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Betsy Wolf

@betsyjwolf.bsky.social

990 followers 710 following 240 posts

SWDC Parent, Ed Researcher, Lover of Graphs, #DCStatehood, 🐺 🏃🏻‍♀️ 🚴‍♀️. Re-posts != endorsements and posts are my own. https://betsyjwolf.substack.com

betsyjwolf.substack.com

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 21

New Sold a Story podcast on the history of and recent cuts to education research, and I am HERE FOR IT. www.apmreports.org/episode/2025...

Episode 14: The Cuts

www.apmreports.org

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 2d

Nope.

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 6d

This is a great expose on segregation academies in my home state and an explanation of how vouchers are likely to increase inequity.

ProPublica @propublica.org · 6d

After the Brown v. Board decision, white people across the South opened hundreds of private schools.

70+ years later, most of the ones still open in Alabama’s Black Belt remain overwhelmingly white.

In this town, one school keeps kids divided.

(Published May 2024)

Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools.

Seventy years after Brown v. Board, Black and white residents, in Camden, Alabama, say they would like to see their children schooled together. But after so long apart, they aren’t sure how to make it...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Betsy Wolf

The 51st @51st.news · 7d

DCPS reneged on its promise to help hundreds of international teachers secure a green card. Many may now be forced to leave the country. Read the full story from @maustermuhle.bsky.social 51st.news/dc-green-car...

DCPS promised them green cards. Now, these international teachers have nowhere to turn

More than 200 teachers may soon have to leave the country because of what they say are broken promises from the city's school system.

51st.news

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Reposted by Betsy Wolf

Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 7d

NEW! Dept of Education workers say their OOO replies were forcibly changed to blame Democrats for shutdown. When employees changed their responses back to the more neutral language, it changed yet again to the partisan response.

@wired.com @leahfeiger.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/govern...

Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown

Some employees at the Department of Education changed their responses back to the more neutral language, only to have it changed yet again to the partisan response, multiple sources tell WIRED.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Betsy Wolf

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 7d

NEW—US Department of Education sent out standard Out of Office language to employees on Wednesday in light of shutdown. Later yesterday, workers tell me they found someone had updated their auto-responses without consent to a new one blaming Democrats.

Version of original on left, updated on right:

Thank you for your email. There is a temporary shutdown of the U.S. government due to a lapse in appropriations. I will respond to your message as soon as possible after the temporary shutdown ends. Please visit ED.gov for the latest information on the
Department's operational status.
Thank you.

Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 7d

And, for some agencies, the Administration changed employee away messages and replaced them with a partisan message unbeknownst to the employees.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 8d

SCOOP — The White House instructed all federal agency leadership on Tuesday to send out a mandatory message to workers blaming the impending potential government shutdown on House Democrats, The Handbasket was first to learn. Absolutely no modifications to the email were permitted.

My story:

Trump mandates all federal agencies send email blaming Dems for potential gov’t shutdown

Workers call the partisan email "a vile slap in the face."

www.thehandbasket.co

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 7d

The fact that the media keeps bringing up mass firings is 🤯. They’ve already fired people in mass, and will continue to do it whenever they please, it has nothing to do w a shutdown!

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Reposted by Betsy Wolf

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 8d

Trump's FCC yesterday voted to kill a program that provided free Wi-Fi to rural school kids at no cost to taxpayers, falsely claiming the program was "illegal" and was being used to "censor Conservative ideology."

FCC moves to end discounts for Wi-Fi hotspot lending and school bus connectivity

The Federal Communications Commission voted to end discounts for library and school Wi-Fi hotspot lending programs on Tuesday, drawing criticism from lawmakers and librarians who say the move will mak...

apnews.com

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 12d

So is there any point to budget negotiations if the Executive can just cancel funds or am I missing something?

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Reposted by Betsy Wolf

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 19d

Mississippi has suspended data collection for Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (Prams), a national database that has been integral to policymaking on maternal and infant health for nearly four decades www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Mississippi declares infant deaths emergency as CDC program that could have helped is halted

State forced to stop gathering critical data on pregnancy experiences after Trump administration’s shakeup

www.theguardian.com

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 21d

An entirely predictable result that is probably not good for DC citizens on the whole.

Reposted by Betsy Wolf

Councilmember Charles Allen @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social · 23d

The JNC ensures DC has judges who are vetted and qualified for the President to select. A new House bill would eliminate it and let President Trump handpick our judges without any say from DC residents. That’s not accountability: It’s control.

Hear more from CM Allen:

A Dangerous Bill for DC's Courts

The Judicial Nomination Commission ensures DC has judges who are vetted and qualified for the President to select. A new House bill would eliminate it and let President Trump handpick our judges…

youtu.be

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 29d

And now IES is hiring back some of the NAEP positions that were deemed not essential by DOGE.

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Sep 5

As a DC resident, the most surprising thing is that people are surprised. We knew exactly where everyone stood before this moment in time, and if you didn't, well now you do.

a black cat is holding a nail clipper in its paws .

ALT: a black cat is holding a nail clipper in its paws .

media.tenor.com

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Sep 4

This paper examined the effects of identifying the lowest 5% of performing schools in Ohio per ESSA. They found *negative* effects on attendance, graduation, and test scores. Why? More staff attrition, unclear how to improve, and did not come with more resources. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Effects of Comprehensive Support and Improvement School Designation Under the Every Student Succeeds Act on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Ohio

We examine the causal effects of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) school designation under the Every Student Succeeds Act on student outcomes in Ohio using a regression discontinuity des...

www.tandfonline.com

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Sep 4

This was a hard but really great watch, especially the social commentary of episode 3 which is so relevant for DC leaders today. www.netflix.com/title/81676595

Watch Katrina: Come Hell and High Water | Netflix Official Site

Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, survivors reflect on the disastrous storm that forever changed their lives and the systemic inequities it exposed.

www.netflix.com

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Sep 1

From @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social's update: Due to the presence of the National Guard in DC, sales down 50% compared to last year; restaurants and hotels are seeing many cancellations; 12,000 fewer people coming downtown each day according to data from downtown BID.

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 31

Peggy Carr is very well liked and respected, and her abrupt and humiliating firing was wrong.

Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · Aug 31

Here is a gift link. I know people have feelings about the times but this is free and reading this should make you very very mad and then you should do something:

In Trump’s Federal Work Force Cuts, Black Women Are Among the Hardest Hit

www.nytimes.com

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 28

Truly fascinating graphs about Americans' (inaccurate) perceptions of their fellow citizens. today.yougov.com/politics/art...

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Reposted by Betsy Wolf

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Aug 28

This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Washington, DC under military occupation in last August 2025, with banners proclaiming the absolute power of the primus inter pares

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Reposted by Betsy Wolf

The 51st @51st.news · Aug 26

Metro offers discounted rates for low-income residents, but few riders are using the program. Here’s who is eligible and how to enroll. 51st.news/metro-offers...

Metro offers reduced fares for low-income riders, but there's not many takers

The program isn't widely known, and applying for it is an additional barrier.

51st.news

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 26

While getting Kids Ride Free cards has been an issue for years, DC has been pushing stricter enforcement around fare evasion, even for students who should be riding for free. This is the local failure part.

a man is saying `` that 's dumb . ''

ALT: a man is saying `` that 's dumb . ''

media.tenor.com

Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 26

DC public school students are entitled to a Kids Ride Free card, but it can take weeks into the school year to get new cards bc they are only dispersed to schools in small batches. Kids may or may not have their cards from last year, and old cards expire in September.

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 22

This is a solvable problem!

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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · Aug 22

Yes! It always takes me a couple of months to get my kids scores. I’ve asked repeatedly that scores be mailed to students or put in Aspen accounts.

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