How many kids in Crestwood are going into middle school next year? How about the year after that?

[Anonymous]

It seems like one of these flashpoint fights about cross-Park feeder pattern issues is about Crestwood. Just to talk about how many kids we are actually discussing, I looked at the 2010 Census. Ages 5 to 9 in the 2010 Census for DC Census Tract 26, now approximately ages 9-13: 103 KIDS, about 20 kids per grade in a school system of ~45,000 kids. Between private schools, charters and a little growth and loss in the past few years, we might be talking about half of that as potential DCPS middle school students. Maybe a few more, but not more than 100 kids. Probably maximum 15 per grade.

Make your own judgments about the arguments folks from Crestwood make based on their neighborhood and its children's needs and, of course, its home values.

[jsteele]

I don't disagree with your numbers, but I think -- to the extent that I can understand them -- I do disagree with your conclusions. Whether our neighborhood had 5 or 500 kids, the principles are the same. I, for one, don't care about home values. Our house has more than doubled in value and, long term, things will only get better regardless of what happens with Deal and Wilson. But, the biggest take-away I get from your post is that Crestwood is not the solution to the over-crowding of anything larger than a restroom. The 15 kids you consider the maximum get lost in a rounding error of Deal's enrollment numbers. It's also not a large enough population to social engineer a solution to MacFarland or Roosevelt.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I don't disagree with your numbers, but I think -- to the extent that I can understand them -- I do disagree with your conclusions. Whether our neighborhood had 5 or 500 kids, the principles are the same. I, for one, don't care about home values. Our house has more than doubled in value and, long term, things will only get better regardless of what happens with Deal and Wilson. But, the biggest take-away I get from your post is that Crestwood is not the solution to the over-crowding of anything larger than a restroom. The 15 kids you consider the maximum get lost in a rounding error of Deal's enrollment numbers. It's also not a large enough population to social engineer a solution to MacFarland or Roosevelt.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked at home prices/values in Petworth? In the neighborhood where Bruce Monroe is the IB school? Clearly home values aren't that connected to schools.

[Anonymous]

I do not understand the point and counterpoint here. It will affect home values, which is a concern I have (probably bought after pp so it matters to me). We bought in Crestwood with the expectation that Deal would be available to us (which, if the new MS is built, it will not be available to us). Also, because the number of students is so small, it makes no sense to take away feeder rights for Crestwood students. These are feeder rights that have existed as long as long time Crestwood residents can remember, based on my informal research. Cutting out this small population of students will absolutely not impact the overcrowding issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not understand the point and counterpoint here. It will affect home values, which is a concern I have (probably bought after pp so it matters to me). We bought in Crestwood with the expectation that Deal would be available to us (which, if the new MS is built, it will not be available to us). Also, because the number of students is so small, it makes no sense to take away feeder rights for Crestwood students. These are feeder rights that have existed as long as long time Crestwood residents can remember, based on my informal research. Cutting out this small population of students will absolutely not impact the overcrowding issue.

But then you end up with Crestwood elementary school zones that don't line up with the middle and high school zones, right? Isn't that one problem this change is supposed to fix?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not understand the point and counterpoint here. It will affect home values, which is a concern I have (probably bought after pp so it matters to me). We bought in Crestwood with the expectation that Deal would be available to us (which, if the new MS is built, it will not be available to us). Also, because the number of students is so small, it makes no sense to take away feeder rights for Crestwood students. These are feeder rights that have existed as long as long time Crestwood residents can remember, based on my informal research. Cutting out this small population of students will absolutely not impact the overcrowding issue.

But then you end up with Crestwood elementary school zones that don't line up with the middle and high school zones, right? Isn't that one problem this change is supposed to fix?

