Wednesday, July 30, 2008

COLLEGE TOUR

The Village Connection (TVC)
and
Cyberworld Educational Foundation (CWEF)
Present The 16th year of College Tours
To
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
&
TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES
TOURS ARE OPEN TO 8th GRADE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
ALONG WITH HIGH SCHOOL

FRESHMEN - SOPHOMORES
JUNIORS - SENIORS
For more information go to http://www.theconnectedvillage.org/

To increase the size of the image, place mouse on the picture
then right click on “Open Link”

Monday, July 28, 2008

Students-Principal Meeting

“STUDENTS HAVE YOUR VOICES HEARD”

!Wilson Management Cares What You Think!

Wilson’s management team wants to meet with interested students over the summer to get their ideas and input about the following questions:

1. What suggestions do you have for improvements at Wilson? What will help make Wilson a model school?
2. What do you like about Wilson? What are its strengths?

You are invited to share thoughts on issues important to you, including for example:
- safety, security, discipline
- academics, sports, extra-curricular activities
- dress code, cafeteria and food, facilities


Full List of Meeting Dates:

Tuesday, July 29th, 9 am – 11 am
Tuesday, August 5th, 1 pm – 3 pm
Tuesday, August 12th, 6 pm– 8 pm

Please go to the main office and mention the meeting and you will be directed as to where to go for the meeting wtih Principal Cahall.

Friday, July 25, 2008

GLOBAL GIRLS Town Hall Meeting

Contact:
Janice Ferebee
Director,

Bethune Program Development Center
202-737-0120, X123 Fax: 202-737-0476

jferebee@ncnw.org



National Council of Negro Women to Host GLOBAL GIRLS Town Hall Meeting

Washington, DC – The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) will host its first GLOBAL GIRLS Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, August 9, 2008 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p.m.

Led by Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Chair and President Emerita (NCNW) and hosted by NCNW’s Bethune Program Development Center (BPDC), this event will feature Comedian, Motivational Speaker and Actress, Meshelle Shields (The Indie-Mom of Comedy). The GLOBAL GIRLS Town Hall Meeting will be held at the NCNW Headquarters, which is located at 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004.

The GLOBAL GIRLS Town Hall Meeting will bring together girls, ages 13-18, from different cultures for an afternoon of fun and empowerment. Participants will address their challenges, exchange ideas, mobilize their voices for change, and dialogue with adult women about what girls REALLY need to succeed. Young girls will hear first-hand from Dr. Dorothy I. Height as she shares her personal experiences and reinforces her message of strength and hope for the next generation of female leaders.

According to Janice Ferebee, BPDC Director, “girls [of color] in the 21st century are faced with challenges which threaten their future including lack of self-worth, teen pregnancy, media exploitation, and lack of leadership and mentoring.” Despite these challenges, girls [of color] not only can, but do prosper, compete and lead with the support of women who believe and invest in them. NCNW continues to provide national and local initiatives aimed at strengthening the ties between girls and women and offers opportunities for leadership and personal development through the 50 NCNW Youth and Collegiate sections.

Attendance for this event is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To RSVP for this event before August 4, 2008 or for more information about the GLOBAL GIRLS Town Hall Meeting.

Contact: Janice Ferebee at jferebee@ncnw.org or call 202-737-0120, X123
Visit www.ncnw.org.

Monday, July 21, 2008

WILSON MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (WMC) MEETING Wednesday, August 6th


When: Wednesday, August 6th
Time: 8:30 am
Location: Conference room across from Main Office


The meeting is with the architects (Grimm + Parker) designing the new Wilson.
The firm has renovated 130 schools.

This is the time for your input into the major design elements, as well as the issue of phasing vs. moving students off campus during construction.

Note that following each meeting the Wilson website (Wilsonhs.org) will post the minutes (reflecting the conversation) and a pdf of the Powerpoint presentation (shows the drawings) is available.

