How bad is Miner Elementary?

[Anonymous]

Banneker, one of the highest performing schools in the city, is 87%l black and 12% Latino, and 1% Mixed. NOOOOO whites!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

The open house was listed on the My School DC website so that's how I found out about it. There were probably 15-20 people at the open house.

Let's see... The facilities are big and new. The gym and library seemed nicer to me than any other schools I have visited (including impossible-to-get-into charters). The early childhood education is Reggio-based. They talked a lot about field trips - exploring the neighborhood and also taking organized trips. For example, they partner with the Kennedy Center which sends them busses for Kennedy Center field trips and I think maybe gives them tickets for some family events. I loved the one teacher we talked to a lot. The principal and assistant principal seemed excited about Miner and engaged. They eat breakfast and lunch as a class in the early childhood program. Ummmm ... they talked about teacher continuing education and the one teacher said she felt really supported. 45 minutes of recess a day, I think. No homework for the little kids. No band but they do have a chorus.

On the con side, some of the teachers and staff were wearing clothing I didn't consider professional attire for a teacher - sloppy clothing. It's not a big thing, but it nagged at me a little bit and made me wonder about those teachers' professionalism and the school's management of the staff. And it is not at all diverse, so I wonder about sending a child there who is not African American. The principal addressed this in response to a parent question and she said, when they're little kids don't see or understand race, they just see each other as kids. Test scores are improving but also low compared to the other schools I have visited. And there was more talk about tests than at any other school I have visited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The open house was listed on the My School DC website so that's how I found out about it. There were probably 15-20 people at the open house.

Let's see... The facilities are big and new. The gym and library seemed nicer to me than any other schools I have visited (including impossible-to-get-into charters). The early childhood education is Reggio-based. They talked a lot about field trips - exploring the neighborhood and also taking organized trips. For example, they partner with the Kennedy Center which sends them busses for Kennedy Center field trips and I think maybe gives them tickets for some family events. I loved the one teacher we talked to a lot. The principal and assistant principal seemed excited about Miner and engaged. They eat breakfast and lunch as a class in the early childhood program. Ummmm ... they talked about teacher continuing education and the one teacher said she felt really supported. 45 minutes of recess a day, I think. No homework for the little kids. No band but they do have a chorus.

On the con side, some of the teachers and staff were wearing clothing I didn't consider professional attire for a teacher - sloppy clothing. It's not a big thing, but it nagged at me a little bit and made me wonder about those teachers' professionalism and the school's management of the staff. And it is not at all diverse, so I wonder about sending a child there who is not African American. The principal addressed this in response to a parent question and she said, when they're little kids don't see or understand race, they just see each other as kids. Test scores are improving but also low compared to the other schools I have visited. And there was more talk about tests than at any other school I have visited.

Did the principal address the teacher arrested for sex abuse? Just curious because I haven't seen anything in the news lately about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The open house was listed on the My School DC website so that's how I found out about it. There were probably 15-20 people at the open house.

Let's see... The facilities are big and new. The gym and library seemed nicer to me than any other schools I have visited (including impossible-to-get-into charters). The early childhood education is Reggio-based. They talked a lot about field trips - exploring the neighborhood and also taking organized trips. For example, they partner with the Kennedy Center which sends them busses for Kennedy Center field trips and I think maybe gives them tickets for some family events. I loved the one teacher we talked to a lot. The principal and assistant principal seemed excited about Miner and engaged. They eat breakfast and lunch as a class in the early childhood program. Ummmm ... they talked about teacher continuing education and the one teacher said she felt really supported. 45 minutes of recess a day, I think. No homework for the little kids. No band but they do have a chorus.

On the con side, some of the teachers and staff were wearing clothing I didn't consider professional attire for a teacher - sloppy clothing. It's not a big thing, but it nagged at me a little bit and made me wonder about those teachers' professionalism and the school's management of the staff. And it is not at all diverse, so I wonder about sending a child there who is not African American. The principal addressed this in response to a parent question and she said, when they're little kids don't see or understand race, they just see each other as kids. Test scores are improving but also low compared to the other schools I have visited. And there was more talk about tests than at any other school I have visited.

I wonder what people would think if the situation were reversed and a white teaching staff was asked such a question about an AA child. For example, at Brent, all of the lead classroom teachers, except one, appear to me to be white women, and the Principal is a white male. Instructional aides/specials/office staff are more diverse, I concede. Would you be jarred by an AA parent (or other non-white) asking it at Brent? It seem offensive to me to even ask. I grew up in a lily white suburb and was one of the few kids of color, and I couldn't conceive that my parents would ask that question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended the open house today and was quite pleasantly surprised. Not IB, no connection to the school, but after today's visit I am definitely rooting for them to succeed. The facilities are big and new including a nice library and gym, the teachers and staff we met seemed very dedicated.

I was unaware there was an open house today. How did you find out about it? Can you please share your other thoughts about the school. I work in the are and was considering that school for my prek3 and 1st grader.

