No sooner does man discover INTELLIGENCE than he tries to involve it in his own stupidity. –Jacques Yves Costeau Edelman Discusses the Quality of Education See Page 23 •
C e l e b r a t i n g 4 7 Ye a r s o f S e r v i c e
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Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 47, No. 42 Aug. 2 - Aug. 8, 2012
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson faced a disgruntled group of parents during a July 24 forum titled, “State of Schools: Ward 5” at Luke C. Moore High School in Northeast. /Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah
Henderson on Hot Seat during Ward 5 Forum By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson strode into the packed cafeteria at Luke C. Moore High School in Northeast on July 24, flashing an infectious smile that reflected her eagerness to en-
lighten the crowd about her fiveyear plan for the beleaguered system. But what Henderson obviously didn’t expect right off the bat, was to be besieged with a torrent of questions and criticisms surrounding the firing of Michael Johnson, the former principal at Phelps Architecture, Con-
struction and Engineering High School in Northeast – and when he might be reinstated. “I was very upset that Michael Johnson was fired, and this new man they hired has some very big shoes to fill,” said Keisha Warner, 45, whose daughter will be attending Phelps this fall. “I’m concerned about the
change of leadership, and I want to know if the objectives are the same. I want to feel more comfortable with what’s going on – and what are the long-term goals for Phelps,” Warner said. “They even went all the way to New York to pull this man out of retirement, so for him to be fired like that, with no ex-
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planation is unacceptable,” said Warner. “As taxpayers, we pay the chancellor’s salary and everybody who works for her, so we demand to know what happened because it’s our right.” Johnson, whose leadership mirrored the no-nonsense prin-
See SCHOOLS on Page 8 and on DCTV 95 & 96