In case you missed it, the Washington Post launched an impressive series on the DC Public Schools system this weekend. The first article in the series ran in Sunday’s paper, with the headline, “Can D.C Schools be Fixed?” and part 2 ran in this morning’s paper, with the headline, “Worn Down by Waves of Change.”  

Equally impressive are the interactive features of the series that are available on the Post’s website, especially the DC Scorecard, which allows readers to click on any public school in the District, and read vital statistics such as how students are performing on standardized tests, the percentage of students from economically disadvantaged households, teachers’ salaries, school maintenance requests, health code violations, and crime statistics.

The statistics are incredibly revealing.  For example, the overwhelming majority of students in DC’s 135 public schools are considered “economically disadvantaged.”  At almost all of the schools, more than 60 percent of the students are considered poor.

At these schools, fewer than half, and in many cases, fewer than 25% of students are considered “proficient” in math.  There are only two exceptions – Langdon Elementary School and Birney Elementary School – where the majority of students is considered poor and yet more than 50% are proficient in math.  Could it be that they are doing something right?

Can the public schools in Washington, DC, continue to survive as places of learning with numbers like these?  Can a community continue to survive if its public schools are places where achievement is so low?  

On Tuesday, Mayor Fenty will take control of the schools this week, with the DC City Council providing direct oversight.  There is no challenge more vital to the future of Washington, DC.