Mundo Verde Public Charter: Failing on Its Most Basic Mission

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i feel so sad for the families that are lured in based on the rumors and false pictures painted during the open houses.

MV (and maybe other charters) need to be held to account for making false claims. During the MV open house, I remember an elaborate slide show of photos from field trips to Rock Creek Park (though I think they haven't been there in many many years), and our tour guide, when asked what the teacher turnover rate was, said something along the lines of "teachers are very happy and rarely leave." At the Bancroft DCPS open house when someone asked an identical question, the principal pulled out the data and said "86%"

it makes it so hard for parents to get a clear idea of what kind of school they are entering when the open houses are full of exaggerations and falsehoods... then you end up with someone like OP feeling so devasted. I have so many friends who entered MV with such high hopes and they are ALL gone now, and left very disgusted and disappointed.

How can this school be held to account?

There is really no accountability for charters short of egregiously bad test scores or outright fraud. But if MV parents would stop defending it and tell prospective parents the actual truth, that might help by damaging the school enough that the board intervenes.

If you search these boards, you'll find lots of parents speaking the truth about the school, dating back YEARS. Many passionately testified at the hearing about the expansion plan because they saw the revolving door of teachers, lack of transparency, poor discipline, etc. The school was a mess and in the hole financially, so its solution was to expand to get more per pupil funding. It just replicated the mess. But none of the people with pre-K kids playing the lottery back then wanted to hear it. I think I was accused of wanting to pull the ladder up behind me. Someone might have called me racist. We were just speaking the truth and hoping others could learn from our mistake. Oh well.

We are at another charter--with what sounds like similar issues to MV. I'm constantly stunned at how some parents continue to be in utter denial at the reality of the discipline and academic issues at our school. It's bizarre--it's like they don't question obvious issues in front of them.

They're in denial because they don't want to move, don't have a better option, and don't want to admit to themselves that they made the wrong choice. It's stunning how little incoming preschool parents research the upper elementary grades. And how blatantly people will lie to preschool parents about what their school is really like. People will tell the truth anonymously, but not in person within their own community unless they really, really trust the person they're talking with.

It’s not so simple. Most schools are great for early years so parents will speak highly of their school. It’s also confusing when you don’t know what it should be like, having never had a child in school before, and doubly so when COVID hit and everything became very opaque.

It takes a lot to tank a school in local public opinion. Think SSMA. Most of the time you’ll hear local parents in upper grades speak both positively and negatively of a school. It isn’t like hiding the truth but different experiences.

Our experience at LAMB has been mixed and that’s what I often tell people as well. I wouldn’t sugar coat it. Most neighbors speaking one ok one are blatantly honest, I’ve found, and the good bad and ugly. What we don’t tend to have are a lot of other options.

Also at lamb. I think the administration at LAMB is also weak, and I have had a mixed experience as well. But the huge difference is that lamb teachers are generally excellent. Because they’re montessori they don’t jump ship as easily as those from Mundo can and do. Also we don’t take kids in upper grades which seems to be a huge reason for so much disruption in classrooms. That is just short sighted.

This thread is depressing partially bc every Mundo family I know is frantically playing the lottery.

If MV didn't take in new kids, their upper grades would be teeny tiny.

That would be great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i feel so sad for the families that are lured in based on the rumors and false pictures painted during the open houses.

MV (and maybe other charters) need to be held to account for making false claims. During the MV open house, I remember an elaborate slide show of photos from field trips to Rock Creek Park (though I think they haven't been there in many many years), and our tour guide, when asked what the teacher turnover rate was, said something along the lines of "teachers are very happy and rarely leave." At the Bancroft DCPS open house when someone asked an identical question, the principal pulled out the data and said "86%"

it makes it so hard for parents to get a clear idea of what kind of school they are entering when the open houses are full of exaggerations and falsehoods... then you end up with someone like OP feeling so devasted. I have so many friends who entered MV with such high hopes and they are ALL gone now, and left very disgusted and disappointed.

How can this school be held to account?

There is really no accountability for charters short of egregiously bad test scores or outright fraud. But if MV parents would stop defending it and tell prospective parents the actual truth, that might help by damaging the school enough that the board intervenes.

