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How many solar panels are needed to power a home? Installing solar panels on your roof is a smart decision for both saving money on power bills and contributing toward a clean energy future. The amount of savings you’ll see each month is determined by a few factors, one of which is how much power is generated by each solar panel. Below is a brief explanation of generating power or electricity with solar. Solar Panel Wattage Rating Solar panels are rated based on the amount of power they can generate, expressed in watts (W). Modern solar panels being installed today have power ratings that range from 250 to 350 watts. What this means is that, under ideal circumstances, an average solar panel will produce 250 watts or more for every hour of direct sunlight it receives. You can view Alba Energy’s Portfolio of Solar Panel Installs in Texas to get a better idea of the solar panel wattages that are commonly used today for residential projects. Solar Panel Efficiency Another key factor that plays a role in answering the above question is solar efficiency, or the amount of sunlight that gets converted into electricity. The good news for you is that both wattage and efficiency ratings of solar panels have increased over time, which is great because it means going solar today will produce more power (and savings) versus years ago.

Image credit: Solar Power Rocks

The earliest solar panels that were used back in the 1950’s converted sunlight at around 6% efficiency. Fast forward to today, and solar efficiency ranges from 15% to 22%.

Example of Solar Panels Wattage and Efficiency

Image credit: EnergySage

Solar panels rated at 15% efficiency are compared in the above example. You can see that with higher wattage panels (300W), just 16 300W panels will produce the same amount of power as 20 250W panels.

Other Factors 

There are a few other factors that play a role in determining how much power can be generated by solar panels, like climate, shading, and orientation. You can learn more about the benefits of adding solar panels to your home by reading more Solar Power FAQs below:

Solar Power FAQs: Will The Electricity Meter Run Backwards When I Go Solar?

Solar Power FAQs: Do Solar Panels Work On Cloudy Days?

Solar Power FAQs: Is Going Solar Worth It In Texas?

Solar Power FAQs: What’s The Best Solar Warranty?

Solar Power FAQs: Are Solar Panels Hail Proof?

Solar Power FAQs: Where Do The Batteries Go?

Find out how many solar panels you need to power your house!

Alba Energy is proud to be one of the premier solar installers in Texas, with offices across the state. Alba Energy has completed hundreds of solar panel installations on both homes and businesses, helping our customers save thousands of dollars on electricity costs. Thanks to our SMART Solar Finance Programs, there’s a good chance you can install solar panels and pay less for the system than you currently pay for electricity. Your monthly energy savings pays for the system!

Contact your local office to schedule a FREE solar consultation, and a representative will walk you through the available options in your zipcode and help you understand the plan that makes the best financial sense!

Request A Free Solar Quote!

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Alba Energy Locations

Austin  |  Dallas  |  Houston  |  McAllen  | San Antonio

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Latest News Stories About Solar Power In Texas The following article contains important news updates about solar energy in Texas from October 2018. Contact Alba Energy – the leading solar company in Texas – to learn about saving money by powering your home or business with clean, unlimited solar energy. Texas Solar Energy News October 2018 PV Magazine USA: Alba Energy unveils SMART Solar PPAs in Texas Austin-based Alba Energy began offering solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Texas in October. Under the company’s new solar option, customers can lock-in 25 years of energy savings with a solar power system owned, operated, and maintained by Alba Energy.

Click to learn more about Alba Energy’s SMART Solar Power Purchase Agreements. Austin Monitor:  Austin Energy proposes new solar farm

According to an article posted on the Austin Monitor, Austin Energy is in the process of negotiating a deal with a developer to build a 144-megawatt solar farm. AE will not yet disclose the location of the proposed site, only saying that it’s in the Austin metro area. The proposed solar farm was submitted to AE in response to a request for proposal from the utility. The RFP did not specify the location or type of renewable energy. If it is approved by City Council, it should be in operation by 2020. San Marcos Corridor News: Austin To Install New Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles

Travis and Williamson counties have 5,313 registered electric vehicles, and the city is planning to accommodate the growing demand by adding 24 new charging stations around town. Both Austin Energy and the city plan to use the new technology of direct current (DC) fast charging stations, which will complete a charge in approximately 20 minutes. Houston Chronicle: Houston needs to lead on solar power, along with oil and gas

Houston’s leaders should embrace the fast-moving development of solar-powered electricity, says Sunnova CEO John Berger, who appeared on a recent panel on the future of electricity at the University of Houston. Solar-related technology is changing rapidly, especially as battery storage improves and smart technology does a better job controlling the flow of power on and off the grid. Solar energy is also less expensive than other fuel sources.

Sunnova is one of Alba Energy’s local finance partners.  Markets Insider: CPS Energy Launches Solar Energy And Battery Storage Project

CPS Energy held a groundbreaking ceremony in October for a new $16.3 million solar and #battery storage project. A 5-megawatt solar farm on 48 acres off West Commerce Street will feed four containers filled with 10 megawatts of lithium-ion batteries to meet local power demand.

The battery storage project is being touted as the first step down CPS Energy’s Flexible Path Plan, which calls for the city-owned utility company to rely less on power generation from fossil fuels and more on renewables, battery storage and other technologies to fill gaps in demand. Save Money With Solar Panels In Texas!

Alba Energy is proud to be one of the premier solar installers in Texas with offices throughout the state. Alba’s services include residential solar for homeowners as well as commercial solar for business owners.

And by the way, Alba’s SMART Solar Financing means you can POWER your home with solar panels, pay LESS on electricity bills, and contribute to a CLEAN energy future. Request a FREE solar consultation today! Request A Free Solar Quote! [contact-form-7 id=”10123″ title=”Leads Contact Form 7 – Blog”] Alba Energy Locations

Austin  |  Dallas  |  Houston  |  McAllen  | San Antonio

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800-238-3112

         

SHOW ME MY SOLAR SAVINGS!

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https://www.tickettailor.com/events/socialconsciencepbc/195469

Over 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson ushered a bold proclamation in The Declaration of Independence when he wrote :

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equally that they are endowed by their creator with inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

History has revealed that by “all” the Founding Founder meant only white, mostly-land-owning, and mostly Western-Europeans. Yet despite the erasure of legal rights to minorities, Blacks, Native Americans, and the Third World Majority, America has served as ground zero for the fight these marginalized groups’ wage to squarely place themselves as innately possessing those inalienable rights that the Founding Founders heralded as so hallowed.

The undergirding question of “Who deservers to pursue happiness”, is one that is explored in the 2006 critically acclaimed film The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith, as Chris Gardner – a father who although down on his luck is able to overcome his situation through grit, determination and exceptional skill. While a poignant and beautifully cinematic piece, the movie narrowly defines those who are worthy of pursuing and achieving their dreams.

In the beginning of the movie, Chris Gardner’s inability to financially provide, is rectified by his partner Lydia’s diligence. Lydia is the one that takes the double shift when money is tight, and she is the one that misses work to fulfill her parental duties when Gardner is unable to pick up their child Chris Jr.

The movie intimates that only the exceptional and those who can afford to have their lives supported by the others are allowed to pursue their dreams. Everyone else is expected to forfeit their own dreams to bear the brunt of the socio-economic burdens placed on them. Far too often, those burdens are placed squarely on the shoulders of women.

In her new documentary, Brenda Hayes sheds light on this silent societal erasure of marginalized women, by posing the following questions: What would it mean if three women, of color, three mothers, began to pursue the dreams that once invigorated them in their youth? What would it mean if they took hold of their birthright, and started to feed the dreams that fuel their souls. Through her 39-minute documentary, Hayes touches on the intersection of mental health, white vs black feminism, income inequality, and societal status.

As groups like Black Lives Matter, lay siege to the  systems and structures that insure that the bodies of Black and Brown peoples are not entitled to the same life and liberty as the “all” in Jefferson’s proclamation, artist-activists like Brenda Hayes, challenge the preconceptions of exactly “who” is entitled to pursue their own happiness through the pursuit of their dreams.  Ms. Hayes film posits that all people (including the often missed women of color and caretakers) should be entitled to their dreams and the pursuit of those dreams. According to Ms.Hayes, the purpose of her film is to, “encourage the audience to reflect and be inspired. To empower women to reflect and act and to examine the challenges with which we are faced.”

