Kevin P. Chavous facts for kids

Kevin Pernell Chavous (born May 17, 1956) is an American lawyer, author, and activist for education reform. He was also a politician from the Democratic Party in Washington, D.C., United States. He served as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia for 12 years, from January 1993 to January 2005. In 1998, he ran for Mayor of the District of Columbia but was not successful.

In 2017, Mr. Chavous became the President of Stride K12, Inc.. This company uses technology to provide online school programs for students from pre-kindergarten through high school. He is in charge of services for about 200,000 students across the country.

Early Life and Education

Kevin Chavous was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His mother, Bettie J. Chavous, was a civil rights activist. His father, Harold P. Chavous, was a pharmacist, which is a person who prepares and dispenses medicines. Kevin was the oldest of four children. His first job was helping out at his father's drug store, where he swept floors and stocked shelves.

Chavous went to Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. He then studied at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. There, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science, which is the study of governments and how they work. While at Wabash, he was a talented basketball player. He was named an NCAA Division III District All-American. Later, he earned a law degree (called a JD) from the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. He was also the president of his law school class.

Community Involvement

After finishing law school, Chavous became a lawyer specializing in personal injury cases. He worked for a law firm in Washington, D.C. He and his family lived in Hillcrest, a neighborhood in Southeast Washington.

In 1988, Chavous was chosen to be part of the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee. This group helps guide the Democratic Party in D.C. A year later, a power company called Pepco wanted to make its power plant bigger. This plant was near the River Terrace neighborhood. The people living there were against the expansion. Chavous agreed to represent them in court for free (this is called pro bono work). Because of his efforts, Pepco canceled their expansion plans in 1991. This work made Chavous well-known in the community.

Chavous also joined the national board of directors for Handgun Control, Inc.. This group works to create stronger federal laws about gun control.

First Time on the Council (1992-1996)

Running for Council in 1992

His work with the Pepco case helped Chavous start his political career. He also hosted a weekly radio show about legal issues. In May 1992, he announced he would run for the Ward 7 Council seat. The person holding the seat, H. R. Crawford, was facing criticism. Chavous worked very hard, visiting almost every home in Ward 7 to talk to voters or leave information. On September 15, 1992, Chavous won the primary election against Crawford. He then easily won the general election in November 1992.

First Term in Office

Chavous officially started his term on January 2, 1993. During his first term, he joined with other new council members. They were called the "Young Turks." They worked together to stop tax increases that the mayor wanted for the city.

In 1993, there was a serious incident at a public swimming pool in Ward 7. This event brought attention to the high level of violence in the area. Chavous showed his commitment by bringing his own children to the pool. He wanted to show that it was safe and send a message against crime. Later that year, another child was injured during a shooting at a school. Chavous became a key leader in responding to the violence. He created a task force to improve public safety. He also encouraged people in Ward 7 to help keep their neighborhoods safe and report crime. He later said this task force was one of the most important things he did in his first term.

He also helped pass laws to let the city take abandoned cars. Another law temporarily stopped new liquor licenses for stores selling single cans of beer. He also supported a temporary cut in wages for union workers on city projects. Chavous also pushed for the creation of a District of Columbia Financial Control Board. This board was set up to help save the city from financial problems.

Second Term and Reelection (1996-2000)

Running for Council in 1996

Chavous ran for reelection in 1996. He faced a challenge from Terry Hairston in the Democratic primary. Hairston questioned if Chavous had enough valid signatures to be on the ballot. However, the D.C. Board of Elections ruled in Chavous' favor. In the primary election on September 10, 1996, Chavous easily won with 68 percent of the votes. He also won the general election in November with 90 percent of the votes.

Second Term in Office

In December 1996, Chavous was chosen to lead the Council's Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation. He said that improving education was the most important issue for the city.

During his first year in this role, the District of Columbia Public Schools had problems with a project to fix school roofs. This caused delays in schools opening. Chavous held a hearing about it, but some parents felt he acted too late. He also opposed building a new convention center in the city, arguing it would be too small.

After he ran for mayor (which we'll talk about next), Chavous often disagreed with the new mayor, Anthony A. Williams. Chavous supported a tax cut plan that became law in 1999. He also worked for nine months to change and improve the D.C. Board of Education. After much discussion, the Council approved a plan to make the board smaller and allow the mayor to appoint some members. Voters approved this change in June 2000.

Work Outside the Council

After his mayoral campaign in 1998, Chavous joined a law firm called Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn. He later became Vice President of Communications for Covad Communications Group, a company that provides internet services. He left that job after a year to focus more on his Council work.

In 2001, Chavous rejoined Arent Fox as a part-time lawyer. He also taught education law at American University. In 2002, he became a partner at another law firm, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, where he worked on education and government law.

Running for Mayor in 1998

By early 1997, it was clear that Chavous was planning to run for mayor. He formally announced his campaign on February 10, 1998. He focused his campaign on improving education. He said he would fire principals and teachers who didn't meet standards. He also wanted to create a special boarding school for young people facing challenges. He proposed cutting some city taxes and improving services for Latino residents.

