Today, the DC State Board of Education proudly announced the members of its new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Task Force. Under the leadership of Ward 4 representative Dr. Lannette Woodruff, the ESSA Task Force will help advise the SBOE over the next two years on implementation of DC’s ESSA plan. The SBOE is committed to continuing to involve broad community input in the decision making related to the Every Student Succeeds Act.
To ensure a balance of perspectives, the State Board has chosen task force members who represent a broad constituency and will contribute meaningfully to education policy recommendations related to the 2017 DC ESSA Plan. Task Force members include parents, community leaders, education agency leaders, students, teachers, school leaders, and nonprofit personnel who work in relevant fields.
The SBOE is excited to work with such a tremendous group of diverse voices. Below are the selected members of the Task Force.
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Lannette Woodruff | • Ward 4 Representative, State Board of Education • Chair, ESSA Task Force |
| Alexander Rose-Henig (n) | • Dean of Students, BASIS DC |
| Allyson Criner Brown | • Associate Director, Teaching for Change, Ward 7 Education Council |
| Amon Payne | • Student, Columbia Heights Educational Campus |
| Anne Herr (n) | • Director of School Quality, FOCUS |
| Daniel Rodriguez | • Student, Benjamin Banneker High School |
| DCPS designee | • Chancellor, DC Public Schools |
| Deborah Williams (n) | • Head of School, Inspired Teaching PCS K-8 |
| Donald Hense | • Chairman, Friendship Public Charter Schools |
| Elizabeth V. Primas | • Program Manager ESSA, National Newspaper Publishers Association |
| Erica Hwang (n) | • Instructional Coach – Math, Brightwood Education Campus |
| Faith Hubbard (n) | • Chief Student Advocate, State Board of Education |
| Jack Jacobson | • Ward 2 Representative and Vice President, State Board of Education |
| Jacque Patterson (n) | • DC Regional Director, Rocketship Public Schools |
| Jhonna Turner | • Parent Engagement Program Coordinator, Washington Lawyers’ Committee |
| Joe Weedon | • Ward 6 Representative, State Board of Education |
| Josh Boots | • Executive Director, EmpowerK12 |
| Julie Anne Green | • Executive Director, New Futures |
| Karen Williams | • Ward 7 Representative and President, State Board of Education |
| Laura Fuchs | • Teacher, H.D. Woodson High School, WTU Board Member |
| Maya Martin | • Executive Director, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education |
| PCSB designee | • Chair, Public Charter School Board |
| Ramona Edelin (n) | • Executive Director, DC Association of Chartered Public Schools |
| Richard Pohlman (n) | • Executive Director, Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS |
| Samantha Brown | • Special Education and Reading Teacher, Calvin Coolidge High School |
| Shana Young or designee | • Chief of Staff, Office of the State Superintendent of Education |
| Sheila Strain-Clark | • Parent, Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan |
| Suzanne Wells | • Founder, Capitol Hill Public Schools Parent Organization |
| Yolanda Corbett | • Co-Chair, Parent Advocate Leaders Group |
Total: 21 voting, 8 non-voting
The application period closed at noon on Monday, July 24, 2017. Each application was anonymized to ensure objectivity in selection. A panel appointed by Dr. Woodruff reviewed each application and strived to ensure membership was proportionately representative to the backgrounds of the students here in the District. In keeping with the SBOE’s commitment to transparency, all applications for the Task Force were open to public review. To view a list of task force applicants, click here.
Over the course of two years, four subcommittees will address school report cards, an access and opportunity measure, a high school growth measure, and school climate pilots. Task force meetings begin later this month and will continue on a monthly basis for the duration of the members’ two-year commitment. For updated information regarding ESSA, please visit sboe.dc.gov/essa.
D.C. State Board of Education Blog 