Study Finds One-Third in D.C. Illiterate

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WASHINGTON (AP) - About one-third of the people living in the national’s capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.

Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.

breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8NVBUV81&show_article=1
 
Is that just Congress or all of Washington DC? 😉
gilliam said:
WASHINGTON (AP) - About one-third of the people living in the national’s capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.

Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.

breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8NVBUV81&show_article=1
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rlg94086 said:
Is that just Congress or all of Washington DC? 😉
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It’s the year-round residents of DC.
Our dear Congressfolk and Senators would never dream of letting their children attend the DC public schools. Nor would the bureaucrats at the Dept. of Education who probably live in nice districts in Maryland and Virginia.
 
didymus said:
It’s the year-round residents of DC.
Our dear Congressfolk and Senators would never dream of letting their children attend the DC public schools. Nor would the bureaucrats at the Dept. of Education who probably live in nice districts in Maryland and Virginia.
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Excellent point. They can all afford the best schools…
 
Yes, D.C. schools are the highest per-capita costs in the nation – and some of the worst (if not the worst) schools.

But beware – I predict someone will come along and tell us:
  • It’s the parents’ fault
  • We don’t spend enough money on schools
  • The schools in my district are just fine.
It’s the last one that always gets me, with its undertone of, “Who do those minority kids think they are, demanding an education as good as my kids get?”
 
gilliam said:
WASHINGTON (AP) - About one-third of the people living in the national’s capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.

Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.

breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8NVBUV81&show_article=1
Click to expand...
Seems to me that if the schools were as much interested in teaching kids to read as they are in having one of the largest, wealthiest political advocacy groups, there would be no need for adult reading classes.
 
vern_humphrey said:
Yes, D.C. schools are the highest per-capita costs in the nation – and some of the worst (if not the worst) schools.

But beware – I predict someone will come along and tell us:
  • It’s the parents’ fault
  • We don’t spend enough money on schools
  • The schools in my district are just fine.
It’s the last one that always gets me, with its undertone of, “Who do those minority kids think they are, demanding an education as good as my kids get?”
Click to expand...
okay, Its the parents fault
the schools in my district are just fine;)

umm whats wrong with that? If the parents dont’ step up their schools go down…

At any rate what do you see as the solution.?
 
Here’s an interesting site: nea.org/lac/fy05edfunding/images/dc.pdf

In 2005, the** federal** government provided DC with:

(All figures in $ Millions)

NCLB Act program aid $154.0
Special Education Grants to States (IDEA Part B) $31.9
Vocational Education State Grants (VTEA Title I) $11.8
Federal Pell Grants (HEA IV-A-1) $66.7
Federal Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grants (HEA IV-A-3) $20.5
Federal Work-Study (HEA IV-C) $47.5
Head Start (section 639, Head Start Act) $112.5

This doesn’t include money kicked in by the D.C. taxpayer.
 
aimee said:
okay, Its the parents fault
the schools in my district are just fine;)

umm whats wrong with that? If the parents dont’ step up their schools go down…
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Two things - first of all, to say it’s the parents’ fault is a cop-out. We pay teachers and school administratiors to educate children, not to make excuses why they can’t…

Second, to assume that because your schools are okay is to sneer at the poor kids trapped in bad schools.
aimee said:
At any rate what do you see as the solution.?
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True choice. Pay a standard tuition (notionally 90-95% of the per-pupil share of the education budget) to any school the parents choose, and let the good schools thrive and the bad ones die.

Now, having said that, I would not recommend Catholic schools accept such funding – lest we compromize our Catholic morals in order to get public money.
 
vern_humphrey said:
Here’s an interesting site: nea.org/lac/fy05edfunding/images/dc.pdf

In 2005, the** federal** government provided DC with:

(All figures in $ Millions)

NCLB Act program aid $154.0
Special Education Grants to States (IDEA Part B) $31.9
Vocational Education State Grants (VTEA Title I) $11.8
Federal Pell Grants (HEA IV-A-1) $66.7
Federal Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grants (HEA IV-A-3) $20.5
Federal Work-Study (HEA IV-C) $47.5
Head Start (section 639, Head Start Act) $112.5

This doesn’t include money kicked in by the D.C. taxpayer.
Click to expand...
Looks like enough to me…whats up??
Seriously, what would you suggest?
 
I had to start over…

I see you replied 🙂
I say that its parents fault…perhaps saying parents bare some of the responsibility is a better way to phrase it.
Some of our schools here are good and its due in part to parental involvement.(.I would never sneer at others in any way…:confused:)

School choice I agree…Charter schools, too.
 
aimee said:
I had to start over…

I see you replied 🙂
I say that its parents fault…perhaps saying parents bare some of the responsibility is a better way to phrase it.
Some of our schools here are good and its due in part to parental involvement.(.I would never sneer at others in any way…:confused:)

School choice I agree…Charter schools, too.
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True Choice is a different paradigm than Charter Schools. In True Choice, the parents control the schools by using the greatest quality assurance tool ever invented – “I’ll take my business elsewhere.”

Make the education system as competitive as any other industry. Let good schools flourish and let bad schools die.
 
gilliam said:
WASHINGTON (AP) - About one-third of the people living in the national’s capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.

Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.

breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8NVBUV81&show_article=1
Click to expand...
The failure of the public school system in our nations capital is abomindable. Washington DC of all places should be a shining example of what government sponsored education system should be all about. But, hey,maybe this is a prime example of government sponsored education. Hmmm, maybe we hit on something here.
 
As someone once said, total government control means total safety . . . so why are prisons such dangerous places?😛
 
I have a good friend who teaches in Southeast DC, the worst section of the city. He’s been there for eight years, but is leaving after this year. It’s not teaching the kids that’s been the problem; it’s appeasing the bureaucrats.

He hasn’t filled me in on all the details just yet.

The real question is what Mayor Adrian Fenty and company can do for the adults who are illiterate. More money, I guess.
 
Washington DC has a large urban African American population that lives in abject poverty, that is probably why there is this high rate. There are many social problems there such as unwed motherhood, gangs, drugs and so forth in this demographic group that puts these children at a severe disadvantage, so it’s not surprising that there’s a problem. It’s a very sad situation all around, and embarrassing for such a great nation to have this in our capital.
 
Unfortunately, the problem isn’t confined to Washington, DC. Right here in River City, three “under performing” inner city schools are slated for state takeover because of their failure to meet improvement expectations.

Over the nears, I have noticed that isolated populations tend to do less well than others in school. Back when we had mill villages, the graduates of their schools seldom did as well as the graduates of schools with a mix of students from more varied backgrounds. I would expect the same to be true now of certain areas where there is one predominant industry, coal mining, for instance, and going to school is viewed as something you have to do, not as a ticket out of the mines.

It is truly sad to pick up an employment application and see that a high school graduate cannot even spell the name of the street he has lived on all his life. It’s even worse to see the same problem with a college graduate.

I don’t have any answers, only observations. If a child comes from a home environment where education is valued, he tends to do well. If a child comes from an environment where his only goal in life is to work in the mill or the mine, or not work at all, you get the same results, whether in SC, DC or WV.
 
gilliam said:
WASHINGTON (AP) - About one-third of the people living in the national’s capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.

Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U.S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.

breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8NVBUV81&show_article=1
Click to expand...
30 years ago people watched less TV and there was no cell phones, no iPods, video games, touch screens, downloads, etc. I guess more people at that time could fill up job applications or figure out which bus goes where…
 
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