeah, Bob Johnson started as interim principal during my time. He was a cool cat. He hadn't really stamped his personality on the position yet while I was there.

You know, it's funny because Baratunde and I have some similarities and some differences. I wasn't coming from the city. I came to Sidwell from an almost all white environment in a working/middle class suburb. I knew all about whites and Jews. In fact, what was knew for me was meeting black kids like Baratunde which was as much of a shock as the rich kid culture! I too was primed early though by my parents for the revolution. I too had and gave home seminars on black history and the international struggle for freedom. I too would have an African first name — it was a river in the Niger I believe with which my father had fallen in love — but his mother-in-law (my dear sweet half-Indian grandma) shot that down. Hard.

this was an excellent piece. It's so interesting how different choices can shape our lives. I can tell that your mother was a righteous woman. She fought for you everyday. I'll comment more later.

When I learned that President Obama chose the school for his girls, I couldn't help but think of hypocrisy. On the one hand, he has the ability to have his children educated at one of D.C.'s elite schools, but, on the other hand, he doesn't support the idea of school vouchers, which gives poor families a chance to send their children to a decent school for a good education, which is extremely crucial in determining one's fate in life.