New Ward 3 Middle School ???

[Anonymous]

Deal was mostly OOB students historically. In boundary families were not choosing Deal in large numbers and only did so feeling apprehensive about the choice. It is only since principal Kim came that the shift started to happen. My oldest graduated from Deal 4 years ago before the modernization. But even then you could see the academic improvements. It is possible.

[Anonymous]

We are a white family with a kid at Ellington and couldn't be happier. What a ridiculous comment, 8:36 "to see how current black parents respond." WTF??!! Do black parents send their kids to predominantly white schools and see how current white parents respond? Many white families simply do not want their kids in a predominantly black school, regardless of the school's performance or test scores. It's a race issue.

[Anonymous]

Easy solution. Build the new middle in ward 5 and get rid of OOB. If the demographics have indeed changed then the kids will flourish with their new school. You can't force ward 3 demographics I.e. Educated parents, higher income, involved parents on ward 5.

This is idiotic. Don't worry, most Ward 5 middle class parents aren't sending their children to your precious Ward 3 schools. For one thing, it's just a very far commute. For another, we have lots of good choices-- non-DCPS choices-- closer to home. We are sending children to close by charters and to the very affordable Catholic privates near here. Would you abolish school choice entirely so all children have no choice but to attend their local public schools?

I'm agnostic as to whether Ward 3 needs a new middle school or not. What I do know is that simply building a Ward 5 middle school won't solve the underlying issues of middle class people opting out of DCPS. If it was a magnet or had some stellar offerings, maybe. But my personal opinion is that changes need to happen at the elementary level. Then if people are comfortable with a public school at the younger grades, and there was a good cohort heading to a middle school, they'd be more likely to stay in the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deal was mostly OOB students historically. In boundary families were not choosing Deal in large numbers and only did so feeling apprehensive about the choice. It is only since principal Kim came that the shift started to happen. My oldest graduated from Deal 4 years ago before the modernization. But even then you could see the academic improvements. It is possible.

If you go back far enough, before integration, Deal and other ward 3 schools were historically white, representing the neighborhood they were in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a white family with a kid at Ellington and couldn't be happier. What a ridiculous comment, 8:36 "to see how current black parents respond." WTF??!! Do black parents send their kids to predominantly white schools and see how current white parents respond? Many white families simply do not want their kids in a predominantly black school, regardless of the school's performance or test scores. It's a race issue.

Not idiotic at all - considering how many white parents express concern about being a tiny minority in a predominately black system, it would be very interesting to see how black parents responded to more whites coming in to already successful DC schools. In fact it seems remiss to do otherwise.

I agree -- it's a race issue. And your family is obviously a rare exception. I wonder, what do other white families ask you about your choice? What kind of change in attitudes is there among white families considering majority black schools? What concerns do they have?

[Anonymous]

Easy solution. Build the new middle in ward 5 and get rid of OOB. If the demographics have indeed changed then the kids will flourish with their new school. You can't force ward 3 demographics I.e. Educated parents, higher income, involved parents on ward 5.


This is idiotic. Don't worry, most Ward 5 middle class parents aren't sending their children to your precious Ward 3 schools.

This isn't idiotic at all; in fact it's about as close to a scientific experiment as you could get.

If, as many, many, many PPs in this thread have asserted, Ward 5 has a core mass of involved, smart parents, then there is a guaranteed critical mass of enriched, supported Ward 5 sixth graders who could re-create a Deal IN Ward 5, possibly to be located in Truxton Circle, Fort Totten or Brentwood.

[Anonymous]

The Key parents made their bed at Hardy. Now they should sleep in it. Hardy is their neighborhood school. Other parts of the city need new schools far more urgently than Palisades. Giving those parts of the city better options will lower the need for OOB slots west of the park.

