D.C. Committee on Education Names New Director

By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO

Akeem Anderson, a former D.C. Public Schools employee, has been appointed as the new director of the D.C. City Council’s Committee on Education, Chairman David Grosso (I-At Large) announced July 10.

In his new position, which started June 25, Anderson said he’s most interested in closing the achievement gap, ensuring equity in the distribution of resources across the District and supporting development within the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

“I look forward to bringing my experiences both in the classroom and at DCPS to the Committee on Education and Councilmember Grosso’s work as chairperson to continue building on the successes in the D.C. education sector over the last 10 years,” Anderson said in a statement.

Before he was tapped to direct the committee, Anderson spent nearly three years serving DCPS as a continuous improvements specialist in the Office of School Design and Continuous Improvements for DCPS.  He was responsible for tracking student progress, identifying trends in student data and using those findings to build school plans.

Prior to that, Anderson helped schools craft and monitor their turnaround plans and co-managed the District’s Empowering Males of Color Grant, which help 22 schools boost academic and socio-emotional outcomes for Black and Latino boys within DCPS.

Moreover, Anderson spent two years teaching in the New Orleans public schools and served as a 2008 Greater New Orleans Teach For America Corps member. Anderson’s appointment comes as DCPS is grappling with a graduation scandal that showed more than 900 students out of the 2,758 students who graduated last year missed too many days of class or didn’t properly make up their classes.

Two federal agencies and the D.C. Office of the Inspector General are investigating.

“I am extremely excited to welcome Akeem to Team Grosso as our new committee director and have been impressed with the enthusiasm he has shown in just a few short weeks on the job,” Grosso said in a statement.  “Akeem comes to the committee at a turbulent time for public education in the District of Columbia, but I have no doubt that his experience, professionalism, and passion will serve the committee’s integral oversight role and innovative policy development well as we continue the work to put every D.C. child in the best position to succeed.”