In May 1998, the current mayor, Marion Barry, announced he would not seek reelection. This was good news for Chavous, as many of Barry's supporters were likely to vote for him. However, on May 30, 1998, Anthony A. Williams entered the race. Williams was the city's Chief Financial Officer and was very popular because he had helped the city's finances.

Chavous faced some challenges during his campaign. His campaign manager left, and some staff were unhappy. The influential Washington Teachers Union also supported Williams instead of Chavous. In the end, Anthony Williams won the Democratic primary election on September 15, 1998, with 50 percent of the vote. Chavous came in second with 35 percent.

Third Term and Reelection (2000-2005)

Running for Council in 2000

Chavous decided to run for a third four-year term on the Council in June 2000. His campaign faced some difficulties. A group of neighborhood organizations voted "no-confidence" in him, saying he missed too many community meetings. The Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO (a group of labor unions) also did not endorse him. Despite these issues, Chavous won the Democratic primary on September 12 with 53 percent of the vote. He then won the general election on November 7 with 87 percent of the vote.

Third Term in Office

Chavous continued to have a challenging relationship with Mayor Williams during his third term. He was very active on several important issues. He opposed ending term limits for council members. He also supported a plan to change the boundaries of Ward 7.

A big issue during this term was school vouchers. These are funds that help parents send their children to private schools. Chavous had been against vouchers before, but by 2003, he became more open to the idea. He believed in giving parents more choices for their children's education. He met with the U.S. Secretary of Education to discuss these programs. He eventually supported vouchers, but only if federal money was used and if the program was not forced on the city. In 2004, a federal law was passed to create a temporary voucher program in D.C.

Another major education issue was reforming the D.C. Board of Education again. In 2003, Mayor Williams proposed taking away most of the Board's power and giving control of the school system to the mayor. Chavous initially supported this plan. However, he later changed his mind and introduced his own bill. His bill would create a nine-member board with elected members. This bill was approved by the Council in July 2004.

The last big issue of his third term was funding for Nationals Park, a new baseball stadium. Major League Baseball wanted to move the Montreal Expos team to Washington, D.C., but only if the city built a new stadium. Chavous was initially undecided but eventually supported the stadium plan. He provided a key vote that helped approve the project in November 2003.

His term on the Council ended on January 2, 2005.

Failed Reelection Bid in 2004

In 2003, there were rumors that Chavous would face strong opposition if he ran for reelection. Vincent C. Gray, a former director of Human Services, challenged Chavous for the Ward 7 Council seat. Gray ran an "aggressive campaign." Gray's main message was that Chavous was not connected enough with the ward and missed too many community events. Chavous argued that his legislative work took up most of his time. He pointed to the school voucher program and the growth of charter schools as major achievements.

On August 31, the D.C. Democratic State Committee voted to support Gray, which was a setback for Chavous. The election was very close. Voters seemed concerned about the long debate over school reform and Chavous' support for the federal voucher program. Chavous emphasized his work in improving city services and bringing economic development to Ward 7.

However, Chavous lost his bid for reelection in the Democratic primary on September 14, 2004. Vincent Gray won with 50 percent of the vote, while Chavous received 34 percent. News reports suggested that voters were unhappy with the city's schools, which had not improved as much as hoped.

National Education Reform Work

In 2004, Chavous wrote a book called Serving Our Children: Charter Schools and the Reform of American Public Education. The next year, he became a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Education Reform.

He was part of Barack Obama's education policy committee for his 2008 election campaign. In the same year, Chavous helped start and became chairman of the board for Democrats for Education Reform (DFER). This group supports Democratic politicians who believe in school choice programs like vouchers. He also helped create a nonprofit organization called Serving Our Children, which gives money to teachers for classroom supplies. He joined the board of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, which also supports school choice. He became the chairman of this group in 2010.

In 2010, Chavous worked with the Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, to create a school voucher program for New Orleans. They successfully helped pass this program into law.

Around 2011, Chavous joined the boards of the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice. These organizations were co-founded by Republican politician Betsy DeVos. In 2012, he was an executive counsel for the American Federation for Children.

In October 2017, Chavous was named President of Academics, Policy and Schools for K12 Inc. Before this, he had served on K12's board of directors.

Personal Life

In 1982, Kevin Chavous married Beverly Bass, who was also a lawyer. They divorced in 2009. They have two sons, Kevin (born in 1984) and Eric (born in 1990). Kevin Chavous now lives in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife Amber and his stepson, Kalijah Mayfield.

Author

In 2012, Chavous published his second book, "Voices of Determination: Children that Defy the Odds." In this book, he shares stories of ten young people who overcame challenges to get their education.

In 2016, he released his third book, "Building A Learning Culture in America." This book talks about how America used to have a strong learning culture, how it changed, and what needs to be done to bring it back.

In 2017, Chavous published his first fiction book, "The Plan." This is a political thriller. He later published two sequels, "The Fund" and "The Shipment," in 2019.

Awards

In 2016, Chavous received an Outstanding Alumni Award from his high school, Brebeuf Preparatory High School. Wabash College also recognized his basketball achievements by adding him to their Athletics Hall of Fame.

Electoral History

1992 Elections

1996 Elections

1998 Election

2000 Elections

2004 Election