School Librarians, Outdoor Storytime, & DC's Literacy Plan
Dear Neighbor,
This afternoon, DC Council will take the first of two final votes on the fiscal 2022 budget. Here's the agenda with links to watch live.
For education, the budget includes:
$168 million in childcare subsidy investments
$74.5 million to modernize School Without Walls at Francis Stevens
$8 million for the School Based Mental Health Initiative
$3 million for the design of a new Shaw Middle School
$1.5 million to address pay equity at Duke Ellington School of the Arts
$750,000 to support a teacher pipeline for DCPS and DCPCS schools
$250,000 to renovate the Thomson Elementary School playground.
School Librarians
Yesterday, Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George proposed an amendment to move guarantee a full-time librarian for every DCPS school. I am deeply concerned that 25+ DC public schools did not have a full-time librarian in the FY22 budget, even though school librarians are essential for addressing learning loss.
Outdoor Storytime!
All families with kids 4 – 10 years old are invited to two outdoor storytime events in Ward 2 this week.
Tomorrow (August 4th) at Rose Park (26th and O Streets NW), MPD officers will be reading books about police officers curated by the DC public library. We'll have one session at 4:00 pm and a second session at 4:30 pm.
This Saturday (August 7th) I'll also be at Stead Park with ANC 2B for outdoor storytime at 10 a.m. Hope to see you there!
DC has a new literacy plan!
DC's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) recently released a "Comprehensive State Literacy Plan," a 5-year plan to improve literacy learning across the District. The 126 pages provide a evidence-based framework for literacy instruction. I'm currently looking for feedback on the plan – please e-mail me back with your comments.
Latest news on school reopening
Please don't hesitate to call or text me if you have feedback, questions, or concerns. My phone number is (202) 735-7062.
Allister Chang
Ward 2 Member
DC State Board of Education