Poor use of a tired cliche. I'll help you out:

Palisades parents checked into Hotel Hardy in need of a quality place to sleep. But they found that for some reason Hotel Hardy attracted fleas, ticks, roaches and bed bugs that made a decent night's sleep impossible. They tried to manage the problem on their own in the first instance with various bug sprays and repellents, to no avail.

They approached the hotel manager about the infestation, but he didn't seem to care. He felt that these insects were important to diversify the hotel and make it more interesting attraction. The hotel manager told his Hardy guests that if the cockroaches were disrupting their sleep, they should seek accommodation elsewhere.

Not happy with the hotel manager's response, Palisades parents contacted the hotel's owner to explain the extent of the problem and the lack of any help from the hotel manager.

The hotel owner's response was to fire her manager. Still, the infestation problems continue.

At this point, Palisades parents simply want to clean place to sleep. They are therefore proposing the establishment of a small hotel in their neighborhood -- one less likely to attract pests which will keep them awake all night.

They're tired of being expected to sleep in an infested environment.

[Anonymous]

Ms. Rhee blew up Hardy by putting in a half time principal and adding 100+ students.

She was a puppet of a handful of Key parents? Hardly. Hardy Har Har.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
At this point, Palisades parents simply want to clean place to sleep. They are therefore proposing the establishment of a small hotel in their neighborhood -- one less likely to attract pests which will keep them awake all night.

At taxpayers' expense.

Interesting analogy, but I'd prefer not to get into all that again and instead explore the possibility of adding white students to currently successful schools like Banneker and Ellington, and maybe adding a middle school in ward 5 and/or maybe a magnet middle school in a central location.

[Anonymous]

10:48 - OOB/black students at Hardy as ticks, fleas, bedbugs, and roaches? Best to keep your racist thoughts to yourself. It's a shame Key School parents ever had an audience with Rhee. You had your middle school and managed to step in a huge pile of shit. Now there's mention of a possible new middle school to try to placate this racist lot again? I don't think so. Good luck. You reap what you sow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10:48 - OOB/black students at Hardy as ticks, fleas, bedbugs, and roaches? Best to keep your racist thoughts to yourself. It's a shame Key School parents ever had an audience with Rhee. You had your middle school and managed to step in a huge pile of shit. Now there's mention of a possible new middle school to try to placate this racist lot again? I don't think so. Good luck. You reap what you sow.

I think 10:48 was deriding people who had a negative view of Hardy students.

[Anonymous]

I too read 10:48 as a biting satirical parody that paints predominantly white Palisades parents in an unflattering light.

As a Caucasian Ward 3 mom, I can't say I disagree with the insult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
At this point, Palisades parents simply want to clean place to sleep. They are therefore proposing the establishment of a small hotel in their neighborhood -- one less likely to attract pests which will keep them awake all night.

At taxpayers' expense.

And how is this inapproprIate? Ward-for-Ward, the majority of taxes are paid by Ward 3 residents for schools that are then filled with kids from other Wards. Since parents from other Wards are obsessed with sending their kids to schools finder by W3 money, I think it perfectly equitable for taxpayers to pay to support one W3 middle school that can be enjoyed by students who actually live in W3. I know, I'm just crazy that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: You reap what you sow.

More tired cliches. Is this the best parents from outside W3 can do? Shall we have a cliche contest akin to Dancing With The Stars? Or should we put more effort into writing with originality and grace?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
At this point, Palisades parents simply want to clean place to sleep. They are therefore proposing the establishment of a small hotel in their neighborhood -- one less likely to attract pests which will keep them awake all night.

At taxpayers' expense.

And how is this inapproprIate? Ward-for-Ward, the majority of taxes are paid by Ward 3 residents for schools that are then filled with kids from other Wards. Since parents from other Wards are obsessed with sending their kids to schools finder by W3 money, I think it perfectly equitable for taxpayers to pay to support one W3 middle school that can be enjoyed by students who actually live in W3. I know, I'm just crazy that way.

That should have been "funded" by W3 money.