If you search these boards, you'll find lots of parents speaking the truth about the school, dating back YEARS. Many passionately testified at the hearing about the expansion plan because they saw the revolving door of teachers, lack of transparency, poor discipline, etc. The school was a mess and in the hole financially, so its solution was to expand to get more per pupil funding. It just replicated the mess. But none of the people with pre-K kids playing the lottery back then wanted to hear it. I think I was accused of wanting to pull the ladder up behind me. Someone might have called me racist. We were just speaking the truth and hoping others could learn from our mistake. Oh well.

We are at another charter--with what sounds like similar issues to MV. I'm constantly stunned at how some parents continue to be in utter denial at the reality of the discipline and academic issues at our school. It's bizarre--it's like they don't question obvious issues in front of them.

They're in denial because they don't want to move, don't have a better option, and don't want to admit to themselves that they made the wrong choice. It's stunning how little incoming preschool parents research the upper elementary grades. And how blatantly people will lie to preschool parents about what their school is really like. People will tell the truth anonymously, but not in person within their own community unless they really, really trust the person they're talking with.

It’s not so simple. Most schools are great for early years so parents will speak highly of their school. It’s also confusing when you don’t know what it should be like, having never had a child in school before, and doubly so when COVID hit and everything became very opaque.

It takes a lot to tank a school in local public opinion. Think SSMA. Most of the time you’ll hear local parents in upper grades speak both positively and negatively of a school. It isn’t like hiding the truth but different experiences.

Our experience at LAMB has been mixed and that’s what I often tell people as well. I wouldn’t sugar coat it. Most neighbors speaking one ok one are blatantly honest, I’ve found, and the good bad and ugly. What we don’t tend to have are a lot of other options.

Also at lamb. I think the administration at LAMB is also weak, and I have had a mixed experience as well. But the huge difference is that lamb teachers are generally excellent. Because they’re montessori they don’t jump ship as easily as those from Mundo can and do. Also we don’t take kids in upper grades which seems to be a huge reason for so much disruption in classrooms. That is just short sighted.

This thread is depressing partially bc every Mundo family I know is frantically playing the lottery.

True. Although our LAMB teachers have also been a mixed bag, and several have left. I will say a school absolutely needs to focus on teacher retention and support, or that school won’t be good. In this area DCPs has a real leg up due to their pay and benefits. Not sure how charters can compete, not that DCPS is an easy job.

That’s an interesting perspective. I have had amazing teachers for my many kids with the exception of one classroom. The specials teachers are fantastic. Our family has been there a long time, but we haven’t had a primary kid in a while so I wouldn’t know if this is the case in primary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i feel so sad for the families that are lured in based on the rumors and false pictures painted during the open houses.

MV (and maybe other charters) need to be held to account for making false claims. During the MV open house, I remember an elaborate slide show of photos from field trips to Rock Creek Park (though I think they haven't been there in many many years), and our tour guide, when asked what the teacher turnover rate was, said something along the lines of "teachers are very happy and rarely leave." At the Bancroft DCPS open house when someone asked an identical question, the principal pulled out the data and said "86%"

it makes it so hard for parents to get a clear idea of what kind of school they are entering when the open houses are full of exaggerations and falsehoods... then you end up with someone like OP feeling so devasted. I have so many friends who entered MV with such high hopes and they are ALL gone now, and left very disgusted and disappointed.

How can this school be held to account?

There is really no accountability for charters short of egregiously bad test scores or outright fraud. But if MV parents would stop defending it and tell prospective parents the actual truth, that might help by damaging the school enough that the board intervenes.

If you search these boards, you'll find lots of parents speaking the truth about the school, dating back YEARS. Many passionately testified at the hearing about the expansion plan because they saw the revolving door of teachers, lack of transparency, poor discipline, etc. The school was a mess and in the hole financially, so its solution was to expand to get more per pupil funding. It just replicated the mess. But none of the people with pre-K kids playing the lottery back then wanted to hear it. I think I was accused of wanting to pull the ladder up behind me. Someone might have called me racist. We were just speaking the truth and hoping others could learn from our mistake. Oh well.

We are at another charter--with what sounds like similar issues to MV. I'm constantly stunned at how some parents continue to be in utter denial at the reality of the discipline and academic issues at our school. It's bizarre--it's like they don't question obvious issues in front of them.