Direct questions and comments to:

Mary L. Froning, Wilson LSRT Liaison to the WMC Board
Phone: 202-244-9194
Fax: 202-966-7183
mailto:MaryFroning@40compuserve.com


The next WMC meeting is:
Wednesday, August 20th (8:30 am)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

"MEET & GREET" WITH PRINCIPAL CAHALL AND NEW ADMINISTRATORS

* SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 2008 *

Wilson families are invited to one of the following receptions to meet Wilson’s new Principal, Pete Cahall, as well as other new staff on the Administrative Team:

July 31st (Thursday), 6 pm – 8 pm
· Wilson Library, 3950 Chesapeake Street, N.W. 20016
· Tenleytown Metro (Red line)

August 2 (Saturday), 10 am – 12 pm (noon)
· Mary’s Center, 2355 Ontario Road, N.W.
· At the corner of Kalorama; 10 minute walk from either the Columbia Heights Metro (Yellow/Green line) or Woodley Park Metro (Red line)

August 5th (Tuesday), 6 pm – 8 pm
· Jefferson Middle School, 801 7th St SW
· 10 minute walk from L’enfant Plaza Metro (Yellow/Green line)

There will be refreshments and good company!

Chancellor Rhee Upholds Termination of Art Siebens

This is the response from Chancellor Rhee regarding the inquiry by the Wilson Minority Parents Alliance on the termination of Dr. Art Siebens. It also includes a portion of the letter from the Alliance which can be read in its entirety in the posting entitled "Letter to DC officials on rehiring Art Siebens."


From: "Rhee, Michelle (OOC)"
To: WilsonMinority ParentsAlliance wilsonparentsofcolor@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008 5:38:00 PM
Subject: RE: Art Siebens Rehiring Concerns

Principal Cahall and I are confident that the right decision has been made.

MR
________________________________

From: WilsonMinority ParentsAlliance [mailto:wilsonparentsofcolor@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wed 7/16/2008 2:16 AM
To: dcatania@dccouncil.us; hthomas@dccouncil.us; jackevans@dccouncil.us; jgraham@dccouncil.us; Davis, John L. (OOC); kbrown@dccouncil.us; mayor@dc.gov; mbarry@dccouncil.us; mbowser@dccouncil.us; mcheh@dccouncil.us; Rhee, Michelle (OOC); Cahall, Pete (SHS); pmendelson@dccouncil.us; Bobb, Robert (OSSE); schwartzc@dccouncil.us; Biddle, Sekou (OSSE); Kinlow, Tonya (EOM); twells@dccouncil.us; vgray@dccouncil.us; Reinoso, Victor (EOM); yalexander@dccouncil.us; wilsonparentsofcolor@yahoo.com
Cc: Whittle, Thomas (OAS)
Subject: Art Siebens Rehiring Concerns

July 15, 2008

Dear Principal Pete Cahall, Chancellor Michelle Rhee and DC Council Members, A decision was made not to rehire Dr. Art Siebens. The question to Mr. Cahall and Chancellor Rhee, do you stand by that decision, as well as, the decision not to invite other Wilson staff to return?

Friday, July 18, 2008

Letter to DC officials on rehiring Art Siebens

July 15, 2008




Dear Principal Pete Cahall, Chancellor Michelle Rhee and DC Council Members,

A decision was made not to rehire Dr. Art Siebens. The question to Mr. Cahall and Chancellor Rhee, do you stand by that decision, as well as, the decision not to invite other Wilson staff to return?

This is being raised because it is apparent that little to no consideration was given to parents, students and community members that clearly are not in favor of the rehiring of Dr. Siebens, during testimony at two recent DC City Council hearings. This is evident by several council members going on record supporting his reinstatement without any acknowledgement, consideration or discussion to strong opposition to their sentiments.

We the members of the Wilson Minority Parents Alliance unanimously decided not to support the rehiring of Dr. Siebens because of assertions of his mistreatment of African American and Latino students. Attached is a copy of the original June 30, 2008 letter detailing our concerns regarding this matter that we sent to Principal Cahall, Chancellor Rhee, council members and others during the Wilson staff appeals process.

It is egregious and irresponsible for officials to make a public statement supporting those on either side of this highly controversial and sensitive issue without first recognizing and investigating all views. Since we were not aware of last week’s testimony opportunities until after the fact, i.e. the Friday, July 11th and Saturday, July 12th hearings as posted on the Wilson Listserv, we offer the enclosed material for your edification. Members of the alliance are amenable to meeting and speaking with Wilson’s principal, the Chancellor and members of the City Council and Board of Education, where we can have an open comprehensive discussion about our concerns.

