New Report on Racial and Economic Diversity in DC public and charter schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On a different tack when we talk about limited school capacity west of the Park - does anyone talk about new charters west of Rock Creek Park? Does PCSB have any known positive or negative views about this?

I think the odds are higher than most people here will anticipate. I was in a recent meeting with Bowser where she talked about the possibility of another WoTP high school. She insisted that such a decision would driven by the population growth (i.e. over-crowding at Wilson).

However, based on her other comments that night, I would extrapolate that any new WOTP high school will likely be open to all of DC. Bowser is big on this, keeping the pathways to WOTP schools open to motivated families throughout the District. I could, potentially, see a magnet charter HS opening WOTP. Ideally, it would combine by-right and application set-asides. For example, promise that 50% of seats are set aside for Hardy students and 50% held for District-wide applications. That would balance diversity, equity, and proximity goals. Any Hardy kids not making the cut-off would still retain rights to Wilson.

Again, DCPS and Bowser needs to lead with carrots, not sticks.

You all are not paying attention. It's already happening.

MacFarland and Roosevelt offering dual-language all the way through high school -- a carrot.

They are adding a few hundred seats to Banneker and building it a new home at the old Shaw middle (not WOTP but not EOTR either, and easily accessible via transit - the way most DC HS students get to school). Another carrot.

The new DCPS-Bard early college schools (accepting 9th and 11th grade applications for 2019-20 was MOBBED at Ed Fest with all sorts of people seeking information. Another carrot.

But it won't be a charter -- charters CANNOT be magnets by law. And because they are independent any mayor / council member can't really take credit for them.

I have a kid at Deal who I hope attends Banneker or SWW. Both are extremely attractive. I can’t see why more won’t apply to Banneker when it moves. It will alleviate some crowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High school isn't the problem. There are plenty of seats and test-in options

Middle school is the big problem

We need to have more Stuart Hobson approaches where there is honors tracking and/or what really needs to happen is a test-in middle school at some central location like Shaw

Because realistically for most folks middle school is complete crap outside of Deal/Hardy which is why you have so much drop-off to charters unless you are in Wilson pyramid

Hobson created the honors classes when the students arrived and needed it. Same at Hardy.

They aren't going to promise it in writing when your kids are in 1st and honors classes don't meet the needs of the students enrolled now. But if you come, it will happen.

[Anonymous]

why the heck would I support having a "good test scores only, Wilson is my fall back" school at a location to be named IN GEORGETOWN when you can do that within the space available at many school locations already built today, e.g., ROOSEVELT or COOLIDGE which are in the schools where BOWSER WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER and are some of the top student-sending areas to Deal and Wilson and Ward 2 has practically ZERO high school students in DCPS?

Even if she went for it, explain to me how Mendelson or especially Grosso would support that? It's a total waste of time to try to stick a new high school where there are no students based on the premise that WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS MAKE SCHOOLS BETTER.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school isn't the problem. There are plenty of seats and test-in options

Middle school is the big problem

We need to have more Stuart Hobson approaches where there is honors tracking and/or what really needs to happen is a test-in middle school at some central location like Shaw

Because realistically for most folks middle school is complete crap outside of Deal/Hardy which is why you have so much drop-off to charters unless you are in Wilson pyramid

Hobson created the honors classes when the students arrived and needed it. Same at Hardy.

They aren't going to promise it in writing when your kids are in 1st and honors classes don't meet the needs of the students enrolled now. But if you come, it will happen.

True. But in order to at least get the ball rolling, the MS needs to make a concerted effort to reach out to parents of 4th and 5th graders for a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why the heck would I support having a "good test scores only, Wilson is my fall back" school at a location to be named IN GEORGETOWN when you can do that within the space available at many school locations already built today, e.g., ROOSEVELT or COOLIDGE which are in the schools where BOWSER WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER and are some of the top student-sending areas to Deal and Wilson and Ward 2 has practically ZERO high school students in DCPS?

Even if she went for it, explain to me how Mendelson or especially Grosso would support that? It's a total waste of time to try to stick a new high school where there are no students based on the premise that WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS MAKE SCHOOLS BETTER.

Well, "white neighborhoods make schools better" IS apparently the premise of the DC Policy Center, right? A magnet or test-in HS (with set-asides/preferences to ensure diversity) in NW would likely be more integrated than Roosevelt or Coolidge will be for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why the heck would I support having a "good test scores only, Wilson is my fall back" school at a location to be named IN GEORGETOWN when you can do that within the space available at many school locations already built today, e.g., ROOSEVELT or COOLIDGE which are in the schools where BOWSER WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER and are some of the top student-sending areas to Deal and Wilson and Ward 2 has practically ZERO high school students in DCPS?

Even if she went for it, explain to me how Mendelson or especially Grosso would support that? It's a total waste of time to try to stick a new high school where there are no students based on the premise that WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS MAKE SCHOOLS BETTER.

Well, "white neighborhoods make schools better" IS apparently the premise of the DC Policy Center, right? A magnet or test-in HS (with set-asides/preferences to ensure diversity) in NW would likely be more integrated than Roosevelt or Coolidge will be for a long time.

No the premise of the DC policy center research is that the ideal is schools where all racial and economic groups are represented and the largest group doesn't exceed 50% of the enrollment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why the heck would I support having a "good test scores only, Wilson is my fall back" school at a location to be named IN GEORGETOWN when you can do that within the space available at many school locations already built today, e.g., ROOSEVELT or COOLIDGE which are in the schools where BOWSER WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER and are some of the top student-sending areas to Deal and Wilson and Ward 2 has practically ZERO high school students in DCPS?