I happened to be at that school twice last week for other purposes, the teachers, principal and other staff seemed fine but some of the student behavior was definitely questionable. The test scores are low and many students are from the area that backs onto Miner, overall low SES with all the problems that come with poverty and title I schools in general. The building was very nice and new, and clean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is key...if there's no white kids in the school then it is doomed. How come DCPS headquarters hasn't figured that out yet? We need an all out blitz to recruit white kids to DCPS....I am open up for ideas

This is technically true- but only because White kids tend to come from higher SES homes and be well "better" kids, since they tend to have received better parenting and live in more nourishing surroundings.

I find it incredible that DC has schools that almost 100% African American- what does that say to this community. We all know this is because the white/ hispanic parents will find another school if they possibly can. If we want to create a better city schools system we need to ensure no school is left behind, and that every group would consider each school. If a school is 100% African American, we need to change that STAT. Any ideas?

some areas of DC are 100% AA, so 100% students IB for schools in those areas are 100%. I volunteered once in an elementary school in Anacostia and the student population simply reflected the people who lived in the area of the school, 100% AA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The open house was listed on the My School DC website so that's how I found out about it. There were probably 15-20 people at the open house.

Let's see... The facilities are big and new. The gym and library seemed nicer to me than any other schools I have visited (including impossible-to-get-into charters). The early childhood education is Reggio-based. They talked a lot about field trips - exploring the neighborhood and also taking organized trips. For example, they partner with the Kennedy Center which sends them busses for Kennedy Center field trips and I think maybe gives them tickets for some family events. I loved the one teacher we talked to a lot. The principal and assistant principal seemed excited about Miner and engaged. They eat breakfast and lunch as a class in the early childhood program. Ummmm ... they talked about teacher continuing education and the one teacher said she felt really supported. 45 minutes of recess a day, I think. No homework for the little kids. No band but they do have a chorus.

On the con side, some of the teachers and staff were wearing clothing I didn't consider professional attire for a teacher - sloppy clothing. It's not a big thing, but it nagged at me a little bit and made me wonder about those teachers' professionalism and the school's management of the staff. And it is not at all diverse, so I wonder about sending a child there who is not African American. The principal addressed this in response to a parent question and she said, when they're little kids don't see or understand race, they just see each other as kids. Test scores are improving but also low compared to the other schools I have visited. And there was more talk about tests than at any other school I have visited.

She's talking about the student body being not diverse, not the teachers.

I wonder what people would think if the situation were reversed and a white teaching staff was asked such a question about an AA child. For example, at Brent, all of the lead classroom teachers, except one, appear to me to be white women, and the Principal is a white male. Instructional aides/specials/office staff are more diverse, I concede. Would you be jarred by an AA parent (or other non-white) asking it at Brent? It seem offensive to me to even ask. I grew up in a lily white suburb and was one of the few kids of color, and I couldn't conceive that my parents would ask that question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this the school you're talking about?

February 5, 2015

Minor Elementary School Teacher Arrested

600 Block of 15th Street, Northeast

(Washington, DC) – Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Investigations Division announced that on Thursday, February 5, 2015, 33-year-old Leroy Damein Ware of Northeast, DC, a Minor Elementary School teacher, was arrested pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant and charged with Misdemeanor Sex Abuse of a Child.

Ware was found not guilty on Thursday: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/01/25/gay-d-c-teacher-acquitted-of-sexual-assault/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this the school you're talking about?

February 5, 2015

Minor Elementary School Teacher Arrested

600 Block of 15th Street, Northeast

(Washington, DC) – Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Investigations Division announced that on Thursday, February 5, 2015, 33-year-old Leroy Damein Ware of Northeast, DC, a Minor Elementary School teacher, was arrested pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant and charged with Misdemeanor Sex Abuse of a Child.

Ware was found not guilty on Thursday: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/01/25/gay-d-c-teacher-acquitted-of-sexual-assault/

While this case is absolutely tragic for the teacher involved - and speaks to the long road ahead for equality in so many ways - the school handled this case very well. It's the kind of case where not too long ago an administrator might have said "oh, the kid is just making this up" (well, sounds like he did). But better err on the side of caution, which is what school administrators did, thankfully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is key...if there's no white kids in the school then it is doomed. How come DCPS headquarters hasn't figured that out yet? We need an all out blitz to recruit white kids to DCPS....I am open up for ideas

Are you serious? PLEASE go away.

I wish there were way to discuss the Hill schools without these kinds of racially clueless/hostile comments.

I live on the Hill and would totally consider Miner, Tyler, or Payne for Pre-K 3 or 4 if they were convenient and I was confident in the aftercare. (For me, aftercare is actually the sticking point with these schools.) With small classes and high ratios, the fact is that most pre-K classes are going to be good places as long as they have good teachers. There just isn't a need for "differentiation" for THREE YEAR OLDS - three year olds all pretty much have the same needs. If anything, the less advantaged 3 year olds might benefit from more exposure to books & pre-literacy activities, which would benefit all the kids.

