Janney Open House this week - discussion on class size?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

+1. Hearst can accommodate more IB families. They are in a dangerous space now where the PK class has a few extra seats for OOB. But when IB kids enroll late summer (like this year) for K they end up with crowded classes for the remaining 5 years. Principal needs to recognize this trend and plan accordingly in the lottery.

Many at Hearst want to retain the majority OOB status and don't want it to flip to be a neighborhood school.

You obviously have never spoken to "many" IB families at Hearst.

+1

Isn't Hearst the unofficial Crestwood elementary school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

+1. Hearst can accommodate more IB families. They are in a dangerous space now where the PK class has a few extra seats for OOB. But when IB kids enroll late summer (like this year) for K they end up with crowded classes for the remaining 5 years. Principal needs to recognize this trend and plan accordingly in the lottery.

Many at Hearst want to retain the majority OOB status and don't want it to flip to be a neighborhood school.

The school has already "flipped" in the lower grades to majority IB, it does not sound like you are a member of the school community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

+1. Hearst can accommodate more IB families. They are in a dangerous space now where the PK class has a few extra seats for OOB. But when IB kids enroll late summer (like this year) for K they end up with crowded classes for the remaining 5 years. Principal needs to recognize this trend and plan accordingly in the lottery.

Many at Hearst want to retain the majority OOB status and don't want it to flip to be a neighborhood school.

You obviously have never spoken to "many" IB families at Hearst.

+1

+2 No one at Hearst has ever expressed this view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

Exactly. I spoke to some of those Janney families at the boundary meetings. They were there not out of concern for the kids of DC, but to rail about their property values and the disaster that would befall them if the boundaries were redrawn. They made their beds...

You can understand this. A big price premium on houses in AU Park and environs is because of the Janney IB access factor.

A big premium over what? Compared to Murch? Is a house more expensive in Janney than Murch? Or compared to Hearst? I don't think there is any evidence for that. Many of the Janney houses have more land because it is more suburban.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

Exactly. I spoke to some of those Janney families at the boundary meetings. They were there not out of concern for the kids of DC, but to rail about their property values and the disaster that would befall them if the boundaries were redrawn. They made their beds...

You can understand this. A big price premium on houses in AU Park and environs is because of the Janney IB access factor.

A big premium over what? Compared to Murch? Is a house more expensive in Janney than Murch? Or compared to Hearst? I don't think there is any evidence for that. Many of the Janney houses have more land because it is more suburban.

These schools are all within 12 blocks of each other and serve multiple neighborhoods with a wide range of housing costs from studio apartments to multi-million dollar residences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

Exactly. I spoke to some of those Janney families at the boundary meetings. They were there not out of concern for the kids of DC, but to rail about their property values and the disaster that would befall them if the boundaries were redrawn. They made their beds...

You can understand this. A big price premium on houses in AU Park and environs is because of the Janney IB access factor.

Just because real estate agents choose to market school access doesn't mean that the city should maintain boundaries in perpetuity. The first obligation of the school system is to the majority of students, not to Long and Foster.

The obsession might make more sense if there were any evidence that attending one of these schools over the other really makes much difference.to final outcomes for an individual student from a middle class home, but there isn't. Mother's educational level and family income determine most of student outcomes long before they start school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

Exactly. I spoke to some of those Janney families at the boundary meetings. They were there not out of concern for the kids of DC, but to rail about their property values and the disaster that would befall them if the boundaries were redrawn. They made their beds...

You can understand this. A big price premium on houses in AU Park and environs is because of the Janney IB access factor.

Just because real estate agents choose to market school access doesn't mean that the city should maintain boundaries in perpetuity. The first obligation of the school system is to the majority of students, not to Long and Foster.

The obsession might make more sense if there were any evidence that attending one of these schools over the other really makes much difference.to final outcomes for an individual student from a middle class home, but there isn't. Mother's educational level and family income determine most of student outcomes long before they start school.

The market clearly believes it, which is all the evidence that matters for these purposes. That said, if I lived east of Wisconsin Ave. I wouldn't count on staying in the Janney district in perpetuity. There's not much chance that AU Park gets moved, unless they redistrict it into Montgomery County! The best solution IMO is to shift some of Janney into Hearst. Hearst is a brand new school and ripe for an "IB takeover." If that happens, it becomes a virtuous circle, just like Janney.

