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.