Any update on the MV school discipline issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten teacher is out at MV. Parents notified today, two days after the kids were told. The teaching fellow is stepping up to be the lead teacher in the classroom.

Is this out of the K class that had all of the problem? Do you think this is a good thing? Is the Fellow ready to teach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten teacher is out at MV. Parents notified today, two days after the kids were told. The teaching fellow is stepping up to be the lead teacher in the classroom.

This does not sound like a good idea. Aren't teaching fellows unlicensed, un-certified, inexperienced and straight out of college?

Why did the K teacher leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten teacher is out at MV. Parents notified today, two days after the kids were told. The teaching fellow is stepping up to be the lead teacher in the classroom.

This does not sound like a good idea. Aren't teaching fellows unlicensed, un-certified, inexperienced and straight out of college?

Why did the K teacher leave?

Many (perhaps most) charter teachers don't hold teacher's certificates. Not unique to MV. Up to an individual school to decide if that's required (unlike DCPS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten teacher is out at MV. Parents notified today, two days after the kids were told. The teaching fellow is stepping up to be the lead teacher in the classroom.

This does not sound like a good idea. Aren't teaching fellows unlicensed, un-certified, inexperienced and straight out of college?

Why did the K teacher leave?

Many (perhaps most) charter teachers don't hold teacher's certificates. Not unique to MV. Up to an individual school to decide if that's required (unlike DCPS).

Ok, thanks--I didn't realize that was the case at most DC charters. Does the lack of certification hold true even for experienced charter teachers (5 years or more teaching experience)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten teacher is out at MV. Parents notified today, two days after the kids were told. The teaching fellow is stepping up to be the lead teacher in the classroom.

This does not sound like a good idea. Aren't teaching fellows unlicensed, un-certified, inexperienced and straight out of college?

Why did the K teacher leave?

Many (perhaps most) charter teachers don't hold teacher's certificates. Not unique to MV. Up to an individual school to decide if that's required (unlike DCPS).

Ok, thanks--I didn't realize that was the case at most DC charters. Does the lack of certification hold true even for experienced charter teachers (5 years or more teaching experience)?

Just a parent - can't speak for the entire sector. But at the 2 charters my kids have attended the teachers are definitely young and most didn't have traditional certification (one school was a Montessori, and the teachers were required to have Montessori training). And the OSSE rules clearly state that an LEA charter can determine whether it's required for employment.

I think via the DCPCSB website you can see what percentage of teachers at any school are 'highly qualified' but 'highly qualified' doesn't necessarily mean a teaching certificate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kindergarten teacher is out at MV. Parents notified today, two days after the kids were told. The teaching fellow is stepping up to be the lead teacher in the classroom.

Why did it take so long to notify parents?

[Anonymous]

What happened?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really feel for parents at MV, I hope the school is able to resolve it. I know there was a very serious incident last year that was scary. I hope they are learning some lessons on how to resolve them.

Last year's incident was scary but it wasn't malicious and the kid on the wrong end of that incident is still at MV and doing fine (as are most of the kids there). Although my DC's class has been pretty much immune from behavioral problems other than normal six year old stuff I have seen the school making more of an effort this year to nip things in the bud. She acted up a few weeks ago in class (not paying attention mainly) and the teacher took her out of the room pretty quickly when she wouldn't stop and then told me about it (in front of her) at pick up. Both of her teachers have been very good at communicating when she is not behaving (not that often luckily) and also when she's doing well.

[Anonymous]

As a MV parent, it's awful learning about these things on dcum instead of from our school

[Anonymous]

I didn't know MV had teaching fellows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a MV parent, it's awful learning about these things on dcum instead of from our school

What happened to the listserve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a MV parent, it's awful learning about these things on dcum instead of from our school

+1

And how can it be appropriate to tell the kids first? Shouldn't parents have been informed first in order to be supportive to their kids, who are now dealing with the mysterious absence of a primary figure in their world?

Major disappointment.

[Anonymous]

I don't know - I don't love everything at MV but for those of us not in the impacted classroom, I don't know that MV *had* to let us know. Would it have been smart given that they should know that they have a PR challenge with the DCUM crowd? sure. But I was previously at a fancy private preschool and they didn't send out school-wide emails when there was a teacher change in a particular classroom. Nor would it have occurred to anyone that they should.

As for not telling the impacted parents right away? That seems like a mistake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a MV parent, it's awful learning about these things on dcum instead of from our school

Especially since they had the resources to send out multiple requests for money at the end of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know - I don't love everything at MV but for those of us not in the impacted classroom, I don't know that MV *had* to let us know. Would it have been smart given that they should know that they have a PR challenge with the DCUM crowd? sure. But I was previously at a fancy private preschool and they didn't send out school-wide emails when there was a teacher change in a particular classroom. Nor would it have occurred to anyone that they should.

As for not telling the impacted parents right away? That seems like a mistake.

MV is inconsistent. They did make a schoolwide announcement about the departure of the 2nd grade teacher.

[Anonymous]

At least they got rid of the teacher. It's not easy to be a cash-strapped, start-up charter school adding spots like mad to afford to run the place, building toward a K-5th school. New schools need a good decade to stabilize. I've been on Cap Hill for a really long time. Ten years ago, most of the MV type families would have hit the road for the burbs, or tried to lottery into Watkins.

Sure, raise your voices to ask for better communication, but don't toss the baby out with the bath water at MV.