They're in denial because they don't want to move, don't have a better option, and don't want to admit to themselves that they made the wrong choice. It's stunning how little incoming preschool parents research the upper elementary grades. And how blatantly people will lie to preschool parents about what their school is really like. People will tell the truth anonymously, but not in person within their own community unless they really, really trust the person they're talking with.

It’s not so simple. Most schools are great for early years so parents will speak highly of their school. It’s also confusing when you don’t know what it should be like, having never had a child in school before, and doubly so when COVID hit and everything became very opaque.

It takes a lot to tank a school in local public opinion. Think SSMA. Most of the time you’ll hear local parents in upper grades speak both positively and negatively of a school. It isn’t like hiding the truth but different experiences.

Our experience at LAMB has been mixed and that’s what I often tell people as well. I wouldn’t sugar coat it. Most neighbors speaking one ok one are blatantly honest, I’ve found, and the good bad and ugly. What we don’t tend to have are a lot of other options.

Also at lamb. I think the administration at LAMB is also weak, and I have had a mixed experience as well. But the huge difference is that lamb teachers are generally excellent. Because they’re montessori they don’t jump ship as easily as those from Mundo can and do. Also we don’t take kids in upper grades which seems to be a huge reason for so much disruption in classrooms. That is just short sighted.

This thread is depressing partially bc every Mundo family I know is frantically playing the lottery.

True. Although our LAMB teachers have also been a mixed bag, and several have left. I will say a school absolutely needs to focus on teacher retention and support, or that school won’t be good. In this area DCPs has a real leg up due to their pay and benefits. Not sure how charters can compete, not that DCPS is an easy job.

Charters can’t compete and will continue to see teachers leave. Especially with DCPS, ARlington, Montgomery County and Alexandria paying significantly more and offering better benefits. I work in one of those districts and it’s amazing how much support we get for behavior/ social emotional needs. We have an entire team—two counselors, an social worker, a psychologist and support from two community programs to support teachers. My kids highly sought after charter certainly doesn’t have that level of support and it leaves teachers feeling overwhelmed and unsupported.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:urban education doesn't work when the needy kids exceed the less-burdensome ones, the interests of the majority will prevail...even if the majority is harmed by others in said majority

This is not correct. It's not about numbers. It's unfortunately too easy for just one or two kids to disrupt a classroom if there is not behavioral support for the kids who need it. With adequate support even a classroom of 100% "needy" kids can function well at the elementary level.

[Anonymous]

For the record, the bullying wasn't just "I hate you; you're ugly" or a shove here and there. It was brutal: kicking, punching, shoving down to the ground, slamming her head into playground equipment and more. And, of course, there was plenty of the "I hate you; you're ugly" garbage. For the first three months of school it was multiple times each day. It's pretty much under control at this point. But that's how our year started. The teacher turnover has been nonstop. The parents have banded together out of necessity, and we never receive responses from the ED or board of directors. It is a clear demonstration of how much disrespect MV' leadership has for parents, again because our children are disposable. Once we leave, someone else will happily jump in to take our kid's place. Really just rotten.


Also, I'm pretty flattered that some of you think I'm a mom (referring to "her"). Must be the result of good writing discipline provided by my good, pre-common core public school education. But I'm a feminist dad with a mission of raising a strong daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the bullying wasn't just "I hate you; you're ugly" or a shove here and there. It was brutal: kicking, punching, shoving down to the ground, slamming her head into playground equipment and more. And, of course, there was plenty of the "I hate you; you're ugly" garbage. For the first three months of school it was multiple times each day. It's pretty much under control at this point. But that's how our year started. The teacher turnover has been nonstop. The parents have banded together out of necessity, and we never receive responses from the ED or board of directors. It is a clear demonstration of how much disrespect MV' leadership has for parents, again because our children are disposable. Once we leave, someone else will happily jump in to take our kid's place. Really just rotten.


Also, I'm pretty flattered that some of you think I'm a mom (referring to "her"). Must be the result of good writing discipline provided by my good, pre-common core public school education. But I'm a feminist dad with a mission of raising a strong daughter.

Where's the apologist who was so vocal earlier that this was clearly another situation where white people were overreacting? I assume she's cool with physical violence because it is some sort of cultural difference that only the super woke can understand. I hope she comes back to inform the OP dad about why he's a racist for not wanting his daughter assaulted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i feel so sad for the families that are lured in based on the rumors and false pictures painted during the open houses.

