Investing in our communities by investing in education

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By Charles Wilson

The headlines have recently highlighted the growing crime rate in Washington, DC. Violent crime is up in many neighborhoods around the city. These increasing crime rates, battles over how to properly develop neighborhoods, and how to appropriately provide a community with basic services like efficient trash collection are still the dominant policy issues for many voters in Washington, DC—they certainly are for my neighbors in Wards 7 and 8. These are the short-term concerns that dominate the discussions in neighborhood associations and Democratic Party meetings. But what has become increasingly clear is that a key component of strengthening our neighborhoods for the long-term is improving our schools, and if we don’t focus on the long-term health of our schools, we risk all the progress we’ve made in revitalizing our city.

There is a direct connection between the long-term health of our city—including our ability to attract and retain young professionals—and the strength of our educational options. When I founded River East Emerging Leaders in 2008, our goal was to engage young professionals living in Wards 7 and 8, and encourage economic growth and expanded services in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. We set out to encourage public-private partnerships and revitalize our neighborhoods. And while successful in many ways, a pattern emerged. When a young and engaged professional had a child, the calculus changed. No longer were crime and trash and development the top issues; now, they needed to decide where to send their child to school.

This in itself is nothing new—I’m shocking no one by writing that new parents suddenly care more about education than they did before they had children. But what is often ignored is the fact that, when that parent decides they have no suitable option for their child’s education, they will leave the neighborhood if possible. They will do the right thing: what is best for their child. But the neighborhood then loses an active and engaged family that was pushing to crack down on criminal activity, to clear trash from the streets, and to restore blighted properties. The sad reality is in Wards 7 and 8, most parents still assume that they will have to pay—in some way—to ensure that their child goes to a good school. There is an expectation that you’ll send your child to a private school or move out. The lucky ones get into charter schools. The families that cannot afford to move or pay become trapped in a situation they know isn’t working for them or their children.

It is through this frustrating lens that I view our city’s education policies. Much has been made of a great divide when it comes to education. The narrative has followed the fissures of coalitions long-committed to public education: unions versus reformers, teachers versus civil rights organizations. But while that may well be the tension nationally and in other places, locally, that debate has rarely seemed like the relevant story. Instead, the question can, and should be, how to invest in whatever models are working for kids to expand high-quality options in all DC neighborhoods.

The enormous progress our city has been making is dependent on high-quality schools. The increase in property values, revitalized retail sectors, and improved neighborhood amenities in Northwest would hardly be possible without the assurance to families that they will be able to stay there long-term and serve their children’s needs. But the city remains deeply divided—in large part due the lack of quality school options East of the River and other neighborhoods. Expanding charter school options and increasing resources for neighborhood schools are necessary steps to improve access to quality schools for all DC students. One recent proposal that will begin to address this: opening up 12 abandoned school buildings for charter and DCPS schools. This would expand both neighborhood and public charter access, it would protect the abandoned buildings from vandalism, and it would help to solidify the other components of a revitalized community we all desire.

The mayor and council face any number of challenges on any given day. But they also have numerous opportunities to support young professionals who want to stay in this city and see it thrive. These twelve buildings are one such opportunity, and I hope that the mayor and council take advantage of it. Our neighborhoods are lively, interconnected communities—we deserve the schools to match the passion and potential of our kids.

Charles is the newly-elected President of the Ward 8 Democrats. He is also the co-founder of the River East Emerging Leaders and his neighborhood association, Historic Anacostia Block Association. You can learn more about Charles through his blog: The Art of WARd8.