How can we make the District of Columbia truly “One City?”
Making genuine progress toward creating “One City” is the Mayor’s highest priority. Mayor Gray has said that One City “is the recognition that all District residents, no matter their differences, are bound together by a common destiny and a shared desire to make the city even better for the people who live here. Regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ward or neighborhood, we all want a vibrant, sustainable city, where all residents have an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families, where every neighborhood is safe, where every student goes to a good school, where every tax dollar is spent wisely on a government that works, and where citizens’ voices really count.” Yet the District government cannot achieve this goal alone.
We’d like your thinking on some of the specific questions that we’ll be wresting with at the summit:
- How do we grow and diversify the economy?
- What do DC government, businesses, and non-profits need to do to help people who aren’t currently job-ready get the skills they need to find work, especially in growing sectors of the economy?
- In order to have healthy, thriving infants and toddlers, what District government services and resources will be most important for our families and communities?
9 results found
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Pay for the Summer Jobs Program should be based on performance and not age.
Many 15 year olders did a good job in summer 2011 and now they will be only able to make $5.25 an hour just because they are 15, which is a pay cut. Let 14 and 15 year olds compete for Jobs paying $7.25 per hour and working 25 hours per week. There are 14 and 15 year olds who have better attitudes, work skills and commitment than many of the 16 -21 year olds. Or let the 15 year old youth who worked last year maintain their $7.25 pay rate.
154 votes -
Raise the Library's Budget so that it's 1% of the City Budget
No city agency provides more bang for the buck in terms of providing access to the knowledge and technology that can transform the lives of DC residents. The library system is the largest provider of free internet in the city, and from computer classes, to literacy programs for people of all ages, and even help for job seekers, it's being asked to do more with less every year. Its budget is somewhere around 0.6% of the city budget -- let's raise that to 1% and get some real ROI!
40 votes -
Re-establish trade schools and open new facilities for training adults who are not college bound.
I believe we should re-open many of the trade schools that used to exist in the District. All high school aged children are not college material. By doing this, it can encourage more enterpreneuership. We also need to consider providng more free training facilities to teach adults a manual labor skill, such as brick masonry, carpentry, roofing, etc. These individuals could be trained and put to use in turning some of the abandoned properties in this city into usable, viable living space for themselves as well as low-middle income individuals and families. This way you are instilling a new work…
29 votes -
Incorporate cognitive development in the workforce/job-readiness/ training programs.
I believe that soft skills training will help people become job-ready and get the hard skills needed to find and retain work. Creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking all rely on basic cognitive skills. These skills can be developed with the appropriate training, rehearsal and mediation. Soft skills also called people skills and are typically hard to observe, quantify and measure. Hard skills are typically easy to observe, quantify and measure. They are also easy to train, because most of the time the skill sets are brand new to the learner and no unlearning is involved. People skills/interpersonal skills are…
12 votes -
Hold followup listening and problem solving sessions to identify the barriers from the viewpoint of people who could help grow the economy..
Hold listening and problem-solving sessions to identify barriers to achieving economic and educational objectives. There are things government can do to allow and encourage more capital investment to be made available for startup and online businesses to create more economic training opportunities and growth. Startups, small and disadvantaged businesses are held back and discouraged by things which can be changed or removed.
11 votes -
Persuade the White House to pay attention to the capital city
Persuade the White House to pay attention to the capital city. Since only an amendment to the Constitution will change the basic situation of Washington, DC (less than usual local municipal autonomy vis-à-vis Congress, despite trappings of home rule), and such amendments take endless time, it falls on the President and his staff to pay much more attention to the needs of the capital city, including especially the so-called remnants of the middle class here. For example, a totally new approach is needed for preparing DC youths for jobs. Also the street repair situation seems woeful – here all neighborhoods…
5 votes -
DC government should support the creation of a program to provide workforce-based customer service and soft skills training to unemployed DC
DC government should support the creation of a program to provide workforce-based customer service and soft skills training to unemployed DC residents. The city, community organizations should work with businesses to identify and isolate the skill sets of the city’s thousands of vacant jobs. Community organizations could develop them into a curriculum administered in an academic setting. This can be integrated into the development of the DC Retail Academy.
4 votes -
Improve language access so that all can better access local government services
if you improve language access so that low income individuals can better access government access then they will be able to access healthcare and open businesses that will improve the well being and economy of the city
4 votes -
Link community college and nonprofit programs to help more residents prepare for work
The community college has expertise in providing skills training for in-demand jobs. Nonprofits have expertise in helping individuals address personal barriers that make it difficult to succeed in school. Let's find ways to help the community college and effective nonprofits work together. This has been accomplished by the Training Futures/NOVA partnership just down the road...no reason we can't do it too!
2 votes