Does the Washington, D.C. school system suffer from entrenched cronyism they way this article states?

Question

From the Associated Press:

"... urban schools, Washington's are struggling to educate students amid poverty and violence. Students also have suffered because of entrenched cronyism, which has led to incompetent bureaucracy and fiscal mismanagement."

If this is true, then why would D.C. have any more cronyism than any other school system?

Answer 1

DC doesn't have any more cronyism than any other school system.  DCPS's decline has been magnified by the flight of middle class students towards private and charter schools, thus leaving behind a population fraught with social problems.

Having taught in several systems, my harshest criticism is that the field of education has always been a great meal ticket for the unambitious.

When you have decisionmakers, who don't really care, funneling projects to their buddies, who also don't really care, this is what you get.

When you have people who are just in it for the paycheck, because education is probably their best shot at a decent salary and they can't or won't handle the expectations of private sector employers, this is what you get.

No matter the problem, it is indeed the students who suffer.

Answer 2

It's very easy of it to have more cronyism than other districts. Time and time again, incredible schools are the schools with incredible leaders. And schools with with high poverty and high violence are difficult, very difficult, but even with all that, a strong leader can still turn the school or district into a better, high performing system. Anyone who argues with this is arguing against hard facts of the districts that have dramatically changed with the help of leaders who have fought entrenched cronyism.