On Election Day in November, D.C. voters decided four surprisingly contentious elections for seats on the D.C. State Board of Education. Those races highlighted divides between the traditional public school system and the city’s robust charter sector.
Four candidates are facing off in an election expected to have low voter turnout. Still, the Washington Teachers’ Union and Democrats for Education Reform — a powerful advocacy organization that promotes charter schools and tenure retooling — have gotten involved, pushing for their candidates.
Rhonda Henderson, the candidate backed by the charter advocacy group, has raised more than $22,000.
Frazier O’Leary, the candidate endorsed by the teachers union, has raised about $10,000. Ryan Tauriainen has raised more than $3,500, and Elani Lawrence has garnered nearly $5,000.
Although the school board members do not wield significant power, the election’s outcome will send a signal as the city becomes increasingly divided over mayoral control of schools.
On one side, Henderson supports the current structure, with the mayor appointing nearly all top education officials. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has the backing of her Ward 4 D.C. Council member ally, Brandon T. Todd (D). Todd has held fundraisers and campaigned for Henderson.
On the other side, O’Leary said he believes that the system of mayoral control is “a disaster” and that the board of education should wrest some power from the mayor.
Another contentious issue facing the board is the five-star rating system for schools. The rankings — part of a broader school report card — aim to make school data more accessible. But critics fear a reliance on test scores will reserve the highest accolades for schools that educate the city’s wealthiest students and result in paltry ratings for schools serving vulnerable children.
These profiles are based on candidates’ answers and are edited for space and clarity.
Rhonda Henderson, 40, former charter school teacher and finance specialist for EdOps, a company that provides business management services to charter schools.
Education : Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, master’s from Harvard Graduate School of Education and master’s of business administration from the University of Virginia.
Children in D.C. schools : No.
Greatest problem facing D.C. schools : Consistent access to a quality education and support for our teachers and leaders.
Solution : Build relationships across our city agencies — including the Department of Behavioral Health — to support our neighborhood schools. Support looks like investing in our teachers and leaders so they have all they need to support our students and also have the capacity to engage parents as partners in their children’s education.
Opinion of mayoral control : I believe in mayoral leadership and mayoral accountability. That accountability includes providing results for our schools. The mandate that the mayor has is to ensure that all of our students are achieving at high levels.
Opinion of five-star rating : The star framework offers one data point into our schools. It does not capture the essence of the school; it is one measure. The five-star rating and framework will be and should be subject to constant revision.
Favorite teacher: My eighth-grade teacher at Alice Deal Middle School, who awakened my thinking to what high standards are. And my AP U.S. History teacher at Banneker High School, who taught us to think critically and to take on the mind-set of a social justice advocate.
Elani Lawrence, 44, teaches English as a second language to families at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School and serves as the school’s family and parent engagement manager.
Education : Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and master’s in education from Columbia University.
Children in D.C. schools : Second-grade son at Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School and seventh-grade son at D.C. International Middle School.
Greatest problem facing D.C. schools : Inequity in education. We see that playing out in achievement gaps and in inequitable resources for our students. That can be from access to technology to access to high-quality instructors.
Solution : The first piece would be to be really honest about the inequities and then identify how we can place our resources where they are needed. That might be taking a look at schools that are seeing high teacher turnover and identifying what the barriers are to supporting those teachers.
Opinion of mayoral control : I’m not running as an advocate to change the current structure. I do think it is important that oversight is strong — and that lies in the authority of our D.C. Council.
Opinion of five-star rating : The star rating’s reliance on test scores is very concerning. We need to look at the first iteration of the star-rating system very critically so we can identify the schools that have specific needs based on what criteria is bringing their rating down.
Favorite teacher : Mary Rieger. She was my soccer coach at Wilson High School, and she was also an art teacher. She’s phenomenal, and I still maintain contact with her.
Frazier O’Leary, 74, retired in 2017 after teaching in D.C. Public Schools for 47 years. Spent 40 years as an English teacher at Cardozo Education Campus. Adjunct professor of English at the University of the District of Columbia. Vietnam War veteran.
Education : Bachelor’s degree from American University and master’s in liberal arts from St. John’s College.
Children in D.C. schools : Two of five children graduated from D.C. Public Schools, one from Cardozo Education Campus and one from Wilson High School.
Greatest problem facing D.C. schools : As a teacher, the greatest problem with D.C. is the IMPACT teacher evaluation system because it takes teaching out of the classroom and substitutes it with test taking. Teachers are so stressed by the system because they are not allowed to teach their subjects.
Solution : The evaluation system needs to be reevaluated, and the standardized testing needs to be looked at by teachers before they implement the tests.
Opinion of mayoral control : It’s a disaster. The mayor should be in charge of the city, but an educator should be in charge of the school system. The mayor isn’t in charge of the police department or the fire department. The person in charge of police is a police officer.
Opinion of five-star rating : It’s not fair. There is too much weight given to standardized tests. It doesn’t have anything to do with the heart of the school at all.
Favorite teacher : Merritt C. Batchelder at American University. I walked into his British literature class and fell in love with his teaching. I took seven classes from him.
Ryan Tauriainen, 32, director of early-childhood education at Friendship Public Charter School campuses in the District. Former principal at AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School.
Education : Bachelor’s from Middlebury College and master’s in education from Chaminade University in Hawaii.
Children in D.C. schools : No.
Greatest problem facing D.C. schools : Lack of equity. We are still a very segregated city, and the opportunities for students in affluent neighborhoods are vastly different than those for students who live in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods.
Solution
: We need to increase our support and increase our resources for our neighborhood schools that are the lowest-
performing. And a big way to solve that is to make sure that we attract talented staff to our schools, maybe even with incentives.
Opinion of mayoral control : A cornerstone in American democracy is the system of checks and balances. As it stands right now, the mayor has no checks on her power. The State Board of Education should be returned some of the power that it had. The board should oversee the state superintendent of education.
Opinion of five-star rating : It was created out of a necessity. We have to remember that ultimately, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has to approve all of these report cards, and she was not going to approve a report card that did not have a focus on standardized test scores. Our hands were tied.
Favorite teacher : My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Martin, who took such an interest in me. He came to my graduation in high school, and when he found out I was running for this position, he donated to my campaign.