Just devastating news this morning. Elizabeth Davis, president of the Washington Teachers' Union, was killed in a car crash last night. She was 70. She was a D.C. teacher for more than 40 years and led the union since 2013.

washingtonpost.com/local/educatio… Even if you disagreed with her, you could not argue that she was a tireless and fervent advocate for the city's teachers and schools who cared deeply about this city and its kids.

The D.C. mayor and chancellor are now announcing part of the FY22 education budget, which will include spending for extra academic/social emotional programs, technology and teacher training. (Will share some highlights from their presentation here.) The big numbers in this proposal: $15 million for "teacher growth recruitment/retention"
-$27 M for student/teacher tech.
-$33 M for student acceleration/social emotional supports
-$9 M to for "learning innovations, including outdoor learning."

I am watching the D.C. Council hearing this afternoon on reopening schools. Lots of teachers/school staff/residents scheduled to testify, followed by the chancellor. I'll tweet highlights here in a thread. The first group of people testifying includes some State Board of Ed. members. They have called on DC to put $$ toward outdoor learning and have said city should delay reopening until teachers are fully vaccinated.

(School opens Feb 1, staff gets first vaccination Jan. 25)

After months of negotiations, DCPS and teachers union have reached an agreement on reopening, per union. Teaching in-person won't optional, which teachers had pushed for. If student demand exceeds # of volunteer teachers, teachers w/o medical exemptions may need to return. Reopening isn't contingent on an agreement, but this sets the agreed upon safety measures and staffing protections DCPS needs to provide to reopen. This could make teachers more confident to return
wtu_dc_public_schools_reach_agreement_on_moa

Breaking: DC will bring back some elementary students for in-person learning on Nov 9. Middle and high school students will return in January, at earliest. In-person teaching for pre school and elementary students will be for high priority groups (ESL, students experiencing homelessness, and high needs special ed.) Other elementary students will be invited to continue virtual learning in classrooms under supervision of non-teachers.

Protesters take a kneel on a 14th street intersection. Group leader tells them on a megaphone that this is a peaceful protest. He tells them to turn to the person next to them and tell them they love them. (Apologies for poor video skills with this one) Powerful scene here as protesters sit quietly and listen on 14th street to a leader reminding everyone why they are out here today.

I've covered inauguration & clashes between anti Trump & pro Trump protesters in DC. Never seen anything like the last four nights. Was tear gassed with a bunch of young protesters lighting streets on fire Sunday. On Monday, peaceful protesters ran scared from gas/ explosions Last night, my colleagues were knocked down as helicopters flew low to the ground. The city -- even quiet streets -- had federal police officers and military vehicles everywhere. washingtonpost.com/local/washingt…

I’m back out in front of the White House for night 4 of protests. Each day, the barricade separating police from protesters gets farther from the White House. Today, protesters are not allowed into Lafayette Park. AG Bill Barr walked with a security detail and said hi to the police on Lafayette Park. Protesters boo-d loudly

I was at the White House until the very end of the protests this morning and D.C. police were very much part of what appeared to be a coordinated response with Secret Service and Park Police

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1266711224391213056

And here’s the full story from the protests last night. (With @nu1wcf and @phscoop) washingtonpost.com/local/public-s…