DCPS Playground Use

[Anonymous]

The school is not a public park. Gates can be locked at the end of the school day or not, and the school can lease out the playground to a company that is running an after-school program. During the hours their lease is operational they have the right to exclude other users, which really is the easiest thing to do. If you are on the PTA bring it up with them, they often hire the after school company so can negotiate the hours that they can have exclusive use of the playground. Local community groups can also help if the school playground is used by the wider community.

[Anonymous]

Yes in fact this particular park is a public park - or at least that's how it's been treated for the past few years. The school can't use the broader community to support its petition for a brand-new, much bigger playground (it would never have gotten $$ for the brand-new playground if it hadn't included the broader community's need for such a playground in its request for the renovation), then shut that community out.

Also, if the school uses PTA funds to pay for playground upkeep, they are - again - relying on the broader community. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to participate/donate to a fundraiser. I happily do so, as a member of the community that cares about the school, but I expect that kindness to go both ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, it's a little insulting to call it "a convenient daycare." Almost every parent I know needs to use aftercare, so it's really a necessary part of the school day. The days of having a stay-at-home parent who can pick up at 3 pm are long gone for the majority of DC families.

How is the term "convenient daycare" insulting? It is factual and you agreed, stating "almost every parent I know needs to use aftercare" because they work. So it is daycare (parents are working) and conveniently located (at the school). But just because it is conveniently-located at the school and desired by working parents of students at the school doesn't mean it is actually "school" or part of the "school day". Its not. Hence the term aftercare.

Is the private aftercare provider paying the school system (the taxpayers, essentially) for exclusive access to the playground?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes in fact this particular park is a public park - or at least that's how it's been treated for the past few years. The school can't use the broader community to support its petition for a brand-new, much bigger playground (it would never have gotten $$ for the brand-new playground if it hadn't included the broader community's need for such a playground in its request for the renovation), then shut that community out.

Also, if the school uses PTA funds to pay for playground upkeep, they are - again - relying on the broader community. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to participate/donate to a fundraiser. I happily do so, as a member of the community that cares about the school, but I expect that kindness to go both ways.

Such weird stuff on DCUM from people who for some reason have a chip on their shoulder about Bancroft. What fundraisers? The PTA really only had a single big fundraiser--the tree sale. Christmas trees are something people would buy anyway (unlike, say, many items at richer schools' galas) so it's not an outright donation. Maybe you're also counting $1 tickets for the raffle at the spring fair?

I'd be interested to know how this poster knows details about the petition the resulted in a new playground. If you look around DPCS schools, it looks a lot like other schools' new playgrounds (eg Eaton, Murch) so I don't buy the argument that Bancroft had to promise something extra to the community to get it. The previous playground was a wreck, so something had to be done. Plus, the community is hardly "shut out." You can use it all you want before 8 am and after 6 pm M-F and all weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, it's a little insulting to call it "a convenient daycare." Almost every parent I know needs to use aftercare, so it's really a necessary part of the school day. The days of having a stay-at-home parent who can pick up at 3 pm are long gone for the majority of DC families.

How is the term "convenient daycare" insulting? It is factual and you agreed, stating "almost every parent I know needs to use aftercare" because they work. So it is daycare (parents are working) and conveniently located (at the school). But just because it is conveniently-located at the school and desired by working parents of students at the school doesn't mean it is actually "school" or part of the "school day". Its not. Hence the term aftercare.

Is the private aftercare provider paying the school system (the taxpayers, essentially) for exclusive access to the playground?

The aftercare provider at Bancroft is not private. It's run by the DCPS Out of School Time program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes in fact this particular park is a public park - or at least that's how it's been treated for the past few years. The school can't use the broader community to support its petition for a brand-new, much bigger playground (it would never have gotten $$ for the brand-new playground if it hadn't included the broader community's need for such a playground in its request for the renovation), then shut that community out.

Also, if the school uses PTA funds to pay for playground upkeep, they are - again - relying on the broader community. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to participate/donate to a fundraiser. I happily do so, as a member of the community that cares about the school, but I expect that kindness to go both ways.

Such weird stuff on DCUM from people who for some reason have a chip on their shoulder about Bancroft. What fundraisers? The PTA really only had a single big fundraiser--the tree sale. Christmas trees are something people would buy anyway (unlike, say, many items at richer schools' galas) so it's not an outright donation. Maybe you're also counting $1 tickets for the raffle at the spring fair?

I'd be interested to know how this poster knows details about the petition the resulted in a new playground. If you look around DPCS schools, it looks a lot like other schools' new playgrounds (eg Eaton, Murch) so I don't buy the argument that Bancroft had to promise something extra to the community to get it. The previous playground was a wreck, so something had to be done. Plus, the community is hardly "shut out." You can use it all you want before 8 am and after 6 pm M-F and all weekend.

+1

[Anonymous]

By the way , they don't enforce this. There are still unsupervised kids there and the ones with parents are not watching their kids. So really it is a non issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes in fact this particular park is a public park - or at least that's how it's been treated for the past few years. The school can't use the broader community to support its petition for a brand-new, much bigger playground (it would never have gotten $$ for the brand-new playground if it hadn't included the broader community's need for such a playground in its request for the renovation), then shut that community out.

Also, if the school uses PTA funds to pay for playground upkeep, they are - again - relying on the broader community. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to participate/donate to a fundraiser. I happily do so, as a member of the community that cares about the school, but I expect that kindness to go both ways.

Such weird stuff on DCUM from people who for some reason have a chip on their shoulder about Bancroft. What fundraisers? The PTA really only had a single big fundraiser--the tree sale. Christmas trees are something people would buy anyway (unlike, say, many items at richer schools' galas) so it's not an outright donation. Maybe you're also counting $1 tickets for the raffle at the spring fair?

I'd be interested to know how this poster knows details about the petition the resulted in a new playground. If you look around DPCS schools, it looks a lot like other schools' new playgrounds (eg Eaton, Murch) so I don't buy the argument that Bancroft had to promise something extra to the community to get it. The previous playground was a wreck, so something had to be done. Plus, the community is hardly "shut out." You can use it all you want before 8 am and after 6 pm M-F and all weekend.

+1

We followed the process pretty closely. To be clear, I wasn't using "petition" in a formal legal sense. The construction process created a lot of controversy in the neighborhood, and both the school and the city repeatedly told the community that the playground would benefit the community immeasurably. During the opening of the playground city leaders made clear that they considered community benefits when building the playground. There was extensive community discussion regarding the playground - check out google if you don't believe me. In addition, the playground has been wide open to the community for the last two years. All of this created certain expectations for families in the neighborhood, which is why this latest move was so disappointing.

That said, I appreciate the posters saying that this latest rule hasn't been enforced. That will make my little ones very happy!!

[Anonymous]

also I don't have a chip on my shoulder about Bancroft, as many of my friends and neighbors have children who attend there. I want the school to succeed for their sake. I'm just unhappy about their decision to close the playground during little kid "rush hour" (post-nap to pre-dinner time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I can't believe this is an issue for people. This is a school playground and the priority should be for the current students. Once the school day is over, and that includes aftercare, the playground is open to all. I would not be happy if my child's school allowed non-students and other adults (security issue in my mind) to be on the playground during school/aftercare hours. We often use the playground at Ross Elementary on weekends and they have a sign up stating that the playground is open after school only.

i agree, go when school is out. would you like strangers on your kids' playgrounds?