Confused about MV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it a playground though?

Define playground. I'm not being facetious, people define it differently, so we can't answer without knowing how you are defining it.

NP here, but playground is defined as:

"an outdoor area provided for children to play on, especially at a school or public park"

Oh man, you are not from around here...are you?

A simple Google search provided that definition. Do I have to be from here to provide a Google result?

[Anonymous]

Current MV mom here: The Principal and Executive Director are VERY responsive to current families and staff, so, yes, they are very busy. Once you are fully enrolled in the school - 100% in the school, than you will see for yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So others may Eat (SOME) is on the next block and buses the homeless in to feed them.

If having homeless dudes bother you, go to another school.

Thanks the the replies all. So the schools top 3 were "too busy"
to welcome new families and answer questions--and current families are okay being treated that way?


OP here and I don't live too far from MV, so no issues with homeless. Aggressive panhandling and harassment such as I experienced today , however crossed a line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So others may Eat (SOME) is on the next block and buses the homeless in to feed them.

If having homeless dudes bother you, go to another school.

Thanks the the replies all. So the schools top 3 were "too busy"
to welcome new families and answer questions--and current families are okay being treated that way?


OP here and I don't live too far from MV, so no issues with homeless. Aggressive panhandling and harassment such as I experienced today , however crossed a line.

I, too, attended yesterday's Open House tour. I was VERY disappointed. I had high expectations of the school and after that tour, it really fell short of my expectations. The tour guide was not very insightful. She didn't seem to be prepared to answer obvious questions. She was "winging it" and doing a poor job of it.

I was not pleased to here that after all of the construction & renovation, there would be no viable playground. Therefore, they'd round up 22-24 kids, per class, and walk them through a very traffic heavy area with 2 teachers to nearby playgrounds. The neighborhood doesn't seem to be safe enough to have preschoolers walking through on a daily basis just for recess. I work on North Capitol street (about 5 minutes from the MV location) and our organization is always being made aware of murders, muggings, bicyclist assaults and thefts that seem to happen weekly, if not daily.

I also came across a few student working outside of their classrooms and asked them why there were not in their class doing their work to which they replied it was too loud in the class to concentrate so the teacher asked to finish their assignments in the corridor. Those classrooms were JAM PACKED with kids.

I was at the tour a did not see any classrooms that were JAMMED PACKED... You must have been homeschooled because 20-24 kids in a classroom (especially one of that size) is not JAMMED PACKED. You must have never visited schools with smaller classroom space like Stokes.

I wasn't home-schooled (although I guess that was your attempt at trying to be facetious) The classrooms are small and to have 22-24 kids in them seemed to be alot. Given those 2 observations, they were JAM PACKED in my opinion. (not JAMMED -FYI)

I have two kids at MV - classroom are NOT jam packed. They are actually very spacious and some classrooms have less than 20 kids. You are mistaken on this one. Perhaps two classrooms had combined for a short period of time - the four classrooms per grade have a partner classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current MV mom here: The Principal and Executive Director are VERY responsive to current families and staff, so, yes, they are very busy. Once you are fully enrolled in the school - 100% in the school, than you will see for yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So others may Eat (SOME) is on the next block and buses the homeless in to feed them.

If having homeless dudes bother you, go to another school.

Thanks the the replies all. So the schools top 3 were "too busy"
to welcome new families and answer questions--and current families are okay being treated that way?


OP here and I don't live too far from MV, so no issues with homeless. Aggressive panhandling and harassment such as I experienced today , however crossed a line.

That's a dangerous attitude. At the risk of denigrating or devaluing anonymous posters on DCUM, I'm not sure that prospective parents with a brain would take solace in your suggested "trust us" approach. If you are trying to help MV put a positive face on things then I'm not sure I'd come out and admit that the administration intentionally chose to ignore prospective parents and take a "screw you" approach. In fact I bet MV is kind of appalled that your defense is what is being communicated.

Right now you don't need those parents who would turn down MV over a poor tour and experience. But the funny thing about sales and customer service is that it takes only minutes to damage a reputation and years to build it back up. And in most cases you don't know you have a problem until it is too late.

[Anonymous]

My kids aren't at MV, but I am very happy that the administration at the school where my kids attend take the exact approach that 16:07 doesn't like and worry more about current students than prospective ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So others may Eat (SOME) is on the next block and buses the homeless in to feed them.

If having homeless dudes bother you, go to another school.

Thanks the the replies all. So the schools top 3 were "too busy"
to welcome new families and answer questions--and current families are okay being treated that way?


OP here and I don't live too far from MV, so no issues with homeless. Aggressive panhandling and harassment such as I experienced today , however crossed a line.

I, too, attended yesterday's Open House tour. I was VERY disappointed. I had high expectations of the school and after that tour, it really fell short of my expectations. The tour guide was not very insightful. She didn't seem to be prepared to answer obvious questions. She was "winging it" and doing a poor job of it.

I was not pleased to here that after all of the construction & renovation, there would be no viable playground. Therefore, they'd round up 22-24 kids, per class, and walk them through a very traffic heavy area with 2 teachers to nearby playgrounds. The neighborhood doesn't seem to be safe enough to have preschoolers walking through on a daily basis just for recess. I work on North Capitol street (about 5 minutes from the MV location) and our organization is always being made aware of murders, muggings, bicyclist assaults and thefts that seem to happen weekly, if not daily.

