No they are not contemplating on putting the kids on alone. Not sure where that one came from but the planning includes planning for bus aides. |
Agree with it or not, think it’s a good idea or not, but why is it insane or entitled? There are preK-8 schools in DC. Walker Jones, SWW@FS, CHML, Browne all come to mind. |
That is good to hear, thank you for this! |
And most of the country doesn’t have universal preschool. It’s okay though not ideal for the older kids. It’s real mindset and lifestyle change given how walkable the Hill is, but it is what other school districts do. However, it would absolutely make me change my mind about sending my kid to pre-k at Brent, and maybe even kindergarten (depending on the kid). |
2 months vs 2 years. |
I don’t know anyone who does that for a 3-6 year old. Maybe at 7-8. And also those buses likely have better attendance and seatbelts. |
Because anything UMC parents organize for is “insane and entitled” by definition. But you’re right, “education campuses” (k-8) were definitely a trend at DCPS 10 years ago. I think they are out of fashion now - recent talks on routing Browne to EH. |
Wow. You never had to wake your kid up early to drop them off at daycare before work? People in the Brent zone really are living fantasy lives these days. |
They are out of fashion because they aren't a good idea -- MS and elementary kids have very different needs, and especially with DCPS moving to universal PK, the age range of a PK3-8 is way too vast. Even if you segregate the students (which all of these campuses do) it is not great to have kids at the height of puberty running around at a school with 3 year olds. Anyway, the reason the Brent families advocating for it were seen as entitled is because transparently the reason they wanted it was to maintain their UMC, whiter cohort into MS instead of sending their kids to the majority black, Title 1 Jefferson Academy. It's not like Brent families suddenly developed an interest in K-8 as an education model. They just wanted an IB MS that had similar demographics to their IB elementary. To be clear, I'm not even criticizing this -- I get it. But it was very obvious why Brent families were advocating for this shift and it was inevitable that it would be seen as elitist/entitled because DCPS is a majority black school district with a very high percentage of FARMS kids, and when UMC white parents seek to carve out schools for their UMC white kids, it IS elitist within the context of the district. And I say that as a UMC white parent who wants to send my kid to a school with mostly other UMC kids (I don't care if they are white or not). But at least I understand that impulse is entitled and elitist and don't pretend I'm doing something egalitarian. I am selfishly trying to give my kid the best possible experience and education. That's what those Brent families were trying to do to. It's understandable, but it's also entitled and elitist. These are public schools. |
Can you imagine when people are called back to work in an office 5 days a week like it was pre-covid? I don't think these families will be able to survive at all. |
A lot of people's work day starts at 9am. Including plenty of MC people. And if you live on the Hill, you likely don't have a super long commute. I also know lots of families who stagger work days so that one spouse can drop kids at daycare at or after 8am, and the other can pick them up before 6. This became a necessity during/after Covid when tons of daycares shortened their hours. Also a lot of Hill families do nanny shares (not individual nannies but shares, which can cost the same or even cheaper than daycare depending on number of kids) and those have more flexible hours. I know lots of people who have never had to drop their kids at daycare prior to 8am, and they aren't rich and don't have SAHPs. They may have made some choices to avoid the kind of schedule that necessitates a 7:30am daycare drop off, and those choices are not necessarily accessible to people living paycheck to paycheck. |
I also don’t generally need to schedule my kids’ doctor/dental appointments during the very limited time they are at camp, and I don’t volunteer to help at camp and the camp doesn’t invite parents to events during the day. Even aside from the commute for the students, this makes things a lot more difficult for parents who need to or would want to come to the school. |
I did have to wake him up for daycare, actually. It sucked and he was miserable. And I felt terrible about it all the time. |
8.45am is just what you're used to. It's not the norm.
https://www.aaastateofplay.com/the-average-school-start-times-in-every-state/ |
I do this. And no. Those busses don't have seatbelts. And yes. DCPS busses do have seatbelts. |