Our membership represents the largest of the school population which is 75% students of color comprised of African Americans, Asians, Latinos and those of mixed ethnicity.


The Wilson Minority Parents Alliance

Letter to Wilson Principal on rehiring Art Siebens

June 30, 2008




Mr. Peter Cahall
Principal
Wilson Senior High School
3950 Chesapeake Street, N.W.

Dear Mr. Cahall:

First, we would like to take the opportunity to welcome you to Woodrow Wilson High School and to say that all of the members of the Wilson Minority Parties Alliance look forward to working with you over the next school year.

As you may already know, we had an opportunity to meet one on one with Interim Principal Jacqueline Williams, Chancellor Renee and with Dr. Emyrtle Bennett to discuss our concerns about the state of minority affairs as it relates to students and parents of color at Wilson Senior High School. Our concerns center around the general welfare of minority students; the climate (whether it was conducive to the learning exposure for minority students); the attitude of both teenagers and faculty at Wilson toward minority students; the measurable achievement rates for minorities; the reason(s) so many students of color have such a high rate of failure; and the reason(s) there is such an imbalance of so few students of color enrolled in advanced placement and honor classes, the Honor Society and members of other high achieving programs. This is a concern based on the demographic population of Wilson being 75% students of color.

Certainly all of our issues have not been adequately addressed nor satisfactory resolutions reached to correct them. DCPS/Wilson however, has taken proactive steps over the last several years, including the most recent reconstitution process that is being currently implemented.

At our most recent meeting questions came up about what appeared to be aggressive politicking by some Wilson parents and possibly faculty as well, to keep particular teachers/staff who had been eliminated from their teaching/staff positions at Wilson due to the reconstitution. At least one of the teachers being discussed for rehire – Dr. Art Siebens – has raised a red flag amongst our members. Dr. Siebens has not had a good history as it relates to his treatment of minority students or his willingness to value students other than those who meet the standards of honors or advanced placement achievement.

On the other hand, Wilson staff like Kenneth Dickerson who had his finger on the pulse of young minority male students at Wilson, and Dr. Emyrtle Bennett, guidance counselor whose wealth of knowledge, contacts and untiring assistance to many minority students and their parents made the difference in their success or failure at Wilson and their quest for college admittance; or Shauna Leung, EXCELerator/College Board Coach who brought a wealth of knowledge, energy, and commitment to ensuring parity in educational opportunities for minority students at Wilson – represent significant and profound losses to our children and to us as parents.

Of concern, of course, is the fact that our group does not know all of the teachers/staff who have been adversely affected by the reconstitution, which puts us at a disadvantage if there are others who have worked on behalf of minority students and are being terminated. It does appear that others may be privy to this information, but it is certainly not universally transparent.

Our group agreed not to go so far as to ask you to rehire these three staff or even to ultimately decide to fire Dr. Siebens. We are asking you however to review each of these individuals records with care and deliberation and to talk to some of the minority students and parents about their experiences with these folks as you consider their fate and the impact it will have on minority students at Wilson. We, members of the Alliance, believe strongly that one teacher, one staffer, does, in fact, make a difference – one student at a time. In making decisions about teacher, staff and faculty hires please consider that there is a need to bring on board at least one Latino guidance counselor and one Latino assistant principal.

Finally our group would like you to work with the PTSA to ensure that, as part of the matriculation process for all Wilson families, that the Wilson List Serve be opened up to every parent who provides their email addresses when their child processes into the school. We believe that the ‘list serve’ should be an information tool made available to every parent, not withstanding whether they ask to join and they are directed to a rigorous sign up process. We unanimously agreed that many minority parents, especially single parents and working adult family members are kept out of the loop about opportunities to participate in special activities, travel, study groups, training, internships, advanced academic programs, curriculum changes, staff and teacher updates, PTSA and LSRT activities and many other happenings at the school because of the current way the ‘list serve’ is handled.

We are looking for fairness and equity for all students, teachers, staff, and faculty. We look forward to being able to meet with you soon and again, welcome aboard.


The Wilson Minority Parents Alliance