On November 3rd, Social Conscience PBC  will host a screening of Backburner Dreams where these issues will be further explored and discussed. A panel discussion with the director and members of the community will occur after the screening. To purchase tickets visit : https://www.tickettailor.com/events/socialconsciencepbc/195469

For questions, please email : events@sconscience.org.

The post Screening and Discussion of BackBurner Dreams appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Earn Rebates for Going Solar in Denton, Texas – Up to $30,000 Dollars!

ACT FAST – City of Denton offers up to $30,000 rebate for going solar for a very limited time!

Denton Municipal Electric (DME) is paying local homeowners to install solar panels under their 2018 distributed generation program. Effective October 1, 2018, DME’s Solar Incentive has changed from being a flat rebate to a tiered rebate. Funding was increased to $500,000. Scroll down to learn more about rebates for going solar in Denton.

Request a FREE online analysis of how much money you could save with solar power in Denton!

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Solar Panel Rebates in Denton, Texas – Top 5 Things To Know

 

• Energy created from solar panels is energy that electric utilities do not have to create from their own power plants. Installing solar panels on your home helps you lower power bills, save money, benefit the environment, and also helps the utility during “peak demand” periods.
• Denton, Texas homeowners in the DME service territory can receive up to $30,000 dollars worth of rebates toward the cost of installing solar panels on a residence. A rebate is available for residential customers in Denton who install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on their homes.
• Effective October 2018, a tiered rebate program is now in effect, with separate tiers for systems with and without energy storage (batteries). See below for incentive levels.
• This rebate program is limited to $500,000 in total funding. Rebates WILL run out, so ACT FAST to secure yours before then!
• Homeowners must use an approved solar contractor (like Alba Energy of Dallas).

Going Solar in Denton, Texas – How It Works

Under Denton Municipal ’s program residential customers are billed for their whole house energy consumption at standard residential rates and then credited for any excess solar energy sent back into the grid. In the diagram below (1) is solar panel absorption of sunlight in AC energy form. (2) an inverter changes the AC energy into DC form. (3) solar energy is sent into the home for immediate use when needed. any unused or excess solar energy goes through the power meter (4) where it is credited to your account and put into (5) the local power grid. 

Tiered Rebates for Denton Energy’s Solar Panel Incentive

The rebate is tiered, so the final dollar amount will depend on how large of a system you install:

For Solar ONLY Installs (No Batteries) The Rebate Is As Follows:
3.0 kW to 5.0 kW 80¢ per AC Watt 

5.1 kW to 10.0 kW 60¢ per AC Watt 

Above 10.1 kW 40¢ per AC Watt 

For Solar with Battery Storage:

3.0 kW to 5.0 kW $1.20 per AC Watt

5.1 kW to 10.0 kW 90¢ per AC Watt

Above 10.1 kW 60¢ per AC Watt

All incentives are to be an amount up to $30,000, not to exceed 50% of total project cost.

Solar Rebate Example:

5 kW system size or 5,000 watts

$0.80 x 5,000 watts = $4,000 eligible rebate. *Note there is also a 30% Federal Tax Credit available on all solar panel installations through 12/31/2019.

SMART Solar Financing Available In Denton, Texas

With SMART Solar Financing from Alba Energy, going solar on your home is affordable for everyone, allowing you to save money INSTANTLY! That is, the cost of your new power bill + the monthly solar finance cost could be less than your current power bill! It’s a no-brainer! Installing solar panels in Denton, Texas lets you take ownership of your energy supply and costs. Let one of Alba Energy’s 5-star solar professionals show you how to save money with a solar panel installation. Contact Alba Energy of Dallas to request a free consultation about going solar TODAY! Alba Energy Locations

Austin  |  Dallas  |  Houston  |  McAllen  | San Antonio

KEEP IN TOUCH

800-238-3112

         

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Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America present a film screening and discussion of the documentary Incompatible Allies: Black Lives Matter, March 4 Our Lives
Sunday, October 21
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE
Washington, DC 20003

In response to the enthusiasm generated by the March For Our Lives, the largest anti-gun violence demonstration in the nation’s history, Grassroots Media DC, produced a documentary that features Black student activists in the District of Columbia.  Working in conjunction with Black Lives Matter-DC, our aim was to capture the experiences Black youth have with gun violence and their perspectives on gun violence prevention and community safety.  The result was Incompatible Allies:  Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives and the US Debate about Guns and Violence.  Below is the trailer.

The documentary includes interviews with students from schools across the District. The video offers a perspective often excluded from national conversations about gun control, highlighting the ways that violence in white communities is often seen as a national crisis, while violence in African-American communities is often ignored.

“I became frustrated with the fact that national attention and money was being thrown at white students, while black students – who experience gun violence at far higher rates – were being ignored and left out of the conversation,” said Dornethia Taylor, a Core Organizer with Black Lives Matter who conceived of the video project. “When I heard the March for Our Lives was coming to DC, without engaging with the ways that gun violence affects black folks in our city, I decided to get local black young people together to share their stories. This video project is the result.”

Students in the video speak to a variety of differences between the dominant narrative around gun control, and the lived experiences of Black students. “As a community disproportionately targeted by police, we are very skeptical of calls for increased funding for police in schools,” Taylor added. “Further, guns have poured into our communities unregulated for decades. Piecemeal approaches to gun control that don’t address root causes of violence will not make us safer.”

After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the students from Parkland, Florida immediately became media darlings and hailed as the only force strong enough to move the United States to adopt gun reform.  To their credit, the Parkland students organized the largest anti-gun violence demonstration in the history of the nation.  Recognizing that media bias gave them a platform while others with similar goals were largely ignored, they invited young Black and Brown activists to share the stage with them.

But is the gun reform that the Parkland students call for in line with the demands of the Black Lives Matter Movement, with whom they claim to have an affinity?  Will March for Our Lives last beyond the mid-term elections?  What can Black Lives Matter activists teach the Parkland students and the vast numbers inspired by them about organizing and sustaining a movement.  Perhaps more to the point, should they even bother?

If the momentum behind the March For Our Lives turns out to be fleeting, where should those who are committed to ending gun violence direct their efforts? This documentary attempts to answer that question. At the very least, we hope to deepen the conversation about gun control, gun violence and violence in general within those communities who choose to screen the documentary.

For information about obtaining a DVD of the full documentary and/or scheduling a screening within the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area, please contact liane@grassrootsdc.org.

The post Screening and Discussion of Incompatible Allies: BLM, March 4 Our Lives and the US Debate about Guns and Violence appeared first on Grassroots DC.

The Beauty Industry Marginalizing People of Color

Make-up is a huge aspect when dealing with colorism. Cosmetics are used as a mechanism to cover up dark spots. For dark-skinned individuals we are considered a dark spot. No matter your heritage there are issues with skin complexion.

When I was younger I used make-up as a highlighter and cover-up.   I used to wear make-up all the time but it became hard because I could not find one for my tone and always had to mix them. Most beauty stores in predominantly black neighborhoods have only selective shades of foundation that are aimed at those of a lighter complexion.

I did not feel pretty or acceptable without makeup. At one point I actually debated bleaching my skin when one of my schoolmates referred to me as a “dirty Jamaican.” Fenty Beauty by Rihanna has gotten so many praises and consistently sells out due to its range of foundation.  Her line is a make-up success for dark-skin girls and those with albinism. Many make-up companies do not offer varieties for darker complexions as they have centered around light-skinned women for so long. These companies buy large quantities of supplies in order to produce an abundance of supplies pertaining to its lighter skinned demographic. So despite being generally ignored or marginalized by mainstream magazines, black women spend billions of dollars on cosmetics, desperately searching for something that works.

Beauty expert Al-Nis Ward explains why there is such a variety shortage. According to Ward, “the only difference between a lighter shade and a darker shade is the ratio of pigmentation. All foundations contain the same four pigments.”   

This understanding is used to explain the main variations of “beige” foundation. According to Tasha Reiko Brown, a makeup artist in New York, there is no need for a variety of foundations; the real problem is the amount of blush used.  However, this does not make sense.  Foundation is a skin-colored application used to even out your skin tone, blur pores, hide imperfections and make your skin appear smoother.  Blush, on the other hand, is a cosmetic for coloring cheeks in a variety of shades. A body-painting cosmetic should have color variety since it is skin-color based. The use of color applied to your cheeks should not affect a beauty tool that is supposed to blend with your natural complexion. These foundations always appear too light or do not cover undertones.

