Earlier this month, D.C. mayor Anthony Williams began to lobby for mayoral control over District schools - a move that has been tried in other big cities with mixed results. This week, in a closed-door session with the city council, Williams outlined the details of his plan, which includes extending the school year by six weeks and the school day by several hours, merit pay for teachers, and giving principals of successful schools greater autonomy. "A Mayor's Vision" has met with criticism from all the usual places: school board president Peggy Cooper Cafritz claims that the proposals are ones she's already made herself, and that Hizzoner's approach "is about power, not about the kids," while board member William Lockridge accused the mayor of "intentionally withholding money that he plans to provide if he gets control of the school system." If that wasn't enough, he called the mayor "selfish and immature" because "[Williams] doesn't want the school system to improve under the current structure . . . [rather], he wants it to improve under his structure." We'll gladly settle for the decrepit D.C. school system improving under any structure. And we agree with Paul Ruiz of the Education Trust, who notes that Williams's plan to lengthen school days and years won't boost achievement unless coupled with curricular and instructional reforms. Watch this space.
"D.C. school proposals coolly received," by Craig Timberg and Justin Blum, Washington Post, October 30, 2003