MV (and maybe other charters) need to be held to account for making false claims. During the MV open house, I remember an elaborate slide show of photos from field trips to Rock Creek Park (though I think they haven't been there in many many years), and our tour guide, when asked what the teacher turnover rate was, said something along the lines of "teachers are very happy and rarely leave." At the Bancroft DCPS open house when someone asked an identical question, the principal pulled out the data and said "86%"

it makes it so hard for parents to get a clear idea of what kind of school they are entering when the open houses are full of exaggerations and falsehoods... then you end up with someone like OP feeling so devasted. I have so many friends who entered MV with such high hopes and they are ALL gone now, and left very disgusted and disappointed.

How can this school be held to account?

There is really no accountability for charters short of egregiously bad test scores or outright fraud. But if MV parents would stop defending it and tell prospective parents the actual truth, that might help by damaging the school enough that the board intervenes.

If you search these boards, you'll find lots of parents speaking the truth about the school, dating back YEARS. Many passionately testified at the hearing about the expansion plan because they saw the revolving door of teachers, lack of transparency, poor discipline, etc. The school was a mess and in the hole financially, so its solution was to expand to get more per pupil funding. It just replicated the mess. But none of the people with pre-K kids playing the lottery back then wanted to hear it. I think I was accused of wanting to pull the ladder up behind me. Someone might have called me racist. We were just speaking the truth and hoping others could learn from our mistake. Oh well.

We are at another charter--with what sounds like similar issues to MV. I'm constantly stunned at how some parents continue to be in utter denial at the reality of the discipline and academic issues at our school. It's bizarre--it's like they don't question obvious issues in front of them.

They're in denial because they don't want to move, don't have a better option, and don't want to admit to themselves that they made the wrong choice. It's stunning how little incoming preschool parents research the upper elementary grades. And how blatantly people will lie to preschool parents about what their school is really like. People will tell the truth anonymously, but not in person within their own community unless they really, really trust the person they're talking with.

It’s not so simple. Most schools are great for early years so parents will speak highly of their school. It’s also confusing when you don’t know what it should be like, having never had a child in school before, and doubly so when COVID hit and everything became very opaque.

It takes a lot to tank a school in local public opinion. Think SSMA. Most of the time you’ll hear local parents in upper grades speak both positively and negatively of a school. It isn’t like hiding the truth but different experiences.

Our experience at LAMB has been mixed and that’s what I often tell people as well. I wouldn’t sugar coat it. Most neighbors speaking one ok one are blatantly honest, I’ve found, and the good bad and ugly. What we don’t tend to have are a lot of other options.

Also at lamb. I think the administration at LAMB is also weak, and I have had a mixed experience as well. But the huge difference is that lamb teachers are generally excellent. Because they’re montessori they don’t jump ship as easily as those from Mundo can and do. Also we don’t take kids in upper grades which seems to be a huge reason for so much disruption in classrooms. That is just short sighted.

This thread is depressing partially bc every Mundo family I know is frantically playing the lottery.

True. Although our LAMB teachers have also been a mixed bag, and several have left. I will say a school absolutely needs to focus on teacher retention and support, or that school won’t be good. In this area DCPs has a real leg up due to their pay and benefits. Not sure how charters can compete, not that DCPS is an easy job.

Charters can’t compete and will continue to see teachers leave. Especially with DCPS, ARlington, Montgomery County and Alexandria paying significantly more and offering better benefits. I work in one of those districts and it’s amazing how much support we get for behavior/ social emotional needs. We have an entire team—two counselors, an social worker, a psychologist and support from two community programs to support teachers. My kids highly sought after charter certainly doesn’t have that level of support and it leaves teachers feeling overwhelmed and unsupported.

This tired old line is played out. You and your kind have been claiming this for years.