Tasha also looks at the use of blush rather than foundation. She states that to pick the right foundation you should consider undertone, shade range and then the correct texture for skin tone. Blush is seen as lipstick that is a pretty color that becomes lighter on deeper skin tones that are more pigmented.  It is an issue when you have to buy multiple colors in order to make the perfect blend or when you must bring your own set of makeup while those of lighter skin do not.

African-American women spend $7.5 billion annually on beauty products, but shell out 80 percent more money on cosmetics and twice as much on skin care products than the general market, according to the research. This trial and error generates billions of dollars instead of marginalizing make-up for darker-skinned complexion. Black consumers define mainstream culture. According to the Atlantic, Black buying power is projected to reach $1.2 trillion this year and $1.4 trillion by 2020, according to a report from the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. 24.3 million Black women are trendsetters and brand loyalists who play a vital role in influencing mainstream culture in fashion, beauty, television, music and civic engagement for women of all races. Realizing the large demographic dark-skinned individuals consist of questions why this market is ignored. This is when the issue becomes more than skin deep. Victims of colorism feel the need to cover up dark spots with three different types of foundation, they feel the need to sexualize themselves in order to appeal.

The Effects of Dating while being Dark-Skinned

As a victim of colorism, I realized that people of my own race and color prefer lighter variations of me. The borderline is when your personal preference is used to discriminate against another’s preference and glorify your own.

The other issue was finding a partner. Dating is hard because there is so many characteristics people want in their ideal partner. Comments about how individuals only date those of light complexion are a regular occurrence. These comments come from men or women and are often my complexion if not darker.  All this made me understand that there is a limit to my beauty and for me to not revert back to that dark place, I should just become ok with it.

An example is that my ideal partner is a woman with dreadlocks. This is my ideal type but I will not discriminate partners based on that preference. Meaning I don’t only date people with “locks” but I instead connect with a person. This level of singling out is a mild example of the self-hate that exists in every community. In India a bride refused to marry a groom because of his dark complexion. They also lighten the complexion of the bride in the marriage propasal ads. Pamela Bennett, an assistant professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, found that multiracial people — such as Black-White, Asian-White or Native American-White — fall between Blacks and Whites in the American social hierarchy. Aesha Adams Roberts gives research that economists explored how dark skin has been associated with being poor, evil, ratchet or ugly and how this consequently has impacted whether or not someone is seen as attractive and therefore, valuable as a life partner. The realization of being a particular color makes you seen or looked at a certain type of way.

My dealings with this turned into my outlet for writing. My pain and frustration made me see myself as just a voice. I never wanted to be picked on or the center of attention but I wanted people to hear what I had to say. Over the years, my voice grew stronger along with my desire to be heard. To have people of your nationality or origin discriminate against you hurts; Especially when they are your shade or darker. You just have to expect it.

Not everyone is strong enough to handle these insults and strive. Many struggle with insecurities, commit suicide, feel the need to date outside their race as they are not accepted or don’t strive because they feel being the center of attention made them be ridiculed. Dr. Richard H. Seiden, professor of behavioral sciences at the University of California’s School of Public Health in Berkeley, states, “Blacks suicide is often a sign of the inner anger caused by the troubles of life, such as racism, that can take their toll – by suicide or even homicide.” In these same neighborhoods lies diversity that continues to cause ripples in today’s society.

The post How Colorism Subjugates Dark Skin Women Part 3 appeared first on Grassroots DC.

About 525 years ago, Christopher Columbus brought white supremacy to the islands of the Caribbean.  It wouldn’t be long before it made its way to Turtle Island (aka North America) where it soon became the law of the land.  This extended the European tradition of enshrining every human right and beyond to white men who own property (and by property I mean land, people, wives, children, etc.) while denying those rights and privileges to everyone else.  End result, the worst and yet least talked about genocide in human history. Despite this, or perhaps perversely because of this, President Franklin Roosevelt designated the second Monday of October Christopher Columbus Day in 1937.

Fast forward to 2016 and the United States elects a president that completely embodies the principles of white supremacy that Columbus unleashed on the indigenous people of the Americas.  So, no surprise that the Treaty of Fort Laramie that the Sioux rely on to protect their reservation is being ignored by Energy Transfer Partners as they build the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline a stone’s through from their water supply.

While the electoral college has helped to keep the philosophical descendants of Columbus in power, the descendants of all those others tended to side with the Sioux.   In an effort to stop construction of the pipeline, Sioux Water Protectors, along with many Native Nations and non-Native allies staged months of continuous protest at the Standing Rock Reservation.  The pipeline might have been stopped had we elected someone other than Donald Trump.  On the other hand, maybe not.  President Sanders would have either halted construction or routed it away from the Missouri River, but President Clinton?

If elected officials consistently put the desires of corporations over the needs of their constituents, does that make them philosophical descendants of Christopher Columbus?  His atrocities were committed to enrich the Spanish crown?  The most that non-aristocrats could hope for was that some of that wealth would trickle down to them.  Shaking the legacy of Columbus and the white supremacists who followed him is the job of a lifetime not a single campaign.  No one knows that better than the indigenous people of the Americas.

So, we should not be surprised that the Sioux Nation not only continues to fight to protect their water, they also continue to fight for the many things they need on the reservation.  But they’re not just fighting to insure that their water doesn’t end up contaminated, they also continue to fight for the many things they need on the reservation.  The tenacity of the Sioux Nation, and indeed all of the Indigenous nations who survived the genocide following Columbus’ arrival, provide us all with excellent lessons in tenacity.  Those who are new to the fight against white supremacy should take heed.

The video below of the 2016 Columbus Day demonstration by the DC Standing Rock Coalition is a reminder that victories can be won on many levels.

The post Remembering Standing Rock and Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Fare evasion: the act of riding on public transport and avoiding payment for the required ticket of travel.

In July 2017, the Fare Evasion Decriminalization Act of 2017 was presented to the D.C. Council.  If passed, this act would make fare-dodging a civil act instead of a criminal act. The punishable fine would be no more than $100. The bill removes criminal penalties for fare evasion that currently subject violators to fines of up to $300, arrest, and imprisonment for up to 10 days.

Fare-dodging makes up 50% of all arrests in the metro system over a fare that could be as low as $2. Nearly 40 percent of the city’s commuters take some form of public transit. Many D.C. residents lack basic economic security and have been pushed away from jobs and schools; the increase in fares makes it harder for them to get to work.

The Save our System Coalition, a transit Union-funded activist group, is supporting Fare Evasion Decriminalization. Save Our System disputed WMATA’s characterization of fare evasion arrests, arguing that these policies disproportionately target low-income people of color.  Progressive activists and all but 4 D.C. council members state that the policy has a disproportionate racial impact. Studies show people of color are stopped more often than their white counterparts. Metro Police targeted metro stops heavily used by youth of color.  Fifteen percent of all stops in or around Gallery Place and 14% in or around the Anacostia station. Decriminalization will end this type of discriminatory action.

D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6)  even pointed out this racial discrimination as he himself stated being a white man in a business suit and avoiding to pay his fare has caused no penalties or discrimination.  “I  can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve tapped my card and it gave me the beep that said my balance had dropped below what the fare was,” said Allen, a daily bus rider. “And the driver just said, ‘Just fill it up when you get to the station.’ ” “I’ve never once thought, ‘I’m going to actually get a citation or have a criminal record for riding the bus,’ ” he said.

Another issue is homeless youth and their commute to school. Approximately one in every 24 students attending DC public schools and public charter schools is identified as homeless. The main barrier for homeless youth obtaining an education is transportation, which is important because if there isn’t a way to get to school then it becomes difficult to have an education.  Students between the ages 5-21 are offered free public transportation with a D.C. one card. If these students lose their cards then they do not have a reliable way to get to school unless they evade the fare. This moment can potentially result in a criminal record. The proceeds of such arrests go to the city where the incident took place and not to Metro. Since Metro is not being funded by such incidents, the argument about the amount of force necessary to make sure a payment is made is not persuasive.

Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld states people across demographic boundaries feel a sense of injustice that some people flout the rules and ride free, while others pay.  “It’s a fairness issue, across the entire community,” Wiedefeld said. “You have people in those same communities that they’re concerned about being targeted, who are paying their fares. And I think it’s right that everybody pay their fare.” Wiedefeld made a good point but ignored the bigger picture. Citations and arrests for fare jumping can severely impact low-income individuals and neighborhoods of color. No one knows another person’s financial situation but they may be dependent on the “free” bus trip for sanctuary. If all fare’s were free then the argument regarding how many individuals pay their fare would not matter.

WMATA’s recently completed Capital Needs Inventory (CNI) provides extensive detail of their infrastructure needs and the associated costs, which total approximately $25 billion, $15.5 billion of which are related to the safety and reliability of the system. Metro wants additional funding of $500 million each year that can be leveraged or used to issue bonds of high credit.

The D.C. Council has already raised the tax on ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. As reported by Faiz Siddiqui, of Washington Post, the goal being to raise 178.5 million in new funding for metro.    

Public transportation is free in Belgium, Thailand, Estonia, Brazil, Poland, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, etc.  As a public necessity, some believe it should be free in the District of Columbia as well. 

 

The District of Columbia is an expensive city to live in. The cost of living is ranked 21 out of 538 cities in the world.  The average salary is $71,081 but the cost of living is 39.3% higher than the national average.  Therefore, a D.C. resident needs to earn $80,273 to live comfortably.  Financial struggles over transportation add another burden on commutes to work or school. 

If public transportation were free then the economy will save money on gas, reduce asthma and other illnesses linked to automobile generated pollution.  If there were more travel options to urban areas it would generate more efficient labor markets and a rise in business opportunities by making it easier for poor people to get to jobs.  

In order for public transportation to be free we would need a systematic plan.  Erik Olin Wright, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin has one.  According to Wright, the key is to scale an already-subsidized industry with select free-fare groups into a system-wide program free to all.  “Of course public transportation has to be paid for,” writes Wright, “but it should not be paid for through the purchase of tickets by individual riders—it should be paid for by society as a whole through the one mechanism we have available for this, taxation.”  Public transportation shouldn’t be looked at just from an angle of reducing traffic and emissions. The right to public transit should not be seen as a behavioral mechanism, but instead a right available for all citizens.

 

The post Fare Evasion Decriminalization appeared first on Grassroots DC.

During the summer of 2018, the National Park Service approved an application for a group of white nationalists who planned to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Led by prominent white supremacist Jason Kessler, lead organizer of the original Unite The Right rally, the gathering, known as Unite The Right 2, took place in Washington, DC. Starting the march from the Foggy Bottom Metro station, participants eventually made their way to Lafayette Square, the park across the street from the White House.

In outrage, a number of community members and activists banded together to organize a counter-protest of the far-right demonstration. With Black Lives Matter DC as the lead organizers, the Rise Up Fight Back Counter-Protest took place alongside the Unite The Right 2 rally.

With DC-based Black activists such as Black Lives Matter DC’s Makia Green,  Institute for Policy Studies Fellow Khury Peterson-Smith and Reverend Graylan Hagler from the Plymouth Congregational Church taking the stage to speak on the importance of community involvement and grass-tops accountability.

 

The post Black Activists Organize Counter-Protest to White Nationalist Presence In DC appeared first on Grassroots DC.

A story we’ve been covering about tenants in Congress Heights who have been rallying against slum conditions in their apartment untis for the past five years received a huge win in their campaign this past July when Judge John Mott ordered CityPartners, a real estate firm based in Adams Morgan, to pay nearly $900,000 to finance repairs to the dilapidated buildings.

Read the full article of the win on CityPaper here, and to receive more information about how to support their campaign follow Justice First’s newsletter here.

The post Huge Win For Congress Heights Tenants! appeared first on Grassroots DC.

The District of Columbia is a sanctuary city, which means that the city government limits their cooperation with the federal government’s effort to enforce immigration law. As a sanctuary city, District law enforcement cannot report undocumented immigrants unless they commit a serious crime. Federal agents in D.C. have begun to make arrests that have lead to the deportation of undocumented immigrants. Details regarding the arrests remain vague, as many question how these arrests are possible given the regulations that a sanctuary city should abide by. Recently, in the District of Columbia reports were made regarding detainment of undocumented immigrants.

The Heavy Hand of ICE

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a US federal agency that enforces immigration laws while investigating criminal and terrorist activity. ICE detains and deports undocumented workers. ICE’S national fugitive operations program carries out raids through a specialized team. ICE often takes part in collateral arrests; a collateral arrest is defined as arresting undocumented immigrants who happened to be in the place they were raiding, even if there was not a warrant for them. Fugitive operations, the section of ICE responsible for raids, claims that its operations target the most threatening criminals and terrorist suspects.

Being an undocumented immigrant is a civil violation and not a criminal offense. It is a misdemeanor offense that carries fines and no more than 6 months of jail time if entering the country illegally. Undocumented immigrants have rights under the U.S. Constitution; for example, it is unlawful to hold an immigrant past their release. The rights bestowed by the constitution are not honored when residents are detained until ICE comes to deport them.

Data reported on sanctuary cities including crime, immigration and safety does not match the statements reported by the president. The crime rate of a sanctuary city is 15% less than non-sanctuary cities. According to Houston police chief Art Acevedo, deportation fears amongst immigrants have caused immigrants to stop reporting crime. Undocumented immigrants even assist police but the fear of deportation has caused a 42.8% decrease in reports of crime by undocumented immigrants. During Obama’s 8-year term in office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported over 3.1 million individuals. According to the department of homeland security, most apprehended people were convicted criminals and not law-abiding residents.

Obama vs Trump

The difference between Obama’s immigration policy and Trump’s is that Obama refrained from prosecuting adults with kids. He also tried to expand deferred action in 2014. Under United States administrative law, deferred action is an immigration status which the executive branch can grant to illegal immigrants. It does not give them legal status, but can indefinitely delay their deportation. Obama’s plan was to include the parents of children who were granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The Supreme Court struck down the order in a 4-4 vote, making it impossible for the Obama to expand the DACA program as he intended.

Trump attempted to dismantle the DACA program but U.S. District Judge John Bates ordered the Trump administration to fully reinstate the DACA program. Danielle Bennett, an ICE spokesperson states, “these laws help protect against jobs for US citizens and others who are lawfully employed.” However, the idea that immigrants take jobs away from Americans is a myth. Economic experts report immigrants create more jobs than they fill, forming new businesses, investing capital and spending dollars on consumer goods.

Trump also signed an executive order that tore up previous guidance on how ICE should prioritize its operations. As stated by the White House press secretary Sean Spicer, “the goal is not mass deportation, but to eliminate exceptions President Barak Obama allowed keeping undocumented immigrants who weren’t a threat.” This policy priority makes virtually every undocumented immigrant in the country deportable. Trump’s administration also seeks to end catch-and-release, the practice of releasing immigrants apprehended at or near the border with the expectation that they will later show up before a U.S. immigration judge. Trump also changed the process for people claiming asylum in the US because they suffered persecution in the countries they fled based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group.

Under president Obama, ICE’s policy was to prevent enforcement activities at sensitive places. The locations include schools, places of worship, hospitals and rallies where immigrants could go without the fear of deportation. These sanctuary places have lost their meaning under Trumps reign. ICE raids have caused detrimental damage to neighborhoods, financial stress on families, disruption of school attendance for students and physiological damage to children by breaking up families.

Communities Respond to ICE

In response to the raids, communities have hosted fundraisers to help families with food, money, to deal with trauma and convince students it is safe to go to school. Trump plans to diminish the power of sanctuary cities by not funding them. DC claims to be a sanctuary city but by cooperating with ICE it actually, raids, arrests and ships its residents out of the country. ICE recently raided at least five neighborhoods in DC, tearing at least 12 of our neighbors from their families and filling our communities with fear. Reports indicate that ICE agents racially profiled and indiscriminately detained people on 16th St. Credible reports also suggest DC police colluded with ICE in at least one of these raids. The Sanctuary Not Silence rally, organized by a coalition of groups headed by Sanctuary DMV, was held in response to those raids. The rally purpose was to discuss actions that must be taken to make D.C. a true sanctuary city. The video below shows speakers at the rally.

