New DCPS Principals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

The mandarin is one hour a week, it’s hardly introducing a third language. I wish they would drops and add a more engaging special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

Kids not “chosen” for Chinese class (again it’s one day a week) are expected to use the free time improving in another subject where a teacher has deemed them falling behind.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

What you mean is that O-A's population, including its Spanish speaking population, is largely wealthy and has the associated clout/power to demand a Spanish speaking principal. Also, it's a DCPS neighborhood school, which is at odds with its "stated mission that half the kids come from Spanish speaking homes." It manages that by restricting the IB kids it admits for PK4 and preferencing non-IB Spanish speakers instead.

OA not IB parent here. Putting some holes in the pp statement.

OA is a good school but there has been a clear decline. It's so so disorganized, it's ridiculous. The middle school academics is not that strong. Those good test scores? Parents with money complementing with tutors. Chinese is just for a few, not all kids get "chosen" to be in the Chinese track, no explanation is given as to why a kid is chosen to be in a Chinese track, and there is no alternative track for those who are not chosen. Same for the international trips. Only the privileged ones get to go. There is a clear haves and have-nots feel to the school that is not entirely healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

The mandarin is one hour a week, it’s hardly introducing a third language. I wish they would drops and add a more engaging special.

Mandarin is once per week in 4th and 5th grades. It’s daily once the students are 6th through 8th graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

The mandarin is one hour a week, it’s hardly introducing a third language. I wish they would drops and add a more engaging special.

It's stupid to have mandarin. Stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

The mandarin is one hour a week, it’s hardly introducing a third language. I wish they would drops and add a more engaging special.

It's stupid to have mandarin. Stupid.

So choose a school that doesn’t offer Mandarin. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

The mandarin is one hour a week, it’s hardly introducing a third language. I wish they would drops and add a more engaging special.

It's stupid to have mandarin. Stupid.

So choose a school that doesn’t offer Mandarin. Problem solved.

People choose OA for Spanish. Adding an hour of mandarin daily will not get your kid anywhere close to fluency. They should focus on more Spanish literature and wriiting. If parents care about mandarin they would try for Yu Ying. Honestly I don’t know any parents at OA who would care if the mandarin was dropped altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Powell’s principal is black and doesn’t speak Spanish. She’s been there for 8 years or more.

Powell is NOT Oyster-Adams.

Race is irrelevant here. Hispanics who are native Spanish speakers can be any race. As an O-A parent, I just want a good principal who is a native Spanish speaker.

What do you mean by that statement about Powell not being Oyster-Adams? I am trying to withhold judgement until I understand the intent of the comment.

Powell is not, and never has been on O-A’s level. This is a result of O-A’s:

1. Stated mission that at least 50% of the students come from native Spanish speaking homes;

2. Historical importance (O-A is nearly 50 years old and one of the oldest and best dual immersion public schools in the country). It is a national model for bilingual education;

3. Programming (introducing Mandarin as a 3rd language in 4th grade, Embassy partnerships, AP Spanish exam administered to 8th graders, student travel/exchange to Taiwan, Spain, and Costa Rica, etc); and

4. Test scores (self explanatory).

This list is not exhaustive. Just what came to mind quickly.

The mandarin is one hour a week, it’s hardly introducing a third language. I wish they would drops and add a more engaging special.

It's stupid to have mandarin. Stupid.

So choose a school that doesn’t offer Mandarin. Problem solved.

People choose OA for Spanish. Adding an hour of mandarin daily will not get your kid anywhere close to fluency. They should focus on more Spanish literature and wriiting. If parents care about mandarin they would try for Yu Ying. Honestly I don’t know any parents at OA who would care if the mandarin was dropped altogether.

I would care, and my children would care. They enjoy(ed) studying Mandarin, and my youngest child loved their trip to Taiwan this past spring. We are grateful that they’re both fluent in Spanish, and will be exposed to Mandarin for 5+ years. We never expected fluency in Mandarin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They didn’t hire EVERY mediocre administrator. The resident principal at Jackson Reed High is a disaster and somehow didn’t get hired.

Tomeka McKenzie? Oh, you have no idea…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

There was a really strong candidate named Kathleen Hauser-Rosthschild who applied but never received a request for an interview. DCPS missed a golden opportunity.

I strongly believe that DCPS only cares about equity instead of hiring the best talent for this role. DCPS has tons of unqualified black principals whom are quite lousy. As quiet as it’s kept, they were only hired due to DCPS needing to hire a certain number of black principals. BTW, I’m a white woman in upper NW who applied for the principal role. I wasn’t even considered even though I’m highly qualified.

Correct.

