DCPS press release on “Transformation Schools”
September 10, 2003

DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT PAUL L. VANCE AND MAYOR ANTHONY A. WILLIAMS MERGE THEIR VISIONS TO CREATE TRANSFORMATION SCHOOLS AS NEIGHBORHOOD PLACES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 

"Critical Human Resources and Other Services to be Provided at Schools by District Agencies, Facilitating Access for Students, Their Families and the Surrounding Community"

Washington, DC - DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams and DC Public Schools Superintendent Paul L. Vance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to formalize an agreement reached between District schools and the city to provide much needed services to students and their families at the transformation schools. The signing will mark the beginning of wrap-around service delivery in a seamless manner to children and families of the participating schools and surrounding communities. Having these services placed at the transformation schools will enable students and families to access needed resources in a familiar neighborhood place. 

This MOU will solidify a partnership between DCPS and the Government of the District of Columbia creating what officials call "a solid and healthy foundation for student achievement and future citizenship." For the first time, under this agreement, city agency employees will coordinate their efforts and resources on a full-time basis at the transformation schools. The services will include resources to improve the educational, health and social well-being of students and families, utilizing the transformation schools as neighborhood places to strengthen the entire family. 

"We have worked for quite a while to make this option a reality for these students," Vance said. "As educators we are aware that academic achievement is facilitated by quality teaching and learning, a challenging curriculum and by meeting the needs of the whole child academically, emotionally, physically and socially. This partnership will not only provide essential and convenient wrap-around services for students and their families, but it will also engage the entire community."

A number of District government agencies will be participating in the delivery of services. Among the agencies are: The Child and Family Services Administration, Department of Banking and Financial Institutions, Department of Employment Services, Department of Housing and Community Development, State Education Office, Metropolitan Police Department, Department of Human Services, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health. 

"The promise of our city lies in our ability to protect our youngest citizens, provide for them and prepare them for productive lives," Mayor Williams said. The merging of our visions, transformation schools and safe passages, will benefit the city, eliminate duplicity of services and at the same time, better address the critical needs of our children and families."

Some of the services to be provided at each school and coordinated by case workers from the DC Department of Human Services include: 

• Child Protective Services Agency - in-home neglect and abuse investigations, family preservation services 
• Department of Mental Health - early intervention and clinical services, in-home individual and family therapy
• Department of Health - dental screening/sealants, vision screening, hearing screening, health social assessments
• Department of Banking and Financial Institutions - financial education for students and parents
• Department of Employment Services - career counseling, job preparation, resume development and job placement
• Department of Human Services - provision of social workers at each school, in-home service coordination and case management, parent support and family stabilization services, family counseling and parenting skills
• Department of Parks and Recreation - after school enrichment programs, weekend leisure, tutorial/academic enrichment; homework assistance, truancy intervention with Roving Leaders
• Department of Housing and Community Development - housing information, home-buying counseling; and 
• State Education Office - literacy services for parents and residents.

Private sector partners are also supporting the collaboration between District of Columbia Public Schools and the DC Government. Some of the partners providing support to transformation schools are the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Fannie Mae, Brookings Institute, DC Agenda, and Center for Social Policy, Kimsey Foundation, Regional Banks, Children's Aide Society, and The Institute for Educational Leadership and the School-Based Health Coalition.

TWO VISIONS MERGE: TRANSFORMATION SCHOOLS AND SAFE PASSAGES

The MOU has its roots in the Children's First Initiative developed by the Superintendent in June 2001. The initiative and strategic business plan were the blueprints for the complete transformation of DC Public Schools. Included in the plan is a new concept in the delivery of educational opportunities through the creation of transformation schools that would transform under performing schools into high-performing, child-centered and community-oriented places of learning.

Vance selected nine schools initially and then added five more schools the next year and three more this year. Schools selected for transformation had demonstrated poor student attendance, tardiness, high suspension/expulsion rates, special education referrals and other critical enrollment patterns. The Superintendent replaced principals, reconfigured faculty and staff, re-directed critical resources, and also offered intensive professional development to employees.

In 1999, Mayor Williams and his administration undertook a comprehensive assessment of the District infrastructure and services to children. The findings and analysis of this assessment, which described the condition of many children and families as grave, would form the basis of a new initiative and an ongoing commitment to the youngest citizens of the District of Columbia. The "2000 Safe Passages Action Plan for Children and Youth" released by the Mayor's Office of Policy outlined a new approach for human services delivery in Neighborhood Places. Safe Passages was developed by Deputy Mayor Carolyn Graham as a way to foster successful transitions for children and youth, and to create an accessible, comprehensive and cohesive system of support for children, youth and their families.

District city and education officials visited schools in New York City to observe schools which exhibited examples of the integration of education and public services. They also studied other models which most closely resembled what officials hoped to implement in the District of Columbia which included parent involvement, programs and services, staff participation and engagement, and community support and participation in the respective milieus.

School and city officials said the MOU is a confluence where two visions for the District's children converge. Transformation Schools will become places where children not only learn, but where they, their families and their neighbors will have access to an array of wrap-around services and enrichment opportunities. Pursuant to this MOU, the DCPS and the Government of the District of Columbia have become partners in the effort to reach into the lives of children and their families in order to help lay a solid and healthy foundation for future learning and future citizenship.