What kind of school will Van Ness Elementary end up being? More like Brent, Maury, or Ludlow-Taylor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to the topic at hand, I see a bright future for Van Ness, with some of the in boundary Brent families staying on indefinitely.

There are parents living in the lower blocks of the Brent District who've discovered that they like the commute despite the CSX tunnel messiness. Also, the K teaching team at Van Ness is stronger. The new school has so much to recommend it.

Good luck to the VN families this fall.

Nobody would leave Brent for Van Ness (unless you're talking about PK and they didn't get in to Brent IB). And after 4th grade, everybody leaves Brent - but it sure isn't for Van Ness.

You're PK parents though, so you apparently don't yet understand the middle school crisis that's been going on in DC for at least 50 years. Don't worry, you'll catch by K, when whatever Brent students you have, go back to Brent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the topic at hand, I see a bright future for Van Ness, with some of the in boundary Brent families staying on indefinitely.

There are parents living in the lower blocks of the Brent District who've discovered that they like the commute despite the CSX tunnel messiness. Also, the K teaching team at Van Ness is stronger. The new school has so much to recommend it.

Good luck to the VN families this fall.

Nobody would leave Brent for Van Ness (unless you're talking about PK and they didn't get in to Brent IB). And after 4th grade, everybody leaves Brent - but it sure isn't for Van Ness.

You're PK parents though, so you apparently don't yet understand the middle school crisis that's been going on in DC for at least 50 years. Don't worry, you'll catch by K, when whatever Brent students you have, go back to Brent.

This is an unnecessary comment that you cannot come close to backing up with the facts. This is not a zero sum game, Brent and VN can both be good schools. And I know several PK4 families that are thinking about staying for a variety of reasons.

Would people leave Brent for VN, what does that prove? If the IB Brent families come back, it is a personal choice I'm sure based on a lot of decisions including it can be difficult to get a 5 year old to walk, bus, bike, etc a mile in the cold, rain, heat.

Post like this are why most other places in the city hate Brent, Brent parents etc. It is a good school and I'm glad I can send my kids there. However there are other good schools in the city where I would be just as happy. I just don't live there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the topic at hand, I see a bright future for Van Ness, with some of the in boundary Brent families staying on indefinitely.

There are parents living in the lower blocks of the Brent District who've discovered that they like the commute despite the CSX tunnel messiness. Also, the K teaching team at Van Ness is stronger. The new school has so much to recommend it.

Good luck to the VN families this fall.

Nobody would leave Brent for Van Ness (unless you're talking about PK and they didn't get in to Brent IB). And after 4th grade, everybody leaves Brent - but it sure isn't for Van Ness.

You're PK parents though, so you apparently don't yet understand the middle school crisis that's been going on in DC for at least 50 years. Don't worry, you'll catch by K, when whatever Brent students you have, go back to Brent.

This is an unnecessary comment that you cannot come close to backing up with the facts. This is not a zero sum game, Brent and VN can both be good schools. And I know several PK4 families that are thinking about staying for a variety of reasons.

Would people leave Brent for VN, what does that prove? If the IB Brent families come back, it is a personal choice I'm sure based on a lot of decisions including it can be difficult to get a 5 year old to walk, bus, bike, etc a mile in the cold, rain, heat.

Post like this are why most other places in the city hate Brent, Brent parents etc. It is a good school and I'm glad I can send my kids there. However there are other good schools in the city where I would be just as happy. I just don't live there.

People won't leave Brent for Van Ness, and more than they will leave Deal for MacFarland, or Wilson for Roosevelt.

It's too bad that facts are painful for you and logic is too hard to master. That doesn't make all the evidence of history wrong.

[Anonymous]

Oh really, not even for a grade or two?

We're IB for Brent and there for PreK4, but planning to try to lottery into Van Ness for K. Two of the Brent K teachers aren't for us (and parents can't choose teachers), we live nearer to VN than Brent, and close friends involved in the VN PTA would welcome us. The 2 VN K teachers seem great, and we like the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to the topic at hand, I see a bright future for Van Ness, with some of the in boundary Brent families staying on indefinitely.