Yes. They are right that it's good to have diverse role models. But they go too far, forgetting that a person who fits the desired profile but who does a bad job is *negative* for promoting equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

There was a really strong candidate named Kathleen Hauser-Rosthschild who applied but never received a request for an interview. DCPS missed a golden opportunity.

I strongly believe that DCPS only cares about equity instead of hiring the best talent for this role. DCPS has tons of unqualified black principals whom are quite lousy. As quiet as it’s kept, they were only hired due to DCPS needing to hire a certain number of black principals. BTW, I’m a white woman in upper NW who applied for the principal role. I wasn’t even considered even though I’m highly qualified.

Correct.

Yes. They are right that it's good to have diverse role models. But they go too far, forgetting that a person who fits the desired profile but who does a bad job is *negative* for promoting equity.

This is so true. Saw this happen at our neighborhood DCPS- th y hired a latina principal in a plurality Latinx school, and the hiring committee said outright "we want students to see themselves in her, but she is not very good, and expectations and scores are dropping, particularly for that demographic. They were better served under the previous principal, who didn't share their demographic but knew how to run a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

There was a really strong candidate named Kathleen Hauser-Rosthschild who applied but never received a request for an interview. DCPS missed a golden opportunity.

I strongly believe that DCPS only cares about equity instead of hiring the best talent for this role. DCPS has tons of unqualified black principals whom are quite lousy. As quiet as it’s kept, they were only hired due to DCPS needing to hire a certain number of black principals. BTW, I’m a white woman in upper NW who applied for the principal role. I wasn’t even considered even though I’m highly qualified.

Correct.

Yes. They are right that it's good to have diverse role models. But they go too far, forgetting that a person who fits the desired profile but who does a bad job is *negative* for promoting equity.

This is so true. Saw this happen at our neighborhood DCPS- th y hired a latina principal in a plurality Latinx school, and the hiring committee said outright "we want students to see themselves in her, but she is not very good, and expectations and scores are dropping, particularly for that demographic. They were better served under the previous principal, who didn't share their demographic but knew how to run a school.

I just wanted to post a side note. The correct term for identifying people of Latin American or Hispanic cultural backgrounds is Latine, not LatinX. Latinx is an anglicized term that isn’t used by folks in the community.

My Latino husband would never use Latine either. So maybe just don’t come on here with broad generalizations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

There was a really strong candidate named Kathleen Hauser-Rosthschild who applied but never received a request for an interview. DCPS missed a golden opportunity.

I strongly believe that DCPS only cares about equity instead of hiring the best talent for this role. DCPS has tons of unqualified black principals whom are quite lousy. As quiet as it’s kept, they were only hired due to DCPS needing to hire a certain number of black principals. BTW, I’m a white woman in upper NW who applied for the principal role. I wasn’t even considered even though I’m highly qualified.

Correct.

Yes. They are right that it's good to have diverse role models. But they go too far, forgetting that a person who fits the desired profile but who does a bad job is *negative* for promoting equity.

This is so true. Saw this happen at our neighborhood DCPS- th y hired a latina principal in a plurality Latinx school, and the hiring committee said outright "we want students to see themselves in her, but she is not very good, and expectations and scores are dropping, particularly for that demographic. They were better served under the previous principal, who didn't share their demographic but knew how to run a school.

I just wanted to post a side note. The correct term for identifying people of Latin American or Hispanic cultural backgrounds is Latine, not LatinX. Latinx is an anglicized term that isn’t used by folks in the community.

My Latino husband would never use Latine either. So maybe just don’t come on here with broad generalizations?

+1

I don’t know any Latino that uses Latine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

He moved to be the new AP at Lafayette under Mustain/Prall

[Anonymous]

I don’t know much about Meliotis or Hauser-Rosthschild, but the incoming principal has a pretty strong resume. She was principal at the Rafael Hernández Dual Language School in Boston since 2019. Like Oyster, that’s one of the oldest and more renown K-8 bilingual schools in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

There was a really strong candidate named Kathleen Hauser-Rosthschild who applied but never received a request for an interview. DCPS missed a golden opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know much about Meliotis or Hauser-Rosthschild, but the incoming principal has a pretty strong resume. She was principal at the Rafael Hernández Dual Language School in Boston since 2019. Like Oyster, that’s one of the oldest and more renown K-8 bilingual schools in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did DCPS not select Meliotis as the permanent principal at Oyster-Adams? I’m beginning to believe that DCPS is bonkers and insane in the membrane.

There was a really strong candidate named Kathleen Hauser-Rosthschild who applied but never received a request for an interview. DCPS missed a golden opportunity.

+ 1. The new incoming OA principal’s credentials (education and experience) are top notch! Her resume compares favorably to any other candidate. Plus, she’s a Spanish speaking Latina!