No OSP Students in the First Lady’s SOTU Box
Lindsey Burke /
Last night, one of the coveted seats in the First Lady’s Box was occupied by Clay Armstrong, a recent graduate of Ballou High School, part of the D.C. public school system. The Washington Post reports:
Armstrong does not shy away from describing his life at Ballou as difficult, stressful and disadvantaged. ‘It was tough, but I handled it pretty well,’ he says. ‘There were fights every day and people have gotten stabbed. People have gotten shot. There’s constantly people being knuckleheads and trying to be the class clown.’
Fortunately, as Mr. Armstrong puts it, “I was big on self-motivation.” While Armstrong’s personal achievements were impressive enough to earn him a seat in the First Lady’s Box last night, unfortunately, he is the exception that proves the rule. Despite Chancellor Rhee’s efforts to reform the D.C. public schools, the system remains one of the most troubled in the country. Students in the Nation’s Capital rank nearly dead last in academic achievement and attend classes in the most dangerous schools in the country. Armstrong’s description of violence is reinforced through statistics on the incidents of violence in D.C.P.S. Heritage’s Dan Lips and David Muhlhausen write: (more…)