Outside the Beltway

Jenna Bush to Teach in D.C.?

James Joyner · Thursday, December 16, 2004 · 3 comments

An Apple for Miss Jenna? Bush Eyes Washington Teaching Job (WaPo)

First daughter Jenna Bush, who put her career plans on hold while campaigning to reelect her father, has decided to live in Washington and plans to teach at a District public school that serves low-income children. The White House would not release details yesterday, but we’ve learned that she has applied to teach at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in the Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood.

The school’s founder and executive director, Linda Moore, wouldn’t confirm Bush’s employment, saying: “We don’t discuss the relationship between a prospective employee and the school until we have a formal agreement. This is not something I’m at liberty to discuss.” Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for first lady Laura Bush, yesterday would say only that Jenna “will live in Washington and will go to work at a public school.”

The Elsie Whitlow Stokes school has 250 pupils enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade, features immersion classes in Spanish and French, and emphasizes community service. Its children, who are largely Hispanic and African American, visit soup kitchens and participate in an annual walk for the homeless. “They learn who’s homeless in this country and who’s hungry in the world,” Moore told us. “We emphasize preparation for citizenship. We emphasize increasing students’ knowledge of other cultures. We are preparing them to be leaders in the community.”

Jenna, 22, holds a degree in English from the University of Texas. She has talked publicly of her desire to teach at a charter school, while sister Barbara wants to work with children who have AIDS in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Interesting.