Right, it's the move to strong feeder relationships that resulted in us being in this situation. But, being overly anal retentive about it will likely backfire. As everyone knows, you can't force families with means to attend schools they don't want to attend. I know there is a desire for Crestwood to contribute to rebuilding MacFarland and Roosevelt. But, the way this is being handled will more likely result in the neighborhood avoiding DCPS altogether. Until those schools are shown to be at least minimally acceptable -- one doesn't even exist -- families interested in DCPS won't move into the neighborhood and those that are here will leave or find alternatives to DCPS. That shouldn't surprise anyone.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:I do not understand the point and counterpoint here. It will affect home values, which is a concern I have (probably bought after pp so it matters to me). We bought in Crestwood with the expectation that Deal would be available to us (which, if the new MS is built, it will not be available to us). Also, because the number of students is so small, it makes no sense to take away feeder rights for Crestwood students. These are feeder rights that have existed as long as long time Crestwood residents can remember, based on my informal research. Cutting out this small population of students will absolutely not impact the overcrowding issue.

I think the point being made is that if there aren't enough students to impact overcrowding, there probably aren't enough to impact property values either. Regardless, nobody cares about Crestwood's property values except people in Crestwood. So, it's not a very effective argument.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not understand the point and counterpoint here. It will affect home values, which is a concern I have (probably bought after pp so it matters to me). We bought in Crestwood with the expectation that Deal would be available to us (which, if the new MS is built, it will not be available to us). Also, because the number of students is so small, it makes no sense to take away feeder rights for Crestwood students. These are feeder rights that have existed as long as long time Crestwood residents can remember, based on my informal research. Cutting out this small population of students will absolutely not impact the overcrowding issue.

But then you end up with Crestwood elementary school zones that don't line up with the middle and high school zones, right? Isn't that one problem this change is supposed to fix?

Right, it's the move to strong feeder relationships that resulted in us being in this situation. But, being overly anal retentive about it will likely backfire. As everyone knows, you can't force families with means to attend schools they don't want to attend. I know there is a desire for Crestwood to contribute to rebuilding MacFarland and Roosevelt. But, the way this is being handled will more likely result in the neighborhood avoiding DCPS altogether. Until those schools are shown to be at least minimally acceptable -- one doesn't even exist -- families interested in DCPS won't move into the neighborhood and those that are here will leave or find alternatives to DCPS. That shouldn't surprise anyone.

Could there be some real estate/financial reason that crestwoood families finding alternative to DCPS would be OK or beneficial from a city growth perspective?

[Anonymous]

OP here. My only point is, the rest of DC should not care one way or another how things turn out for Crestwood, and no one should consider it a victim or a prize. It is an asterisk and an afterthought.

[Anonymous]

Please include your neighbors in 16th street heights. We have the same issue in being moved to an unknown and unopened middle school after being in same Deal boundary as Crestwood and Shepard.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My only point is, the rest of DC should not care one way or another how things turn out for Crestwood, and no one should consider it a victim or a prize. It is an asterisk and an afterthought.

I agree that there is no reason for anyone outside Crestwood to care about Crestwood. Clearly, however, it has been victimized by the proposed boundary changes. You have to be willfully ignorant to suggest otherwise. You are more than welcome to think of us as an asterisk. We probably don't think much of you either. But, don't expect us to stop making our case simply because you have judged us unworthy.

[Anonymous]

I find it interesting that removing Crestwood and 16th Street Heights (particularly the latter) from the Deal/Wilson zone seems to mean that I would basically need to be able to afford a million dollar home in order to buy a 4br house (that doesn't need serious renovations) in D.C. in order to assure that my kids have access to a strong middle school and high school. That's what immediately came to my mind (unless I'm missing something)....

(and yes, I know there are condos, but I'm speaking for the folks who'd like or need the space of an actual house)

[Anonymous]

1) the city is moving from neighborhoods feeding into a school and towards elementary feeding to middle and middle feeding to high. So you can't argue for Crestwood only, you'd have to argue for West Elementary to fees to Deal etc and include that school #s in your equation.

2) currently, only a small portion of 16th street heights is zoned for Deal. Our house on Montague is not not is our friends on Allison, Decatur or Delafield.

3) I doubt there will be anyajor impact on home values. See Capitol Hill.

[Anonymous]

^^ sorry for typos