SBOE in the Community: August 2017

This week, members of the SBOE went into the community to help students get ready for back to school. On Friday, August 4th, Ward 3 representative Ruth Wattenberg accompanied Councilmember Mary Cheh on her annual tour of Ward 3 schools. The purpose of Cheh’s visits is to assess school needs, such as broken air conditioners or new textbooks. This year’s tour had a more specific focus – addressing issues resulting from overcrowding in classrooms. WTOP quoted Ms. Cheh as saying there school building functioning has improved immensely. Both Ms. Wattenberg and Councilmember Cheh have also been advocating for the restoration of staff positions at Wilson High School and other Ward 3 schools. When DCPS releases its final budget, the public will know more about how DCPS plans to address this issue. Learn more about the school tour: http://bit.ly/2vW3Wu3.

Later in the week, Markus Batchelor worked to stay up-to-date on issues impacting his constituents in Ward 8. On Tuesday, August 8th, Mr. Batchelor attended an ANC 8A meeting to hear DC Attorney General Karl Racine discuss affordable housing and the Alternatives to Court Experience Program (ACE), which Mr. Racine piloted to divert juveniles away from the school to prison pipeline. So far the program has an 80% success rate for preventing juvenile re-arrests. More information about the ACE program can be found here: http://bit.ly/2vXpjdR.

On Thursday, August 10th, Ashley Carter, At-Large representative for the SBOE, helped out with back-to-school preparations by packing backpacks for United Way DC’s Stuff the Bus Project. This project helps provide students in need with school supplies and personal care items. For information on how to get involved: http://bit.ly/2hQObP0.