Deborah Simmons

Event with Fenty, Rhee blocks sidewalk

As D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced outside a Northwest elementary school that science test scores are on the rise citywide, passers-by were more concerned that the event blocked the sidewalk and created a hazard for pedestrians.

May 5, 2010

Charter schools threaten to sue D.C. for funding

D.C. supporters of charter schools are among a number of national proponents who are turning toward litigation to get charter students their fair share of public education dollars.

May 3, 2010

D.C. charters threaten suit over funding

D.C. charter school supporters are threatening legal action against the city if the mayor’s fiscal 2010 and 2011 budget proposals fail to comply with legal mandates for the per-pupil funding formulas.

April 30, 2010

Activist Dorothy Height mourned by nation

The sanctuary of the Washington National Cathedral was filled with hundreds of mourners who came to say "thank you" to Dorothy Irene Height, whose lifelong advocacy fused civil rights.

April 30, 2010

SIMMONS: Watch your step, D.C., with foul immigration mess

D.C. keeps shooting itself in the foot. Last week, Democrats rightly withdrew congressional legislation that would have granted a vote to the city's nonvoting delegate, and Arizona laid down the law on illegal immigration.

April 30, 2010

Obama eulogizes rights activist Dorothy Height

The packed memorial service reflected the personality of Miss Height, who was forceful and humorous, sobering and dignified.

April 29, 2010

D.C. teachers’ pay deal remains tentative

Details of the tenuous pay-for-performance initiative between D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the Washington Teachers Union is contingent upon several conditions, including a provision that grants the private donors the "right to reconsider their support if there is a material change in DCPS' leadership."

April 28, 2010

Services set for civil rights icon Height

Memorial and funeral services for human-rights advocate Dorothy I. Height will be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington. Burial is set for Thursday.

April 27, 2010

Gray opens campaign for D.C. mayor

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray used school reform to kick off his run for mayor Saturday in downtown Washington, where an estimated 350 people intermittently chanted, "Send Fenty home!"

April 25, 2010

SIMMONS: Peek into school medicine cabinet

Health care playmakers in Washington are trying to make suckers out of parents who support school-based clinics. While these clinics often provide vital services, they do have a dark side.

April 23, 2010

Barry demands report card from Rhee on surplus flap

Embattled Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee should send lawmakers a report on her reform efforts, D.C. Council member Marion Barry said Thursday.

April 22, 2010

D.C. mayor rivals unite on budget on Hill

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray put aside their sharp political rivalry for a day to defend the city's proposed fiscal 2011 budget before a congressional spending panel Wednesday.

April 22, 2010

SIMMONS: Dorothy Height, a gentle warrior

Dorothy Irene Height. Age 98. Gone on to glory. She was many things to many people.

April 21, 2010

Gun-law repeals threaten voting bill

D.C. voting rights always has been a heavy political lift inside the Beltway, and the latest version poised to be voted on this week is more of the same.

April 20, 2010

Unions slam funding process for D.C. teacher merit pay

Two new hurdles threaten to derail the D.C. teachers merit-pay plan, a plan which has drawn national interest among education reformers.

April 16, 2010

SIMMONS: Liberal bias has tainted schools

Liberal ideology and the teaching profession are inextricably linked. David Horowitz sounded the alarm. He warned us that academia was leading young minds in a direction that would come to affect every aspect of American tradition and policy. Pity the enemies of liberalism and our children because, well, here we are.

April 16, 2010

D.C. council chairman doubts merit pay’s finances

Vincent Gray fired the first salvo in a Washington schools debate with national implications on whether teachers should be rewarded for performance rather than seniority, expressing skepticism about a tentative contract.

April 15, 2010

Chemical weapons cleanup blast set to go in D.C.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to detonate some World War I-era chemical weapons in the Spring Valley neighborhood remained Wednesday in place as the city dashed to have a public-safety plan ready to go.

April 15, 2010

SIMMONS: System working; problem is the law

The system isn't the problem. The problem is the D.C. rule of law. Children — especially those with bloody hands — must be held accountable.

April 14, 2010

Fenty’s budget plan under fire

When D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty submits his fiscal 2011 budget proposal to the D.C. Council on Monday, at least two lawmakers will be casting keen eyes on his election-year, tax-raising plan.

April 12, 2010