Teaching in the pandemic has been a huge challenge for all teachers in all environments. Trying to control for public vs private vs charter using actual data from the last few years is a useless exercise. And you don't have data! You have conjecture and union talking points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

I know several families that chose Garrison and Seaton over mv. But there are families who could have gotten into those places that choose mv. The real question is who leaves mv and what is the real reason. One family we know left because of general chaos. The other plans to move ib for oyster and have tons of money. The other question is why do people stay. The answer is often middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the bullying wasn't just "I hate you; you're ugly" or a shove here and there. It was brutal: kicking, punching, shoving down to the ground, slamming her head into playground equipment and more. And, of course, there was plenty of the "I hate you; you're ugly" garbage. For the first three months of school it was multiple times each day. It's pretty much under control at this point. But that's how our year started. The teacher turnover has been nonstop. The parents have banded together out of necessity, and we never receive responses from the ED or board of directors. It is a clear demonstration of how much disrespect MV' leadership has for parents, again because our children are disposable. Once we leave, someone else will happily jump in to take our kid's place. Really just rotten.


Also, I'm pretty flattered that some of you think I'm a mom (referring to "her"). Must be the result of good writing discipline provided by my good, pre-common core public school education. But I'm a feminist dad with a mission of raising a strong daughter.

this is really crazy, I'm so sorry that your daughter experienced this trauma.

Would you be willing to start talking to the local press? Popville, the DC Line or even the Post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our child is in this same class that op is referring to and we have had a night and day different experience. Yes there has been teacher turnover, but I don’t know what the admin can do to address that when teachers are leaving for higher paying dcps jobs or jobs closer to home. This has been an incredibly difficult year for teachers and so while the rate of change has been bad, it seems concentrated in this one class. Our kid is exceeding all academic expectations, and many of the other kids in the class are as well. Reading at 4th and 5th grade level and doing extremely hard math problems. The specials teachers are amazing, and the general environment is wonderful, with caring teachers and admin.

Not to diminish the op’s experience, but the reports of bullying I have heard on the what’s app chats always lack specificity in a way that makes me not understand what is going on. Just that the kids feelings were hurt, or was run into during recess. It raises questions as to whether the parents are confusing bullying with actual children engaging in growing up and playing. We have actually gotten concerned in the other direction, that this culture of fear around being accused of being a bully has forced kids to withdraw and be incredibly careful when they engage with their peers lest any action be misinterpreted. We have been at Calle ocho since the day it opened and have been so appreciative of the opportunities it has presented and the kindness of the staff. I really hope ops experience improves, but frankly it sounds like it won’t and they should consider other options. The idea that they believe that a second grade classroom is so full of bullying that their kid is in need self defense seems frankly misguided and unlikely.

I do not expect you or anyone else to understand what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes. I'm glad your experience is a positive one. But trust, your not knowing more than the "vague" details of what our child has endured, does not make you an expert here. And it doesn't in any way make what she experienced acceptable. Just don't pass what we've experienced with the incessant physically and verbally abusive behavior as overreactive in any way. You should love your child to the best of your abilities, and be thankful your child can roll with the punches. I'm not raising a girl to accept that - because unacceptable, violent behavior should be corrected. It should be corrected by a child's parents and the school in which the child is entrusted daily. What you categorize as misguided (and unlikely?) is ensuring our child has training to defend herself when someone intentionally attempts to inflict pain and belittlement on her, because the abuse was happening multiple times everyday without protection from the adults - who have been too under-resourced to address the situation. You may be a family contented with the cavalier "boys will be boys" attitude of a previous century. We are not.

But the severe behavioral problems were merely the first three months of the year. The rest has been dominated by teacher turnover. And the effects of it can't just be swept under the rug simply because your child is excelling. The truth is that many, many others are not. Parents are enrolling their kids in tutoring because the Lord of the Flies daycare that is the MV because their kids are not thriving in the chaos. I invite you to write your truth. Just don't be so doubtful of what others are going through. Because it is true and it exists in larger numbers than you are giving credit.

To suggest that those who don't share your same point of view are a confused anomaly only makes you seem very short-sighted, uncaring and out of sync with the reality around you.

[Anonymous]

I’m so so sorry to hear about what your child has been going though op. That is inexcusable and horrific. One of my kids has experienced bullying but this was oyster adams, in middle school. It never got to be violent aside from shoving, but it has been extremely concerning and has greatly affected their self esteem and mood. The school has done nothing about it, though there’s a lot of talk that they take these things seriously.I hope you will do everything you can to move your daughter. In our case we are hoping to buy a new house and send our kid to a new middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

Those scores are several years old so whatever. If you control for demographics, MV's scores are not impressive at all.

All scores are several years old. But doubt they will improve with the pandemic learning loss. Langley/ Seaton/ etc might be amazing, but families are still bailing in the upper grades.

Right. Langley and Seaton aren't that great, for sure. Yet MV is such a mess that people get offers from MV and stick with Langley and Seaton. Why? Didn't used to be that way.

I’m the Bruce Monroe poster. In DC’s first grade class, about half of the English dominant kids are out of bounds. We all chose BMPV over MV since both campuses are going all the way through their kindergarten and higher waitlists. And chose BMPV for the Spanish specifically. I don’t know, but I’d guess Powell is similar. There are MV families that are IB for BMPV, but all the families I know of have an older kid that still has the DCI guarantee. And plenty of older siblings to my child’s friends in 3-4th grade. Don’t know any fifth grade siblings, but that could be because they’re at Basis/Latin or just the way it’s worked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our child is in this same class that op is referring to and we have had a night and day different experience. Yes there has been teacher turnover, but I don’t know what the admin can do to address that when teachers are leaving for higher paying dcps jobs or jobs closer to home. This has been an incredibly difficult year for teachers and so while the rate of change has been bad, it seems concentrated in this one class. Our kid is exceeding all academic expectations, and many of the other kids in the class are as well. Reading at 4th and 5th grade level and doing extremely hard math problems. The specials teachers are amazing, and the general environment is wonderful, with caring teachers and admin.

Not to diminish the op’s experience, but the reports of bullying I have heard on the what’s app chats always lack specificity in a way that makes me not understand what is going on. Just that the kids feelings were hurt, or was run into during recess. It raises questions as to whether the parents are confusing bullying with actual children engaging in growing up and playing. We have actually gotten concerned in the other direction, that this culture of fear around being accused of being a bully has forced kids to withdraw and be incredibly careful when they engage with their peers lest any action be misinterpreted. We have been at Calle ocho since the day it opened and have been so appreciative of the opportunities it has presented and the kindness of the staff. I really hope ops experience improves, but frankly it sounds like it won’t and they should consider other options. The idea that they believe that a second grade classroom is so full of bullying that their kid is in need self defense seems frankly misguided and unlikely.

I do not expect you or anyone else to understand what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes. I'm glad your experience is a positive one. But trust, your not knowing more than the "vague" details of what our child has endured, does not make you an expert here. And it doesn't in any way make what she experienced acceptable. Just don't pass what we've experienced with the incessant physically and verbally abusive behavior as overreactive in any way. You should love your child to the best of your abilities, and be thankful your child can roll with the punches. I'm not raising a girl to accept that - because unacceptable, violent behavior should be corrected. It should be corrected by a child's parents and the school in which the child is entrusted daily. What you categorize as misguided (and unlikely?) is ensuring our child has training to defend herself when someone intentionally attempts to inflict pain and belittlement on her, because the abuse was happening multiple times everyday without protection from the adults - who have been too under-resourced to address the situation. You may be a family contented with the cavalier "boys will be boys" attitude of a previous century. We are not.

But the severe behavioral problems were merely the first three months of the year. The rest has been dominated by teacher turnover. And the effects of it can't just be swept under the rug simply because your child is excelling. The truth is that many, many others are not. Parents are enrolling their kids in tutoring because the Lord of the Flies daycare that is the MV because their kids are not thriving in the chaos. I invite you to write your truth. Just don't be so doubtful of what others are going through. Because it is true and it exists in larger numbers than you are giving credit.

To suggest that those who don't share your same point of view are a confused anomaly only makes you seem very short-sighted, uncaring and out of sync with the reality around you.

+1000 That's well said. I stand by my prior post that accused them of straight up victim blaming and suggesting that if it didn't happen to their kid then it didn't happen. And I was labeled a racist for saying so.

(Can't help but notice the woman who thought being against bullying was racist has put her keyboard down now.)

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Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

Those scores are several years old so whatever. If you control for demographics, MV's scores are not impressive at all.

All scores are several years old. But doubt they will improve with the pandemic learning loss. Langley/ Seaton/ etc might be amazing, but families are still bailing in the upper grades.

Right. Langley and Seaton aren't that great, for sure. Yet MV is such a mess that people get offers from MV and stick with Langley and Seaton. Why? Didn't used to be that way.

I’m the Bruce Monroe poster. In DC’s first grade class, about half of the English dominant kids are out of bounds. We all chose BMPV over MV since both campuses are going all the way through their kindergarten and higher waitlists. And chose BMPV for the Spanish specifically. I don’t know, but I’d guess Powell is similar. There are MV families that are IB for BMPV, but all the families I know of have an older kid that still has the DCI guarantee. And plenty of older siblings to my child’s friends in 3-4th grade. Don’t know any fifth grade siblings, but that could be because they’re at Basis/Latin or just the way it’s worked out.

You are the Bruce Monroe booster. Do you know how many kids are below grade in Bruce Monroe? A lot. Ask me how I know. We left by second grade and most of the families that we knew left too. The people that stay know that they can move at any time if the school doesn’t work for them (and they move by third grade). There are tons of people from Bruce Monroe at charters including MV, DCB, CMI. You got
Your OOB spot because the IB families didn’t want it.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Our child is in this same class that op is referring to and we have had a night and day different experience. Yes there has been teacher turnover, but I don’t know what the admin can do to address that when teachers are leaving for higher paying dcps jobs or jobs closer to home. This has been an incredibly difficult year for teachers and so while the rate of change has been bad, it seems concentrated in this one class. Our kid is exceeding all academic expectations, and many of the other kids in the class are as well. Reading at 4th and 5th grade level and doing extremely hard math problems. The specials teachers are amazing, and the general environment is wonderful, with caring teachers and admin.

Not to diminish the op’s experience, but the reports of bullying I have heard on the what’s app chats always lack specificity in a way that makes me not understand what is going on. Just that the kids feelings were hurt, or was run into during recess. It raises questions as to whether the parents are confusing bullying with actual children engaging in growing up and playing. We have actually gotten concerned in the other direction, that this culture of fear around being accused of being a bully has forced kids to withdraw and be incredibly careful when they engage with their peers lest any action be misinterpreted. We have been at Calle ocho since the day it opened and have been so appreciative of the opportunities it has presented and the kindness of the staff. I really hope ops experience improves, but frankly it sounds like it won’t and they should consider other options. The idea that they believe that a second grade classroom is so full of bullying that their kid is in need self defense seems frankly misguided and unlikely.

I do not expect you or anyone else to understand what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes. I'm glad your experience is a positive one. But trust, your not knowing more than the "vague" details of what our child has endured, does not make you an expert here. And it doesn't in any way make what she experienced acceptable. Just don't pass what we've experienced with the incessant physically and verbally abusive behavior as overreactive in any way. You should love your child to the best of your abilities, and be thankful your child can roll with the punches. I'm not raising a girl to accept that - because unacceptable, violent behavior should be corrected. It should be corrected by a child's parents and the school in which the child is entrusted daily. What you categorize as misguided (and unlikely?) is ensuring our child has training to defend herself when someone intentionally attempts to inflict pain and belittlement on her, because the abuse was happening multiple times everyday without protection from the adults - who have been too under-resourced to address the situation. You may be a family contented with the cavalier "boys will be boys" attitude of a previous century. We are not.

But the severe behavioral problems were merely the first three months of the year. The rest has been dominated by teacher turnover. And the effects of it can't just be swept under the rug simply because your child is excelling. The truth is that many, many others are not. Parents are enrolling their kids in tutoring because the Lord of the Flies daycare that is the MV because their kids are not thriving in the chaos. I invite you to write your truth. Just don't be so doubtful of what others are going through. Because it is true and it exists in larger numbers than you are giving credit.

To suggest that those who don't share your same point of view are a confused anomaly only makes you seem very short-sighted, uncaring and out of sync with the reality around you.

+1000 That's well said. I stand by my prior post that accused them of straight up victim blaming and suggesting that if it didn't happen to their kid then it didn't happen. And I was labeled a racist for saying so.

(Can't help but notice the woman who thought being against bullying was racist has put her keyboard down now.)

NP: We are at another charter that has similar problems as MV in terms of discipline and administration. It drives me nuts when parents--who are clearly aware of the issues--don't speak up or seem at all concerned about these issues just because the issues are not directly impacting their children. Do you not see the irony that these schools tout that they are all about equity and supposed commitment to social justice but then refuse to address any real challenges? It's ALL performative.