There are parents living in the lower blocks of the Brent District who've discovered that they like the commute despite the CSX tunnel messiness. Also, the K teaching team at Van Ness is stronger. The new school has so much to recommend it.

Good luck to the VN families this fall.

Nobody would leave Brent for Van Ness (unless you're talking about PK and they didn't get in to Brent IB). And after 4th grade, everybody leaves Brent - but it sure isn't for Van Ness.

You're PK parents though, so you apparently don't yet understand the middle school crisis that's been going on in DC for at least 50 years. Don't worry, you'll catch by K, when whatever Brent students you have, go back to Brent.

Everybody leaves Brent after Fourth Grade? What about the 23 who returned this year, several of whom decided to take a pass on Basis? Lose the obnoxious chip lady.

Signed, a Brent Parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to the topic at hand, I see a bright future for Van Ness, with some of the in boundary Brent families staying on indefinitely.

There are parents living in the lower blocks of the Brent District who've discovered that they like the commute despite the CSX tunnel messiness. Also, the K teaching team at Van Ness is stronger. The new school has so much to recommend it.

Good luck to the VN families this fall.

By why verifiable metric is the K team stronger? I loathe stupid statements such as this.

[Anonymous]

How about stronger because most VN families seem happy with the two. I've heard very few complaints (as with the Brent 1st grade teaching team).

It's no secret that there were a great many complaints about all three K teachers at Brent last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about stronger because most VN families seem happy with the two. I've heard very few complaints (as with the Brent 1st grade teaching team).

It's no secret that there were a great many complaints about all three K teachers at Brent last year.

Then call them more popular, not stronger.

[Anonymous]

Whatever. Teachers who partner effectively with parents are value added in any school.

[Anonymous]

Van Ness booster has become truly unhinged..not only trying to convince Brent families to stay (good luck with that effort) but somehow (telepathy?) getting older ES grades to sign up/in?

Either things really are magical at VN or someone is deluded.

[Anonymous]

Or Brent should sort out its messed up PreK4 lottery situation and problematic K instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about stronger because most VN families seem happy with the two. I've heard very few complaints (as with the Brent 1st grade teaching team).

It's no secret that there were a great many complaints about all three K teachers at Brent last year.

A great many complaints? You do realize that Brent is a public school, not Maret or Beauvoir?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think we are saying different things. I have no problem with OOB students at Brent. If you fix the PK situation by only having PK4, there would likely be some OOB spots for PK4 in certain years. Also, I don't think it's "entitled" for me to want my child to go to public PK and to want to support and be involved in the neighborhood school and in DCPS more generally. We didn't get in anywhere so it may be two more years before that happens (if we stay).

I agree, and hope you won't let name callers get down. Sorry that you're in this situation.

When you say you didn't get in anywhere, you mean nowhere on the Hill for PreS3? You didn't have proximity preference at Van Ness or anywhere else?

Hang in there.

Yes I mean we didn't get in anywhere for PS3 on the Hill. I'm sure we could have listed other schools farther afield but for a variety of reasons we want to be able to walk our kids to school. We are very close to Brent so no proximity preference anywhere else. Numerous people on this board and in the neighborhood have said "oh you can just send him to Van ness though right?" And so I wanted to post about how VN was very popular this year with its IB crowd and generally in the lottery so it's not as though people in the Brent district (unless you have proximity pref) are any more likely to get in there than someone from anywhere else in the city. I'm fine with that - and I accept our situation - but I think it's silly to talk about Van ness as though it's Brent south when they are two totally different schools. I think it's awesome that both are doing well and are popular schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or Brent should sort out its messed up PreK4 lottery situation and problematic K instruction.

Maybe we could turn Van Ness into a Pk3 - Pk4 only school to handle all the Brent overflow. That would free up the rest of Brent for K - 5 for the IB crowd. Van Ness IB could go to Watkins or somewhere else that always has OOB spaces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about stronger because most VN families seem happy with the two. I've heard very few complaints (as with the Brent 1st grade teaching team).

It's no secret that there were a great many complaints about all three K teachers at Brent last year.

A great many complaints? You do realize that Brent is a public school, not Maret or Beauvoir?

K is a problem, but outside of that, Brent is a far better school than Maret or Beauvoir.