We ran a feature last year on the Oyster School, an English/Spanish bilingual elementary school in Cleveland Park that has long been regarded as one of the few bright spots in the District’s struggling public school system. On Friday, the Post reported that Oyster-Adams (the school merged with Adams Elementary this year) principal Marta Guzman became the latest casualty of DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s tenure when her contract was not renewed.

The Oyster ouster is full of delicious details — Rhee’s daughters are both Oyster students, she attended a November dinner party convened by angry parents who wanted to complain about Guzman, and my parents (who live around the corner from Oyster) report that protesters gathered outside the school on Friday morning. Those parents and others form the pro-firing camp, citing the now-ex-principal’s “lack of organization, reluctance to delegate and sometimes-brusque style.”

Others allege that “Guzman was toppled by a cadre of dissatisfied and largely affluent Anglo parents with the ear of a woman who was both a fellow parent and the chancellor.”

The Editorial Board has backed Rhee’s attempts to reform the school system by cutting down on unnecessary administrative jobs and bringing new blood into the system with firings and buyouts, but I’m not sure I can get behind this particular firing. Oyster is one of the District’s most successful schools, and the dinner party situation is pretty shady.

Then again, maybe Guzman would have driven a stellar school into the ground if Rhee hadn’t taken action; I don’t know enough about the “intra-school politics” (as one parent calls them) to know for sure. One thing is for certain, though: no one is safe from the Rhee reign.

-Anna Bank, Editor-in-Chief

According to a study released on Monday, Georgetown graduates 82% of its basketball players, clocking in at thirteenth among the 65 teams in the NCAA tournament. The report, released by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, was based upon 2000-01 graduation (six-year) statistics released by the NCAA.

The main fact that jumps out of the study is the disparity between African-American and white basketball player graduation rates, an average of 33% among all the teams (22% for Georgetown). The problem isn’t just among basketball players, though. Dr. Richard Lapchick, the primary author of the study, pointed out. “African-American basketball players graduate at a higher rate than African-American males who are not student-athletes,” he said in the study.  “Too many of our predominantly white campuses are not welcoming places for students of color, whether or not they are athletes.”

Some other notes:

• The Final Four according to graduation rates would be Butler, Notre Dame, Purdue and Western Kentucky.
• Among the eight Big East teams in the study, Georgetown ranks fourth after Marquette, Notre Dame and ‘Nova.
• American University, our D.C. neighbor playing in its first NCAA tourney, has the second worst graduation rate with an abysmal 18%.
• Among all the 1 and 2 seeds, Georgetown has the second highest graduation rate after UNC, which has a graduation rate of 86%.  (Unfortunately for UNC, Graduation rates don’t win championships;  2007 Elite Eight, anyone?) Tennessee and Texas, clocking in at 33%, are tied for last place.

h/t ESPN.com

Over at Purdue, a missing student was found dead—after two months—in an electrical transformer room.

“[W]ade Steffey apparently touched a “ceramic element” that connects an electrical wire to a transformer inside the room. The contact sent enough voltage through him to kill him.

“Norberg said officials apparently did check the room when searching for Steffey, but Steffey was behind a transformer. He was not visible from either an exterior or interior doorway, she said.

“On Monday, a utility worker was called to check the room after getting a report about a noise coming from inside. Purdue officials said she entered using the interior door, which had been locked.

“Norberg said she believes the utility worker might have gone farther into the room because she smelled an odor. That’s why she might have been able to find the body that was missed during the first search, Norberg said.

Say it with me now: Ughghghghghghghg. This is the kind of story that sends shudders through college students everywhere. Apparently, Steffey was looking for his coat one night when he stumbled into the room, which should have been locked. Even worse was the Purdue’s negligence in searching the room. Our sympathies are with Steffey’s family. And stay out of the maintenance rooms after the party, Hoyas.

Posted by Tim Fernholz, Managing Editor

In an overwhelming 356 to 71 vote yesterday, the House approved a bill to slash interest rates on federal student loans, a measure that could save students over $2,000 by the end of their loan. But don’t celebrate just yet. The bill won’t go into full effect until 2011, when it will expire unless renewed by Congress. The pricey legislation will also pose a challenge for the Democrats’ pay-as-you-go pledge.

Senator Edward Kennedy plans to consider the measure as a part of broader legislation to handle rising higher education costs. However, the Senate has not yet voted on the bill and President Bush vocally opposes it. The White House released a statement Tuesday warning that the bill would increase student borrowing: “encouraging more student debt can also fuel today’s upward tuition spiral.” Can’t fight that logic.

According to Democratic estimates, the plan could nearly double the $2,300 in savings for borrowers if the cut becomes perminant. Time, however, will tell.