I'll bite - this is true, about 3 year olds, but I'm not sure you should justify your "free daycare" if you wouldn't deign to attend the school after PK. So while you're parting yourself on the back for being racially sensitive, what you're really doing is advocating a scene that will pop up all over the city soon - a repeat of Ludlow-Taylor the last 5 years, where all the little kids are white and the rest of the school is black. How does this help - since you're so clued-in?

If Miner's upper-grades black kids started outperforming all those IB white kids at Brent and Maury on tests, as they did last year at Ludlow-Taylor, I'd be OK with that.

have you looked at the PARCC results? nothing to brag about for LT. makes the DC CAS results look like a mirage

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is key...if there's no white kids in the school then it is doomed. How come DCPS headquarters hasn't figured that out yet? We need an all out blitz to recruit white kids to DCPS....I am open up for ideas

Are you serious? PLEASE go away.

I wish there were way to discuss the Hill schools without these kinds of racially clueless/hostile comments.

I live on the Hill and would totally consider Miner, Tyler, or Payne for Pre-K 3 or 4 if they were convenient and I was confident in the aftercare. (For me, aftercare is actually the sticking point with these schools.) With small classes and high ratios, the fact is that most pre-K classes are going to be good places as long as they have good teachers. There just isn't a need for "differentiation" for THREE YEAR OLDS - three year olds all pretty much have the same needs. If anything, the less advantaged 3 year olds might benefit from more exposure to books & pre-literacy activities, which would benefit all the kids.

I'll bite - this is true, about 3 year olds, but I'm not sure you should justify your "free daycare" if you wouldn't deign to attend the school after PK. So while you're parting yourself on the back for being racially sensitive, what you're really doing is advocating a scene that will pop up all over the city soon - a repeat of Ludlow-Taylor the last 5 years, where all the little kids are white and the rest of the school is black. How does this help - since you're so clued-in?

If Miner's upper-grades black kids started outperforming all those IB white kids at Brent and Maury on tests, as they did last year at Ludlow-Taylor, I'd be OK with that.

have you looked at the PARCC results? nothing to brag about for LT. makes the DC CAS results look like a mirage

I was hoping PP could point to the data evidencing that AA students in Grades 3-5 at LT outperformed IB white students at Brent on DC-CAS and the years during which this occurred. Waiting ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is key...if there's no white kids in the school then it is doomed. How come DCPS headquarters hasn't figured that out yet? We need an all out blitz to recruit white kids to DCPS....I am open up for ideas

Are you serious? PLEASE go away.

I wish there were way to discuss the Hill schools without these kinds of racially clueless/hostile comments.

I live on the Hill and would totally consider Miner, Tyler, or Payne for Pre-K 3 or 4 if they were convenient and I was confident in the aftercare. (For me, aftercare is actually the sticking point with these schools.) With small classes and high ratios, the fact is that most pre-K classes are going to be good places as long as they have good teachers. There just isn't a need for "differentiation" for THREE YEAR OLDS - three year olds all pretty much have the same needs. If anything, the less advantaged 3 year olds might benefit from more exposure to books & pre-literacy activities, which would benefit all the kids.

I'll bite - this is true, about 3 year olds, but I'm not sure you should justify your "free daycare" if you wouldn't deign to attend the school after PK. So while you're parting yourself on the back for being racially sensitive, what you're really doing is advocating a scene that will pop up all over the city soon - a repeat of Ludlow-Taylor the last 5 years, where all the little kids are white and the rest of the school is black. How does this help - since you're so clued-in?

If Miner's upper-grades black kids started outperforming all those IB white kids at Brent and Maury on tests, as they did last year at Ludlow-Taylor, I'd be OK with that.

have you looked at the PARCC results? nothing to brag about for LT. makes the DC CAS results look like a mirage

I was hoping PP could point to the data evidencing that AA students in Grades 3-5 at LT outperformed IB white students at Brent on DC-CAS and the years during which this occurred. Waiting ...

or simply ignore evidence that the results were far more telling on the more rigorous common core based test which was far more difficult to game via test prep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most honest review I ever had of Miner was a little 3rd grader I met at the rec ctr. I asked her how she liked it and she said "It's a damn shame how disrespectful most them kids are. One teacher cannot control her class in anyway, I hear her - I'm in the class next door."

hmm.

Wopw - that is an awfully coherent and well-thought out review from a 3rd grader. I'm impressed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
some areas of DC are 100% AA, so 100% students IB for schools in those areas are 100%. I volunteered once in an elementary school in Anacostia and the student population simply reflected the people who lived in the area of the school, 100% AA.

This is true in theory, but the IB area for Miner is not 100% AA. Not even close. The area from 12th-15th (southern border is D St NE and northern border is H/Florida) is about 1/3rd of the population for the IB and is probably 75% upper SES/white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Banneker, one of the highest performing schools in the city, is 87%l black and 12% Latino, and 1% Mixed. NOOOOO whites!!!!!!!

and its test in. that makes a HUGE difference. If Miner or other schools with significant achievement gaps has test in gifted classes, more high SES families would stay. You cannot compare these at all.