Category Archives: School Reform

School Officials Use Force and Police to Thwart Student Walkout

Listen to town hall, beginning with Principal Batenga [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “I will not discuss the suspensions in this forum,” Northwestern High School Principal Edgar Batenga said Monday evening at a town hall at the Hyattsville school. … Continue reading

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Occupy the DOE

Listen to TheFightBack’s March 3 show: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “You’re going to have a generation of young people enslaved to the credit card industry, enslaved to the student debt industry,” Justin Butler, a student at George Washington … Continue reading

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If Walmart Sells Cheerleading Outfits, D.C. Officials Won’t Have To Go Far

Listen to Michael Wilson: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “We don’t feel like D.C. should trust Walmart’s track record to build the future of this city,” Respect DC organizer Mike Wilson said Saturday morning. He spoke with TheFightBack in the … Continue reading

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TheFightBack, Jan. 21: Tuskegee Airmen, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, and DCPS Cheating Scandal

Listen to full show: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] This weekend, a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen is premiering at 2,500 theaters across the country. “Red Tails,” starring Cuba Gooding Jr., highlights the African American pilots who fought … Continue reading

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Was Trayon White Arrested for Standing Up for his Constituents?

LISTEN TO TRAYON WHITE: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] “How am I unauthorized [to be here]?” Ward 8 School Board member Trayon White asked while standing at the Woodland Terrace Public Housing Project, which resides in the ward … Continue reading

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Silencing Dissent: WTU VP Candi Peterson’s Removal From Office

LISTEN TO THE FULL 40-MINUTE INTERVIEW WITH CANDI PETERSON HERE: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] download mp3 Seven months after the membership of the Washington Teachers’ Union elected Candi Peterson general vice president, she was unceremoniously, and possibly … Continue reading

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A Back-to-School Special: Mary Levy Discusses DCPS’s de Facto Segregation, Lack of Transparency, High Turnover and More

LISTEN TO MARY LEVY: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] download mp3 The DCPS school year is under way and many students are adjusting to an unfamiliar environment. They’re not alone. A surprising number of both teachers and principals … Continue reading

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Department of Labor (Violations): DOL Decision Causes Hundreds of Teachers To Face Deportation

LISTEN TO MILLET DE VERA PANGA: [Audio clip: view full post to listen] download mp3 Last week at a protest in front of the White House, Millet De Vera Panga said, “We’re here to appeal to President Obama to provide … Continue reading

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Reviewing Rhee’s Reign: A 2010 Interview with Teacher/Bloggers Candi Peterson and James Boutin

Last week, Washington Teachers’ Union president Nathan Saunders suspended WTU general vice president Candi Peterson without pay. The reason? Because Peterson “walked out of a meeting with me,” wrote Saunders. Peterson, speaking to The Washington Examiner, said she left the … Continue reading

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The Department of Labor and Prince George’s County May Be Teaming Up to Punish Whistleblowers

[Audio clip: view full post to listen] download mp3 “Okay, we’ve made use of you. Okay, it’s time for us to dump you.” – Charisse Cabrera, pre-kindergarten teacher, on PGCPS’s recent actions Is the Department of Labor teaming up with … Continue reading

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