The post D.C.’S Status As A Sanctuary City in Doubt appeared first on Grassroots DC.

As developers in Washington, DC continue to push residents out of their homes and develop overpriced businesses and condos, long-time residents continue to discover creative ways to prevent themselves from being displaced. In the video pinned below, residents of Congress Heights, a neighborhood in DC’s Southeast quadrant, who live in a building owned by developer Geoff Griffiths, march to his house in DC’s Northwest quadrant in protest of his refusal to maintain the apartment complexes he operates. With the help of community activists and a non-profit developer, the tenants intend to purchase these buildings and create units of affordable housing:

• Geoff Griffis, “master developer” of the Congress Heights redevelopment plan, obtains control of the Sanford Capital properties. This move is accompanied with renewed efforts to manipulate tenants into giving up their rights to purchase the building under TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act). Some residents are bought out of their apartments for as little as $500.
• In response to these developments, tenants organize to establish the Alabama Ave./13th Street Tenant Coalition, their ultimate goal being the creation of 200 units of quality, affordable housing via their TOPA rights.
• On December 27, 2017, Griffis enacts a back door land transfer with Sanford Capitol to acquire the Congress Heights properties, which is very likely an illegal action.
• On February 10th, 2018, tenants marched down to Grifis’ house in Cleveland Park to protest their abhorrent living conditions.
• On February 16th, 2018, Judge Mott of the DC Superior Court authorized a $50,000 payment to the receiver of the Congress Heights properties. This money had been authorized in the short-term to address the immediate property issues, however, this money is not capable of acting as a long-term solution to the apartment’s conditions.

If you’re interested in supporting the Alabama Ave./13th Street Tenant Coalition in their efforts, use this link to send a letter in support of the coalition to DC’s mayor, Muriel Bowser.

The post Congress Heights Residents Organize a 5-Year Rally Against Gentrification appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Growing up my cousins and I were raised together as siblings.  There were five of us including my twin brother and myself.  Our skin tone ranged from light to dark.  My cousin Alisha was raised as the golden child, given that she had naturally long curly hair 3ac 4ab, is racially ambiguous, and has a fair complexion. Her parents home schooled her because she was bullied at school for looks.

Eventually my cousin started to bully me. She would make comments like “guys are attracted to light skin girls”, “All the guys love me because I’m so pretty with pretty hair”, “No one likes dark skin girls”, and “You’re going to have to show your body and boobs to get people’s attention.” Those comments made me think that I’m not pretty, I won’t be accepted, and I began not to care about myself.

I did not see beauty within myself and I believed no one else did because of those comments. I became a tomboy and dressed like a boy. I wore cornrows and my clothes were a couple sizes too big. I went through puberty at a young age and I remember trying to cover up my boobs so no one would know I was a female. I even liked being referred to as a male because I did not have to deal with women’s standards of beauty.

It wasn’t until middle school when I saw that my cousin’s words had implications beyond me; light skin females are seen first and dark skin girls seen second. The other factor was my schoolmates. The “it” girls or popular girls always had light skin, “nice hair”, dressed well and always had guys asking for their numbers. The funny thing was that her side-kicks were always dark-skin girls that were not as well put together as she was. According to there standards, they looked good while she looked great. If she was not available, then they would go to her friends.

Once I went to high school I had a self-revelation. I basically felt that I do not need societal beauty standards inflicted on me in order to consider myself beautiful. I got into makeup, weaves, and wearing form fitting clothing. My issues with skin are still relevant but I became more accepting.

All those hateful comments made me feel contempt. “You’re pretty for a dark skin girl.” “Oh you are dark, and your name is weird. Let me guess, you’re African?”  And “She Jamaican? She dirty and her hair like a Brillo pad.”  Those comments on my appearance and smell, all associated with my skin tone, made me believe that I have to over-achieve in order to be seen. Beauty standards are color based but they should not be color based. In the words of the philosopher Confucius “Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.” Physical beauty will fade over time but true beauty is timeless. There are advantages to having a dark complexion that can have social and economic benefits. Melanin acts as a natural umbrella and prevents your skin from receiving radiation and skin cancers. Having dark skin causes youthful looking skin and aids in human reproduction. Your attributes, characteristics and personality is what defines you, not your skin. Skin color should not be a defining factor to victimize a person.

The post How Colorism Subjugates Dark-Skinned Black Women Part 2 appeared first on Grassroots DC.

While mainstream LGBT+ rights organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and the NOH8 Campaign receive increasing amounts of attention, their ability to represent, serve, and be held accountable to the realities of non-hetero/trans people of color continues to lack.

If you are a non-hetero/trans* person of color in Washington, DC, the organizations/groups listed below may be of service to you.

 

• Black Youth Project 100 DC Chapter – Taken from the website: BYP100 DC is a collective of around 40 Black activists who organize, protest, lobby, and create to fight for Black liberation in the DC metro area [aka, the DMV]. Our chapter was one of the original BYP100 chapters started in 2013 after the Trayvon Martin verdict galvanized young Black activists to start BYP100 to strive for justice. Since then, we’ve been turning up for Black people by engaging in political education, organizing direct actions and campaigns, working with coalitions, participating in lobby days, and doing cultural productions like mixtapes and zines. We focus on transformative change and work through a Black queer feminist lens, meaning that we understand that oppression is intersectional and layered, so we focused our efforts on empowering the most marginalized members of our community. Email dc.chapter@byp100.org to inquire about getting involved.

 

• DC Black Pride – inclusive Black-led pride events celebrating LBGT+ Black community. Events include night and day parties, open mics, and symposiums on sexual health If you have any interest in volunteering, fill out a volunteer form here.

 

• The DC Center – Taken from the website: The DC LGBT Center educates, empowers, celebrates, and connects the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. To fulfill our mission, we focus on four core areas: health and wellness, arts & culture, social & peer support, and advocacy and community building. Hosts support groups, cultural events such as film/literary festivals, and offers services for mental health. Visit this page to learn about volunteer opportunities, or other ways to get involved.

 

• The Garden Concert Series – a Spring/Summer concert series led by queer women/people of color. Organizers partner with local musicians, local chefs, and local farmers to curate outdoor music shows during which participants are served a dinner prepared by local chefs.

 

• HIPS – Taken from the website: HIPS promotes the health, rights, and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by sexual exchange and/or drug use due to choice, coercion, or circumstance. HIPS provides compassionate harm reduction services, advocacy, and community engagement that is respectful, non-judgmental, and affirms and honors individual power and agency. If you’d like to learn about ways to get involved, please visit this page.

 

• Latino GLBT History Project – Taken from the website: The Latino GLBT History Project (LHP) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit volunteer-led organization founded in April 2000 and incorporated in May 2007 to respond to the critical need to preserve and educate about our history. Our mission is to investigate, collect, preserve and educate the public about the history, culture, heritage, arts, social and rich contributions of the Latino GLBT community in metropolitan Washington, D.C. To accomplish our mission, the LHP creates educational exhibits from our historical archives collection showcased at cultural events such as, a Women’s History Month Reception, a Hispanic LGBTQ Heritage Reception and DC Latino Pride, educational presentations at local and national conferences and through our online virtual museum at www.LatinoGLBTHistory.org.

 

• Impulse DC – Taken from the Facebook page: Dedicated to sexual health education, advocacy, and breaking the stigma for gay men, both positive and negative. Supported by AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

 

• SMYAL – Taken from the website: Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders supports and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth in the Washington, DC, metropolitan region. Through youth leadership, SMYAL creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to build self-confidence, develop critical life skills, and engage their peers and community through service and advocacy. Committed to social change, SMYAL builds, sustains, and advocates for programs, policies, and services that LGBTQ youth need as they grow into adulthood. Visit this page to learn about volunteer opportunities, or other ways to get involved.

 

• SwapDC – a queer women of color led initiative. SwapDC encourages clothing trade to prevent the articles from entering the waste cycle while creating family-friendly event spaces in the process.