I also came across a few student working outside of their classrooms and asked them why there were not in their class doing their work to which they replied it was too loud in the class to concentrate so the teacher asked to finish their assignments in the corridor. Those classrooms were JAM PACKED with kids.

I was at the tour a did not see any classrooms that were JAMMED PACKED... You must have been homeschooled because 20-24 kids in a classroom (especially one of that size) is not JAMMED PACKED. You must have never visited schools with smaller classroom space like Stokes.

I wasn't home-schooled (although I guess that was your attempt at trying to be facetious) The classrooms are small and to have 22-24 kids in them seemed to be alot. Given those 2 observations, they were JAM PACKED in my opinion. (not JAMMED -FYI)

I have two kids at MV - classroom are NOT jam packed. They are actually very spacious and some classrooms have less than 20 kids. You are mistaken on this one. Perhaps two classrooms had combined for a short period of time - the four classrooms per grade have a partner classroom.

I think it has been stated many times that the concern is about the newer, not yet open classrooms.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 16:11

The demand for quality schools is enormous in Washington DC. With the educated work force and population that is increasingly savvy as to how to identify programs that are of value to the educational goals for their children, the administration should be engaged foremost with current students, and maintain respect for inquiries.

I don't have a child at MV (yet), but feel that they have done just this. My child's HRCS doesn't hold tours during the week- only on weekend's for that very reason. They focus on the prospective families when they have the capacity to do so- and can focus on the needs of the future population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids aren't at MV, but I am very happy that the administration at the school where my kids attend take the exact approach that 16:07 doesn't like and worry more about current students than prospective ones.

1. Why does it have to be either/or? Is the administration at your school that disorganized?
2. So this is a gate keeping concept? If you make it past the trust fall you then get the benefit?
3. You're happy that the administration takes a "screw you I don't have time for prospective parents" approach? Please name that school. I'm sure the administration would be tickeled to death that a parent is out there representing their approach and that community in such a manner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids aren't at MV, but I am very happy that the administration at the school where my kids attend take the exact approach that 16:07 doesn't like and worry more about current students than prospective ones.

OP again. Only thing is that we were not 'prospective parents', MySchoolDC assigned this school to us through the lottery.

We showed up intending to enroll if we had our questions answered satifactorily. Instead we had a negative experience.

As PP above notes, MV really stepped in it this year. Hopefully they'll up their game in future years or they'll be going deep into their waitlists and getting people who really aren't that motivated to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with 16:11

The demand for quality schools is enormous in Washington DC. With the educated work force and population that is increasingly savvy as to how to identify programs that are of value to the educational goals for their children, the administration should be engaged foremost with current students, and maintain respect for inquiries.

I don't have a child at MV (yet), but feel that they have done just this. My child's HRCS doesn't hold tours during the week- only on weekend's for that very reason. They focus on the prospective families when they have the capacity to do so- and can focus on the needs of the future population.

The world is littered with schools and businesses that took their standing for granted and bought their own hype and press. By all means please name the school of which you speak. It will allow those of us that feel that there might be a correlation between the manner in which the administration behaves pre-enrollment and how responsive that same administration mught be post-enrollment. If you're so confident in this approach, name away my dear!

[Anonymous]

Nah. I don't want to do that. I don't represent the administration at my kids' school, just sharing my perspective.

Just like I'm pleased the administration is not jumping through hoops for prospective parents, I feel no need to do so either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nah. I don't want to do that. I don't represent the administration at my kids' school, just sharing my perspective.

Just like I'm pleased the administration is not jumping through hoops for prospective parents, I feel no need to do so either.

Ha! Love this response! Stay away from the vultures.

[Anonymous]

16:32- This was my post earlier.

I believe the subsequent poster was purposefully misinterpreting the feedback. The schools, with limited resources, need to identify what their priorities are.

During the school day- focus on enrolled students, families, and all of the myriad demands at this time of year.

On the weekend, after hours- focus on prospective families, marketing and enrichment. This way each audience gets the attention they need at a time that makes sense.

IT does this well. Open houses on multiple weekends, hosted by teachers, admin and families. But during the school day- focus is on the enrolled kids and their needs. The principal would call after hours to answer questions to waitlisted parents.

[Anonymous]

as a mv parent who loves the school and has particpated in day to day "visits" to school through various events, I wonder what prospective parents were looking for. What did you need to be satisfied? I really wonder? What I love about the school is the see the kids engaged and speaking spanish in many different subjects. watching them cook and do art and be creative is a plus. all of this I have seen and that is what I see consistently. that is what wows me. Yes, even seeing a kid who needs moment to think outside the classroom is proof that they are meeting the students where they need to be met. I have seen that myself and find it encouraging....but everyone's ideal is different.
but really back to my sincere question, what were you hoping to see on an hour long tour that would have swayed you,impressed you and made you certain this was the right place for your child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:as a mv parent who loves the school and has particpated in day to day "visits" to school through various events, I wonder what prospective parents were looking for. What did you need to be satisfied? I really wonder? What I love about the school is the see the kids engaged and speaking spanish in many different subjects. watching them cook and do art and be creative is a plus. all of this I have seen and that is what I see consistently. that is what wows me. Yes, even seeing a kid who needs moment to think outside the classroom is proof that they are meeting the students where they need to be met. I have seen that myself and find it encouraging....but everyone's ideal is different.
but really back to my sincere question, what were you hoping to see on an hour long tour that would have swayed you,impressed you and made you certain this was the right place for your child?

This far and you're the first MV parent to ask this question. Hmmmmmmmm.