Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools records
Scope and Contents
This collection contains published and unpublished materials such as reports, correspondence, studies, clippings, testimony, financial information, and notebooks, which document the work of Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools from 1980 to 2008. Major topics covered include school conditions, school budgets, school closings, and teacher evaluations and pay. These records were created as part of the organization's work advocating for improvements in the Washington, D.C. public schools.
Dates
- 1980-2008
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.
Biographical / Historical
Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools was an advocacy group formed in 1980 to improve the quality of D.C. public schools. It began as a project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee, a pro bono legal services organization focusing on the needs of the poor, including employment, housing, and quality public education. As the District of Columbia faced a school budget crisis in 1980, the Washington Lawyers' Committee assembled a diverse set of parents from both poor and affluent neighborhoods in the city to form Parents United. Member schools at one point represented all eight wards and a majority of D.C.'s regular public schools.
By testifying before the DC Council and Congress, holding meetings, sponsoring fundraising events, and issuing high-profile reports, the group rallied enough public support to increase the budget for city schools in the early 1980s. They also pressed for increases in teacher salaries, implementation of teacher evaluations, universal pre-kindergarten classes, and improvements in school conditions. The organization continued to testify before the D.C. City Council through 2009.
Extent
11.5 Linear Feet (23 document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains published and unpublished materials such as reports, correspondence, studies, clippings, testimony, financial information, and notebooks, which document the work of Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools from 1980 to 2008. Major topics covered include school conditions, school budgets, school closings, and teacher evaluations and pay. These records were created as part of the organization's work advocating for improvements in the Washington, D.C. public schools.
Arrangement
Organized into five series: Projects, reports, and testimony; Clippings; Fundraising and events; Subject files; and Administrative files.
Physical Location
Materials may be stored off-site, and may require additional retrieval time. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, 2012 (2012.052).
- Schools -- Washington (D.C.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Source
- Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (Donor, Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools records, 1980-2008
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository
