FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 27, 2015

CONTACT:
LaToya Foster (EOM) 202.727.5011; [email protected] 


(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser, joined by Deputy Mayor for Education Jennie Niles, announced tweaks to the D.C. Public Schools Student Assignment Plan at Randle Highlands Elementary School in Ward 7. Mayor Bowser also announced the appointment of Hanseul Kang to serve as the State Superintendent of Education.

Last year, the District of Columbia undertook the first comprehensive review of student assignment and DCPS school boundaries since 1968. Mayor Bowser recognizes the hard work that the DC Advisory Committee on Student Assignment, education stakeholders and agencies, and the community at large undertook to develop the comprehensive policy, boundary, and feeder pattern recommendations. At the time, the Mayor expressed concerns about cutting off current cross-park and cross-river school access. In order to correct the plan, Mayor Bowser and Deputy Mayor Niles are implementing the following tweaks to the DC Advisory Committee on Student Assignment recommendations, which can also be viewed HERE. These two tweaks include:

• Extending the phase-in policy (or grandfathering policy) for families assigned to a new middle school until 2022.
• Establishing dual rights for 8th graders at Kelly Miller MS to have the right to attend Eastern HS (by feeder right) or Woodson HS (by geographic right).

“Our tweaks to the student assignment plan are a responsible and strategic approach towards ensuring the District of Columbia’s public schools remain on track towards growth and progress,” said Mayor Bowser. “With the addition of Hanseul Kang as our State Superintendent, we continue to build an education team that will allow us to move forward and accelerate education reform.”

“I am very pleased to welcome Hanseul Kang to lead the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. She brings a rich perspective that will positively contribute to our goal of providing quality education for all District families,” said Deputy Mayor Jennie Niles. “Her unique wealth of experience will be an asset to all that we want to accomplish around education in the District. I also thank Dr. Amy Maisterra for her excellent service as Interim State Superintendent, and look forward to continuing to work with her and the entire team at OSSE.”

“The OSSE is a key partner, as we work to make DCPS the best urban school district in the country, and I am thrilled Hanseul Kang has joined our education team," said DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. "She brings with her not only the experience and expertise from her impressive career, but also an enthusiasm and excitement about our students, our schools and our city. Under Mayor Bowser’s leadership, we have a great team in place to continue to deliver on our promise to the children and families of our city, and to show the world what we know is possible.”

Kang served as Chief of Staff for the state of Tennessee’s Department of Education since 2011. A seasoned leader and former high school teacher, she reorganized and restructured the department to reflect strategic priorities, and created a more a budget process that allowed for improved personnel decision-making and better use of resources. Kang was part of the team that implemented policies and offered support to districts and schools that resulted in Tennessee becoming one of the fastest improving states in the nation in student achievement outcomes. Prior to joining Tennessee’s education department, Kang worked for Teach For America, where she was a managing director of program for the organization’s regional office in the District. She led a team of program directors supporting middle and high school teachers in schools across the District and Prince George’s County. Kang holds a Bachelor’s Degree in international politics from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and was a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholar.

Dr. Amy Maisterra, who has served as interim State Superintendent of Education, will return to her role as Assistant Superintendent of Elementary, Secondary, and Specialized Education.

Mayor Bowser also announced the appointment of Steve Bumbaugh to serve as a member of the Public Charter School Board.

Bumbaugh serves as manager of Breakthrough Schools: D.C. at CityBridge Foundation.  Breakthrough Schools: D.C., a grant competition focusing on whole-school design and redesign, is intended to create up to 18 new or redesigned traditional public and public charter schools serving low-income students in D.C. Prior to joining CityBridge, Bumbaugh served as the President of the ECMC Foundation, a national funder focusing on education issues in low-income American communities. Bumbaugh holds a Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.