DCPS Elite Look Out for Their Own

by fwinstead | September 9, 2007 at 06:55 am

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WASHINGTON — Children of District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor of Education Victor Reinoso were not affected by the latest DCPS foul up. The school administration inability to administer a contract with an outside firm to provide administrative functions has lead to a disruption in most Spanish-immersion classes. Only the renewals for teachers of the school attended by Rhee and Reinoso's kids were properly processed. The Mayor's children attend private school and were unaffected. The other 50,000 students in the DCPS system received the status quo: less than they had before.

Concha also said he’s suspicious about the fact three international teachers whose visa clearances went through before the contract expired are teaching at Oyster Bilingual School, where Rhee and Deputy Mayor of Education Victor Reinoso send their children.

Hobson, however, said that’s merely a coincidence. Spanish immersion programs are distinct from purely bilingual classes mainly in intensity — students learn content by using the language during the school day. The school system has been taking extra steps to find teachers from beyond the U.S. borders who have extensive teaching backgrounds and fluency in both English and Spanish.