 

• Swazz Bar – a night-life event series whose focus is creating queer/trans centered, all inclusive dance parties, Swazz has begun to branch out to other types of events with its Swazz Bazaar, a holiday bazaar that will host queer vendors.

 

• National Black Justice Coalition – Taken from the website: The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS. NBJC’s mission is to end racism, homophobia, and LGBTQ/SGL bias and stigma. As America’s leading national Black LGBTQ/SGL civil rights organization focused on federal public policy, NBJC has accepted the charge to lead Black families in strengthening the bonds and bridging the gaps between the movements for racial justice and LGBTQ/SGL equality. Visit this page to discover ways to get involved.

 

• The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance – Taken from the website: NQAPIA is a federation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations. We seek to build the organizational capacity of local LGBT AAPI groups, develop leadership, promote visibility, educate our community, enhance grassroots organizing, expand collaborations, and challenge homophobia and racism.

 

• No Justice, No Pride – Taken from the website: As the once radical LGBTQ+ movement was consolidated into the non-profit industrial complex, Gay Inc. – a powerful network of nonprofits, wealthy donors, and political action committees – emerged to assimilate the movement into mainstream cis-hetero systems of power, including white supremacy, patriarchy, and settler colonialism, among other systems of oppression. This shift is most visible in Pride marches and celebrations – and here in DC and around the world – what was once a call to action for the liberation of our entire community has become a hodgepodge of corporate and state-sponsored interests directed by the most privileged members of our larger community. Visit this page to discover ways to plug in.

The post LGBTQ+ PoC Resource List appeared first on Grassroots DC.

Colorism, also known as shadeism, is discriminatory actions or comments based on a person’s skin color, tone or pigmentation. When you are told you are pretty for a dark-skinned girl that is colorism.  Colorism is not often seen as an issue or it is seen as “people just coming up with problems” or being “too sensitive.”

Colorism in the United States is the result of white supremacist ideology.  During slavery, Intercourse between whites and blacks created mixed-race offspring who had a social status, which set them above other, enslaved people.  Lighter-skinned African Americans maintained family and community ties that distanced them from their darker-skinned counterparts, this distance still persists today.  They were “to white to be black and to black to be white.” Researchers have documented the ways in which many black teachers in segregated schools during the pre-Brown vs. Board of Education era was infected with the attitudes that preferred lighter-skinned children over dark-skinned students.  Light complexioned African Americans who look down on darker-skinned African Americans were perpetuating a hierarchy of discrimination imposed by the white majority.

According to Leland Ware, Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Delaware:

“In the early decades of the twentieth century, colorism fueled conflicts among African-American leaders, including Marcus Garvey, who was the head of the Universal Negro Improvement Organization. Unlike the NAACP, which fought for integration, Garvey proposed migration to Africa as the answer to the “Negro problem.” In 1931, Garvey, who had a very dark complexion and African features, claimed that W.E.B. Du Bois and the NAACP practiced colorism: Du Bois fervently denied Garvey’s claim, but there was some truth to it. Walter White was the head of the NAACP from the mid-1930s until his death in 1955. White’s light skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes did not display a hint of his African ancestry. White’s colorism was reflected in the image of African-American women he actively promoted in Crisis, a periodical published by the NAACP. The editors used photographs of predominantly light-skinned, college-educated women in an effort to displace entrenched notions of Black women as “Jezebels” or sexual victims. The editors wanted to refashion the image of Black women, but in doing so they promoted colorism. Today colorism is still promoted in society and the industry. Many celebrities are those of lighter complexion, occasional exotic dark skin and those who can pass the brown paper bag test.”

This mindset did not just stem from slavery but Biblical origins such as the Curse of Ham. According to Wikipedia, the story’s original purpose may have been to justify the subjugation of the Canaanite people to the Israelites, but in later centuries, some Christians, Muslims, and Jews interpreted the narrative as an explanation for black skin, as well as slavery. In the ancient Indian scripture of the Ramayana, there’s a scene that depicts a fight between a noble, fair-skinned king from the north, and an evil dark-skinned king from the south. This trope points to how people view the source of a person’s skin color between darkness as bad or evil and white are pure, clean and good.

People believe that colorism can end if a loving family that expresses how important and beautiful your melanin is regardless of its shade raises you. This is not the real-world experience of dark-skinned people.

I will talk about my real-world experiences with colorism in Part 2 of this series.

The post How Colorism Subjugates Dark-Skinned Black Women appeared first on Grassroots DC.

The first Tuesday of August, neighbors of communities from all fifty states take part in the National Night Out.  Local police departments host block parties, festivals and other community activities. According to the event website, “National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.”

However, this cause is implausible when agencies fail to provide officers with policy guidance, hold officers accountable for misconduct and collect data about officer’s activities. Most problems arise when police patrol under-resourced neighborhoods. Patrolling is supposed to keep people safe but in reality patrolling forces residents to give up their rights and lose their sense of security within public and personal spaces. Policing is flawed because it profits from stopping, searching, ticketing, arresting and incarcerating people.

The District of Columbia is the capitol of the United States. Despite being the capitol, DC is not funded as it should be given its stature in America. Issues like food deserts, medical assistance, affordable housing, education funding and a poor infrastructure are serious problems for District residents. These topics all deal with public safety as they correspond to resident stability. A Night Out for Safety and Liberation is a community-driven alternative to the National Night Out. The event aims to create new understanding of public safety. Join us for:                  

Night Out for Safety and Liberation
Tuesday, August 7
5pm – 9pm
Maroon House
1005 Rhode Island Avenue NE

Goals such as building connections with neighbors, ending mass incarceration and ending for-profit bail are designed to help community members re-imagine what public safety is. This event is aimed at giving power to the community and showing that we have a right to govern ourselves. We as a community should be able to depend on one another, lend a helping hand, tutor the mis-educated and defuse potentially violent situations. Equity, equality and power are the goals for redefining a community. Fear, prosecution and conflict should not be the main reactions to situations in the neighborhood. Instead, we should give power back to the community by shedding light on existing community resources and the variety of options available for achieving public safety.

The post Night Out for Safety and Liberation appeared first on Grassroots DC.

This crosspost from Valerie Jablow is for all those DC education advocates who really want to understand some of what would be needed to have effective reform in DCPS.  Good teachers need to be trained, recruited and supported.  

Cross-Posted from EducationDC
written by Valerie Jablow

We know that teachers are the single most important school-based factor affecting student learning (Rice, 2003). Ensuring that students in all schools have access to effective teachers is critical for academic success. Yet, as in many other school districts, high-poverty schools in DCPS have fewer highly effective teachers compared with lower poverty schools (Gordon, Kane, & Staiger, 2006; Jackson, 2013; Sass et al., 2012).

Credit: Betsy Wolf, 2018. Graph was created using data Mary Levy obtained from DCPS responses to questions from the city council during performance hearings. The drop box with this information is posted on the council website.

Credit: Betsy Wolf, 2018. Graph was created using data Mary Levy obtained from DCPS responses to questions from the city council during performance hearings. The drop box with this information is posted on the council website.

One reason for such inequity is higher teacher turnover in schools with larger percentages of low-income students and students with low test scores, who are not on grade level–which affects many schools in DC.

Credit: Betsy Wolf, 2018. Turnover data for all staff (not just teachers) here is from the public drop box for the council education committee. PARCC data is from OSSE.

As DC public school analyst Mary Levy has documented, DCPS’s new hires alone leave at a rate of 25% per year, with staff leaving the 40 lowest-performing (and highest poverty) DCPS schools at an average rate of 33% per year. Studies of other jurisdictions have found similar results. For instance, a typical school in Chicago will lose half of its teachers within five years, and the 100 most disadvantaged schools there will lose 25% of their teachers each year (Allensworth, Ponisciak, & Mazzeo, 2009).

Credit: Betsy Wolf, 2018. Graph was created using data obtained via FOIA by Mary Levy from DCPS in SY2017–18.

As the graph above shows, teachers in high-poverty schools in DCPS have fewer years of experience in the system. That means that teachers are either moving to more affluent schools or leaving the system altogether, which creates teacher churn in our most disadvantaged schools.

The effects of such teacher churn are particularly pernicious, given that most of our publicly funded schools, particularly in DCPS, have large proportions of low-income students.

As it is, schools with high-poverty populations often have challenges that high-income schools don’t and thus need more instructional resources, including effective teachers, to increase student achievement. Yet in DC, low-income schools most often have fewer instructional resources—and less effective teachers—on average than high-income schools.

Since teacher mobility appears to be at the heart of the inequitable distribution of effective teachers in DCPS, to solve it we need to understand it. We know from research that effective teachers tend to leave schools serving largely disadvantaged student populations for schools serving more advantaged populations (Boyd, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2005; Boyd et al., 2009; Feng & Sass, 2011; Feng & Sass, 2015; Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2004; Hanushek & Rivkin, 2006; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005; Xu et al., 2012).

One factor contributing to this pattern is that effective teachers tend to go to schools where teacher quality is most like their own, and thus end up in schools serving more advantaged students (Feng & Sass, 2011). Other factors, such as a school’s proximity to home or accountability pressure, also contribute to this pattern (Boyd et al., 2005; Feng, 2010).

At issue in DC as well are teachers’ perceptions that DCPS’s teacher evaluation system (IMPACT) is unfair to teachers who work in high-poverty schools. Under IMPACT, 50% of a teacher’s score comes from student learning gains, and 30% comes from classroom observations. In terms of increasing student learning, research has shown that a teacher who is effective is generally effective in any context (high- or low-poverty) (Glazerman et al., 2013; Lockwood & McCaffrey, 2009). However, research has also shown that teachers have lower returns on years of experience in high-poverty schools (Sass et al., 2012): it simply takes longer to reach a level of effectiveness because teachers there have to do so much more than just teach. In addition, classroom observations have been found to be negatively biased against teachers working in high-poverty schools (Steinberg & Garrett, 2016; Whitehurst et al., 2014).

The pressure inherent in such accountability can be a stressor by itself. If you know your job depends on how much students have learned, or how well they take a test on any given day, and you also know that your students are behind grade level so the likelihood of them scoring well is low under the best of circumstances, that’s stressful. If you know that someone is coming into your classroom to observe you and that will influence your rating (and thus your salary and your job), and you don’t know if a certain student will have a bad day and act out, that’s stressful.

As a result, teachers have many incentives to move to schools with less poverty–and DCPS is not doing much to stop them. Research shows that teachers move to schools where they can feel successful, and teaching in high-poverty schools is hard work. You’re not just teaching: you’re also trying to be a social worker and deal with trauma; acquire necessary classroom and technological resources; reach out to parents; and manage classroom behavior.

These hardships are often exacerbated by DCPS’s lack of support. Here are some examples just from my child’s school:

–Teachers don’t have working computers, yet the mandated curriculum requires blended learning, and student assessments are taken on computers. Teachers resort to Donors Choose to bring in computers, and then computers are trashed when they need repairs because there is no one to repair them.

–DCPS provides minimal support for kids experiencing trauma. A social worker told me it can take up to two years for an appropriate placement to be identified for a child who is particularly struggling. When a child is not in the right placement and/or doesn’t have adequate supports, it’s a lot harder for the teacher to manage classroom behaviors and focus on instruction.

–DCPS doesn’t consider class size to be an important factor affecting student learning, despite a general consensus among researchers that class size matters for children in high-poverty schools in grades K-3. Large class sizes for kids who are multiple years behind grade level makes for an impossible teaching assignment, even for the best of teachers. That’s because in these situations, teachers need to spend more one-on-one time with individual students, which is challenging when class sizes are too large.

To be clear, it’s not wrong to have rigorous teacher evaluation systems—but in a school district like DCPS, with relatively few ineffective teachers to begin with, why is weeding out teachers the most talked-about policy solution when it also results in losing effective ones as well? Also, because student learning gains (a key part of IMPACT) have been available for only 17% of teachers in DCPS (Dee & Wyckoff, 2015), to the extent that IMPACT has rigor it is not seen in student performance. (In fact, a recent report showed that more rigorous teacher evaluations systems do not improve student performance.)

A growing body of research suggests that teachers do respond to financial incentives to remain at high-poverty schools–but that such incentives may need to be large and recurring to retain effective teachers in those schools (Glazerman et al., 2013; Springer et al., 2016).

Moreover, research shows that working conditions are still very important to teachers, regardless of salary (Horng, 2009; Milanowski et al., 2009). For example, Horng (2009) was able to disentangle preservice teacher preferences via a survey for elementary school teachers and found that an $8,000 difference in salary was not as important to teachers in selecting a school as facilities, administrative support, class sizes, or commuting times. Findings by Liu, Johnson, and Peske (2004) also suggested that recruiting teachers was not adequate; more focus was needed on retaining teachers and building teachers’ capacity.

This suggests a path ahead for our publicly funded schools that simply has not been approached effectively in DC.

Although DCPS provides generous bonuses to teachers for teaching in high-poverty schools, those bonuses are provided only under two conditions: having a highly effective rating and permanently giving up rights under excessing. (DCPS provides smaller bonuses to teachers in low-poverty schools–with the same conditions; see page 35ff of the contract here.)

Possibly worse, effective teachers in high-income schools have few incentives to move to low-income schools because they may be concerned that the move will hurt their effectiveness rating.

In other words, DCPS’s system places all of the risk of teaching at high-poverty schools on teachers—with no additional supports. Worse, this lack of support goes in many directions. Every year, for instance, good principals ask their best teachers what they need to stay, but there’s only so much each school leader can change. A school leader can’t acquire computers if they are lacking or hire effective teachers in the middle of the school year.

Research also suggests that teachers may be more willing to work or remain in low-achieving schools if they have a group of effective peers. One study of Teach for America (TFA) participants found that teacher retention in a school improved when TFA participants were placed in groups in each school during the 2-year program (Hansen, Backes, & Brady, 2016). Emerging evidence from other reforms suggests that effective teachers were more likely to move to high-needs schools when other effective teachers were willing to do the same (Partee, 2014).

Given the harmful effects of the inequitable distribution of effective teachers in DCPS, the question is whether city leaders will avail themselves of this research and use it to inform their decision making and policies going forward. The simple act of going into schools and asking teachers what do they need to stay is the first step. The second is to use what has been proven to work. And the third step is to revisit both, with the active collaboration of teachers.

In a city where competition rules the day in so many things, including our public schools, collaboration may seem old-fashioned. But to recruit, and retain, effective teachers in low-income schools, collaboration is the first, perhaps most important, step.

[Ed. Note: This post would not have been possible without the expertise of DCPS parent Betsy Wolf on issues surrounding the distribution, recruitment, and retention of effective teachers in DCPS. Wolf is an assistant professor in the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins, where she conducts independent evaluations of K-12 reforms and policies. All academic citations not linked herein are listed in the bibliography at the end.]

Bibliography

Allensworth, E., Ponisciak, S., & Mazzeo, C. (2009). The Schools Teachers Leave: Teacher Mobility in Chicago Public Schools. Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2009). Who leaves? Teacher attrition and student achievement. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2005). The Draw of Home: How Teachers’ Preferences for Proximity Disadvantage Urban Schools. Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, 24(1), 113–132.

Dee, T. & Wyckoff, J. (2015). Incentives, Selection, and Teacher Performance: Evidence from IMPACT. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 34(2), 267-297.

Feng, L. (2010). Hire today, gone tomorrow: New teacher classroom assignments and teacher mobility. Education Finance and Policy, 5(3), 278–316.

Feng, L., & Sass, T. (2011). Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility (Working Paper No. 57). Washington, D.C.: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research, The Urban Institute.

Feng, L., & Sass, T. R. (2015). The impact of incentives to recruit and retain techers in “hard to staff” subjects: An analysis of the Florida Critical Teacher Shortage Program. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Glazerman, S., Protik, A., Teh, B., Bruch, J., & Max, J. (2013). Transfer incentives for high-performing teachers: Final results from a multisite randomized experiment (NCEE 2014–4004). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

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Hansen, M., Backes, B., & Brady, V. (2016). Teacher attrition and moblity during the Teach for Amercian clustering strategy in Miami-Dade Public Schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(3), 495–516.

Hanushek, E.A., Kain, J., & Rivkin, S. (2004). Why Public Schools Lose Teachers. Journal of Human Resources, 39(2), 326–354.

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The post How To Have Effective Teachers In Every School (Or, What DC Doesn’t Do–But Should) appeared first on Grassroots DC.

You’re a progressive activists or organizer.  You show up for events that teach people about your causes and confront officials who are not, generally speaking, asked to account for their actions.  You learn things yourself that you didn’t know.  You want to share what you’re learning at these events  with your friends and everybody you know who you wish had been there but wasn’t. 

So you pull out your camera phone or your DSLR or your camcorder and you start recording.  You shoot a few minutes of one speaker and a few minutes of another and maybe get some crowd shots.   At the end of the day you load it up to your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your Youtube channel and hope for the best.

It isn’t until you play the footage back that you realize that you were too far away from the speaker for your recording device to really get what they were saying.   The conversation of the people standing next to you is pretty clear though.  Or maybe the shot looked okay when you were shooting, but now that you’re looking at it, the African-American speaker’s face is pretty dark.  The white folks standing next to her/him/they is fine though.  Is there racism in the camera?  Maybe.  But it isn’t anything that can’t be overcome with a few good tips.

Understanding how to adjust the exposure settings on your so-called point and shoot device, making  the best use of available light and placing the camera where the speaker not only looks good but can be heard are all techniques we’ll be teaching at Grassroots DC’s next Basic Videography Workshop.

There’s something to be said for sharing a few minutes of a good speaker at an event via social media.  But if you want to make sure your video looks good, sounds good and maybe even includes a specific call to action, like, when is the next event?  Who should they contact to join the cause?  What specific policy should they ask their elected officials to support?  Then this event is for you.

There will be food and young people are welcome.  Contact liane@grassrootsdc.org for more information.

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Two fracking well “derricks” and chanting protesters block First St. at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission./Photo by Anne Meador

Security at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seemed caught unawares Monday morning when anti-pipeline activists blockaded the staff parking garage at the agency headquarters. In the middle of First Street, two people climbed up and perched high on bamboo structures made to resemble hydraulic fracking well derricks. FERC is responsible for approving or denying proposed interstate gas pipelines, most of them supplied by fracking wells.

“FERC greenlights all energy projects, paying no mind to how dirty or unsafe they are to the climate or community,” said derrick-sitter Jessica Sunflower Rechtschaffer of New York City. “We erected these towers in front of FERC to show how these towers are being placed all over the USA, disrupting people, their homes livelihoods and environment.”

The FERC critics from Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) and other groups, numbering about two dozen, also unfurled a long banner in front of the main entrance, blocking it as well. They say FERC should no longer be “a rubber stamping agency” and instead dedicate itself to facilitating “a just transition off fossil fuels.”

FERC has long been accused of having a “cozy relationship” with industry with commissioners and staff enjoying a revolving door to and from gas industry jobs. Critics also say that it assists gas companies in breaking up projects into smaller ones which will more easily obtain approval, a practice known as segmentation. Meanwhile, communities must grapple with a complex and time-consuming permit process directed toward what seems like a predetermined outcome. FERC has also been accused of “cherry-picking” data to force pipelines through low-income areas and communities of color.

There has been a sustained initiative to draw attention to the broad impact of the agency’s work, as gas companies seize private property and dig up forests, streams and mountaintops with a massive expansion of pipeline networks. For more than four years, BXE has held similar protests at FERC headquarters and disrupted the Commission’s monthly public meetings. Their efforts may be paying off.

“We’re beginning to see cracks between the FERC commissioners,” derrick-sitter Drew Hudson of North Carolina said, pointing out that earlier this month, Commissioners Cheryl LaFleur and Richard Glick voted to vacate Mountain Valley Pipeline’s permit.

FERC recently embarked on a review of the process governing its permit approvals. There are indications that Democrats LaFleur and Glick are demanding analysis of the climate impacts of pipelines, which would be in accordance with a recent court ruling. But the three Republican commissioners want to shorten the timeline for permit applications and streamline any evaluation.

Swaying only the two Democrats on the Commission may not be enough to achieve BXE’s goal of turning FERC into an agency willing to facilitate a transition to renewable energy. “We need at least three and preferably all five commissioners on board,” Hudson said.

While communities continue to fight FERC, vast numbers of people around the country are affected or potentially affected by the pipelines it approves. An independent safety analysis ordered by Governor Cuomo just released by the New York Department of Public Service finds that FERC was aware that the Spectra Algonquin Pipeline involves unacceptable risks when it approved it in March 2015, according to Kim Fraczek of Sane Energy Project. The Algonquin Pipeline runs only 100 feet from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant located 30 miles north of New York City.

“This agency is responsible of saying yes to this pipeline knowing that it was unsafe,” Fraczek, who was protesting at FERC on Monday, said. “It’s putting a population of 25 million at risk. If this pipeline blows up next to Indian Point, it’s game over for the metropolitan New York City area.”

Click to view slideshow.

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Washington, DC — Thousands of people protesting systemic racism and poverty marched to the Capitol on Saturday but were barred from entering the grounds by U.S. Capitol Police. A long line of officers blocked the South Lawn and halted a march organized by the Poor People’s Campaign–a revival of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s movement 50 years ago—at the Capitol Reflecting Pool.

Rev. William Barber and Rev. Jesse Jackson pressed police to allow them to proceed to the Capitol Lawn and conclude their march with the delivery of petitions demanding Congress allocate resources for the poor and struggling workers. U.S. Capitol Police Captain John Erickson, however, refused on the grounds that a large group needed a permit to demonstrate. An agreement was eventually worked out for petition boxes to be carried by individuals one at a time to the Capitol steps.

Rev. William Barber (c) with Rev. Jesse Jackson (to his right) leads the Poor People’s Campaign march to the U.S. Capitol

Barber and Jackson gathered the crowd in prayer. “There is no black and white. We’re all precious in God’s sight,” Jackson said, leading the others in a call-and-response. He concluded with “We’ll all remember in November,” referring to the midterm elections.

The march wrapped up 40 days of protests, rallies and civil disobedience actions in Washington, DC and around the country. Many prominent civil rights activists took part, some of whom were founding members the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.

Rev. Barber reviewed the victories of the campaign so far, saying it had been the goal to shift the narrative and get the attention of the international community. They had engaged in simultaneous civil disobedience in 40 states, registered voters in poor communities and put issues on the record at a hearing in Congress. The campaign will continue as a multi-year organizing and get-out-the-vote effort.

“We know how to fight, and we’re committed to do it,” said Rev. Barber. “I got a feeling everything’s going to be all right, you know Martin’s done told us,” Rev. Barber sang with the crowd.

Drawing from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, Rev. Barber outlined actions Poor Peoples Campaign would pursue in the coming months. “We learned from our non-violence training that you only have the authority to shut it down when you have given your adversary clear understanding of what you want, why you want it, and you’ve attempted to give them the opportunity,” he said.

He was critical of police for not letting them deliver their demands to Congress. “We remember this month [June 1968] when they tried to kill the Poor People’s Campaign, snatched them away, ran them out even after they had permits. Now today they won’t even give you a permit to be on the mall,” he said.

Rev. William Barber and Rev. Jesse Jackson confer at U.S. Capitol as Capitol Police block the marchers from entering Capitol grounds.

A huge three-hour rally on the National Mall preceded the march. The severe humidity affected many of the older civil rights leaders. Rev. Barber appeared to suffer as he walked behind the lead banner, and several people offered him assistance in walking.

Actor Danny Glover was also among civil rights leaders walking with the lead banner. “We see the contradictions with this administration all the time. Now we have to gather a mass mobilization, a real mass movement to change and that’s got to take place in many ways,” he said. He urged anyone feeling discouraged to keep going. “When you hear the dogs barking, keep going. When you think they’re going to catch you, keep going,” he said, drawing from the words of Harriet Tubman.

The original Poor People’s Campaign of 1968 was a march of nine caravans from different cities to Washington, DC. Once they arrived, they set up Resurrection City, a tent area for permitted tent city of homeless on the National Mall. It was led by Rev. William Abernathy who took on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision after he was assassinated in April of that year.

Click to view slideshow.

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