District of Columbia

Just seven months into her tenure as Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Michelle Rhee faces a major test over her plan to close 23 underenrolled public schools. After years of enrollment losses to charter school competition and families leaving the District for the suburbs, Washington, D.C. desperately needs to consolidate its school facilities to match capacity to enrollment. But parents and community-members strongly oppose closure of their neighborhood schools. [slideshow]

The case for school closures is typically made in economic terms: excess facilities are a financial drain on the District and underenrolled schools lack the resources to deliver quality educational programs. But school closure--and the resulting restructuring of remaining schools that absorb students, teachers, and in programs from closed buildings--also offers an important opportunity to catalyze reform.

On January 3, New America Early Education Initiative Director Sara Mead testified before the D.C. Council on the need to improve proposed "Pre-K For All" legislation. The prepared text of her remarks is posted below: