Will Obama Kids Go To A DC Public School?

UPDATE: Mayor Adrian Fenty encouraged the Obamas to consider sending their children to a DC public school.

Mayor Adrian Fenty told me Tuesday he hopes the president-elect and Michelle Obama--and all new District of Columbia residents--give some thought to enrolling their children in public schools.

Fenty commented the day after the school shopping Michelle Obama toured Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Day, elite private schools . The Obama girls, Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7 attend the University of Chicago Lab School, where Michelle serves on the board.

"Our goal is to have DC public schools be as serious an option as any charter or private schools, not just for the Obamas' but for any family making the decision," Fenty said.

The mayor did not address security concerns.

Probably not, the Washingtonian reports:

Forget the question of Secretary of State. The question everyone in Washington wants answered is where will the Obama girls go to school? The Obamas briefly toured the city as a potential home after Barack's 2004 U.S. Senate victory before deciding that the girls and Michelle would remain in Chicago.

While there's been some speculation that after singling out Michelle Rhee's reform efforts in one presidential debate this fall, President-Elect Obama might decide to send his two daughters to a public school--as Jimmy Carter did--a public school presents a host of problems for a First Family, not the least of which is a set of security concerns. After 9/11, security officials believe a public school is out of the question.

Thus Sasha and Malia will likely end up at a private school--and the leading candidate appears to be Maret, the elite Woodley Park K-12 school founded in 1911.

Go here for a slideshow of the Obamas' potential schools.

Comments

[shaytoonee]

Security is way way way more important... than public or private. So send them to a private school.

SECURITY.

God is some thing happens to those two little girls he will die. we cant have that. The girls are his life.

[inluvwkeitholbermann]

sure....why not let them walk there, too?

[hollybork]

Does the federal government pick up the cost for private school for a President's children because of security concerns?

[MilesTone]

No. That is a personal expense and as such, the President is responsible for that expense.

[honeydiva]

and believe it or not the president does retain a salary.

[08politicaljunkie]

There is no way these children can attend a public school. And with Secret Service bodyguards attached to them 24/7 (necessary), they will never have a normal childhood.

[Hare]

Hey, people leave those kids alone. Public School in DC? Get real. The'll give privacy to the president's children eventually as it always happens.

[hollybork]

Send the girls to a Quaker school, the same one that Chelsea Clinton attended. Just my two cents worth. I like the Quaker schools a lot.

[calluna]

Sidwell Friends. It is a very good school.

[hudsuckerproxy]

Safety first.

[MizLiz]

Good Lord, I hope not. Amy Carter was miserable at a public school, couldn't make friends...kids treated her like an alien from Mars. Sasha and Malia have been going to a private school in Chicago, and it would be a horrible jolt to leave that kind of environment. Chelsea Clinton went to Sidwell Friends School and did very well there.

The DC public schools are downright dangerous, and the Secret Service would be stressed out to the limit.

[tallcoolone47]

Most Politicins love to shout on the campaign trail that they will send their kids to public school but if you have the money and the Obama's do they choose the right thing security or not prvate is better education wise

[seattledemocrat]

PRIVATE SCHOOL! They'll get heat for a while from the neocons but this is a security issue.

[pupbayer]

Why would they get heat? What president's children ever went to private school in modern times? This is another one of those passive agressive statements like the "they're going to tell you I'm different..." Geez. The election is over. He won. Catch up.

[MilesTone]

Because neocons are still smarting over his victory and will look for anything to undermine the victory.

[Pdubya]

well, he can afford private school.

[TheAlchemist]

God keep this man and his family safe.

[Berkeleyan]

Unlike the US, South Viet Nam pre-1975 public schools were the best schools in the country. We all had to take very difficult tests to get into public schools, so that our parents did not have to pay for our tuition at private schools. Kids pay back their parents' sacrifice for raising them by trying to get into famous public schools. Only spoiled kids from rich families, those who were not so bright, or those who could not pass the public school tests attended private schools. In my family, my two eldest sisters somehow could not pass the tests to attend public schools. So they had to attend private schools and they always felt guilty for the financial burden they put on our parents. When I told my American friends that we as children studied so hard to get into public schools, as a way of paying back all the love and sacrifice our parents gave us since the day we were born, they said "please tell our kids that." Here, children think that they are entitled to expensive private schools. The public school system in the US needs major overhaul. I thought that it would be nice if Obama's daughters can attend a public school. But their safety has to be No. 1, so any safe school would go.

[nighttimelady]

Security, security, security!! Enough said......­..........

[sunny555]

Aside from the security risk, you only get one chance to raise your children. Today's best private schools are teaching children to be thoughtful, compassionate, civic-minded citizens who think globally and respect those who may think differently from them. My own children started out in a great public school system, but I moved them to private by middle school. The differences are much greater than most people realize.

For anyone who cries "elitism," I urge you to remember that the well-being of these girls must come before anything else. Clearly they are being raised extremely well, and the family should not jeopardize that for anything or anybody.