[Anonymous]

It is already happening at Hearst, rest assured!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

Exactly. I spoke to some of those Janney families at the boundary meetings. They were there not out of concern for the kids of DC, but to rail about their property values and the disaster that would befall them if the boundaries were redrawn. They made their beds...

You can understand this. A big price premium on houses in AU Park and environs is because of the Janney IB access factor.

Just because real estate agents choose to market school access doesn't mean that the city should maintain boundaries in perpetuity. The first obligation of the school system is to the majority of students, not to Long and Foster.

The obsession might make more sense if there were any evidence that attending one of these schools over the other really makes much difference.to final outcomes for an individual student from a middle class home, but there isn't. Mother's educational level and family income determine most of student outcomes long before they start school.

The market clearly believes it, which is all the evidence that matters for these purposes. That said, if I lived east of Wisconsin Ave. I wouldn't count on staying in the Janney district in perpetuity. There's not much chance that AU Park gets moved, unless they redistrict it into Montgomery County! The best solution IMO is to shift some of Janney into Hearst. Hearst is a brand new school and ripe for an "IB takeover." If that happens, it becomes a virtuous circle, just like Janney.

Amen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or they could redraw the boundaries?

but they tried and the Janney families said no! We would prefer to have overcrowded classrooms!

Exactly. I spoke to some of those Janney families at the boundary meetings. They were there not out of concern for the kids of DC, but to rail about their property values and the disaster that would befall them if the boundaries were redrawn. They made their beds...

You can understand this. A big price premium on houses in AU Park and environs is because of the Janney IB access factor.

Just because real estate agents choose to market school access doesn't mean that the city should maintain boundaries in perpetuity. The first obligation of the school system is to the majority of students, not to Long and Foster.

The obsession might make more sense if there were any evidence that attending one of these schools over the other really makes much difference.to final outcomes for an individual student from a middle class home, but there isn't. Mother's educational level and family income determine most of student outcomes long before they start school.

If you look at similar houses across the street from one another on the Janney border, there is zero evidence of a "Janney premium" in house prices. That doesn't say that Janney isn't a wonderful school (it is!), but it does say that folks buy houses for lots of reasons, and buying to be in the Janney district is hard to discern in house prices.

[Anonymous]

OMG- why are we having more discussion about the Janney boundaries, Hearst IB vs. OOB, and relatvie real estate prices? It must be 2-3 of the same posters who are beating this dead hourse.

[Anonymous]

We are so lucky that we had the foresight to purchase in the Janney district and are pleased with how wonderful the school is for our kids. I talked to a colleague whose family is at Murch, and their renovation is again in doubt. I'm glad that our Janney community has been able to advocate so effectively for our children's needs, because less cohesive communities in DC are being shortchanged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are so lucky that we had the foresight to purchase in the Janney district and are pleased with how wonderful the school is for our kids. I talked to a colleague whose family is at Murch, and their renovation is again in doubt. I'm glad that our Janney community has been able to advocate so effectively for our children's needs, because less cohesive communities in DC are being shortchanged.

Enjoy those classes with over 30 students in them! Cohesive indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are so lucky that we had the foresight to purchase in the Janney district and are pleased with how wonderful the school is for our kids. I talked to a colleague whose family is at Murch, and their renovation is again in doubt. I'm glad that our Janney community has been able to advocate so effectively for our children's needs, because less cohesive communities in DC are being shortchanged.

What a creepy, self-congratulatory post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are so lucky that we had the foresight to purchase in the Janney district and are pleased with how wonderful the school is for our kids. I talked to a colleague whose family is at Murch, and their renovation is again in doubt. I'm glad that our Janney community has been able to advocate so effectively for our children's needs, because less cohesive communities in DC are being shortchanged.

What a creepy, self-congratulatory post.

I call troll, I don't believe Janney parents are stupid enough to write something this obnoxious.

I suggest Janney families and those that are truly invested in solving the large cohort problem either go to the principal coffees, fill out the surveys that were referenced at the state of the school and should be linked to the newsletter, or contact the principal or LSAT to find out how to be kept updated and have your voice heard. Whining on DCUM that the only solution is to put trailers on the playground shows a lack of understanding of the options and does not really help anything.