Even if she went for it, explain to me how Mendelson or especially Grosso would support that? It's a total waste of time to try to stick a new high school where there are no students based on the premise that WHITE NEIGHBORHOODS MAKE SCHOOLS BETTER.

Well, "white neighborhoods make schools better" IS apparently the premise of the DC Policy Center, right? A magnet or test-in HS (with set-asides/preferences to ensure diversity) in NW would likely be more integrated than Roosevelt or Coolidge will be for a long time.

No the premise of the DC policy center research is that the ideal is schools where all racial and economic groups are represented and the largest group doesn't exceed 50% of the enrollment

Not really possible in D.C. Next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school isn't the problem. There are plenty of seats and test-in options

Middle school is the big problem

We need to have more Stuart Hobson approaches where there is honors tracking and/or what really needs to happen is a test-in middle school at some central location like Shaw

Because realistically for most folks middle school is complete crap outside of Deal/Hardy which is why you have so much drop-off to charters unless you are in Wilson pyramid

Hobson created the honors classes when the students arrived and needed it. Same at Hardy.

They aren't going to promise it in writing when your kids are in 1st and honors classes don't meet the needs of the students enrolled now. But if you come, it will happen.

True. But in order to at least get the ball rolling, the MS needs to make a concerted effort to reach out to parents of 4th and 5th graders for a few years.

I'm OP on this subthread and agree with both of you. It's the classic chicken and egg problem. Plus you need a decent cohort to feel "safe" Looks like this is happening at Jefferson now with parents from Brent hopping on board more. Also with Van-Ness too. As an aside Van-Ness had great boundaries drawn to get a good mix of folks from all walks of life.

[Anonymous]

Chicago has test-in and magnet schools at all grades, and they give weight to SES in the application process.

This explains how it works. https://chalkbeat.org/posts/chicago/2018/10/25/chicago-school-application-tier-system-explained/

Excerpt:

"The tier labels factor mostly into admissions to prekindergarten and kindergarten and again for entrance into competitive seventh-grade academic centers and high schools. They are not a factor in attending open enrollment, or neighborhood, schools.

Using public schools data, a group of civic technologists this week updated an application that lets families look up their tier by address. Every household gets assigned a tier of 1, 2, 3, or 4, with a “1” generally being a low-income neighborhood and a “4” being the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

Besides median income of the households within the census tracts, other factors that influence tier assignments are the percentages of single-parent homes, homes where English is not the first language, and homeownership. Also factors are the education levels of adults who reside in the tract and achievement results of neighborhood schools.

When families apply for popular schools — those requiring tests or lotteries — the school system sets aside a percentage of seats for students from each tier. According to preliminary research results from the first year of the district’s universal enrollment system GoCPS, students in tier 4 neighborhoods are more likely to apply to the district’s most popular programs. And so, when it comes to test-in schools, they tend to have to post higher scores to gain admission.

Put another way, a student from a Tier 1 neighborhood often can gain admission into a selective enrollment school with a lower cutoff score than a Tier 4 one, said Sawin."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago has test-in and magnet schools at all grades, and they give weight to SES in the application process.

This explains how it works. https://chalkbeat.org/posts/chicago/2018/10/25/chicago-school-application-tier-system-explained/

Excerpt:

"The tier labels factor mostly into admissions to prekindergarten and kindergarten and again for entrance into competitive seventh-grade academic centers and high schools. They are not a factor in attending open enrollment, or neighborhood, schools.

Using public schools data, a group of civic technologists this week updated an application that lets families look up their tier by address. Every household gets assigned a tier of 1, 2, 3, or 4, with a “1” generally being a low-income neighborhood and a “4” being the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

Besides median income of the households within the census tracts, other factors that influence tier assignments are the percentages of single-parent homes, homes where English is not the first language, and homeownership. Also factors are the education levels of adults who reside in the tract and achievement results of neighborhood schools.

When families apply for popular schools — those requiring tests or lotteries — the school system sets aside a percentage of seats for students from each tier. According to preliminary research results from the first year of the district’s universal enrollment system GoCPS, students in tier 4 neighborhoods are more likely to apply to the district’s most popular programs. And so, when it comes to test-in schools, they tend to have to post higher scores to gain admission.

Put another way, a student from a Tier 1 neighborhood often can gain admission into a selective enrollment school with a lower cutoff score than a Tier 4 one, said Sawin."

The most beautiful thing about this it actually encourages SES integration as super savy folks from higher tiers might be willing to take a chance on moving to a lower tier nieghborhood to have a better chance of landing in a high demand school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago has test-in and magnet schools at all grades, and they give weight to SES in the application process.

This explains how it works. https://chalkbeat.org/posts/chicago/2018/10/25/chicago-school-application-tier-system-explained/

Excerpt:

"The tier labels factor mostly into admissions to prekindergarten and kindergarten and again for entrance into competitive seventh-grade academic centers and high schools. They are not a factor in attending open enrollment, or neighborhood, schools.

Using public schools data, a group of civic technologists this week updated an application that lets families look up their tier by address. Every household gets assigned a tier of 1, 2, 3, or 4, with a “1” generally being a low-income neighborhood and a “4” being the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

Besides median income of the households within the census tracts, other factors that influence tier assignments are the percentages of single-parent homes, homes where English is not the first language, and homeownership. Also factors are the education levels of adults who reside in the tract and achievement results of neighborhood schools.

When families apply for popular schools — those requiring tests or lotteries — the school system sets aside a percentage of seats for students from each tier. According to preliminary research results from the first year of the district’s universal enrollment system GoCPS, students in tier 4 neighborhoods are more likely to apply to the district’s most popular programs. And so, when it comes to test-in schools, they tend to have to post higher scores to gain admission.

Put another way, a student from a Tier 1 neighborhood often can gain admission into a selective enrollment school with a lower cutoff score than a Tier 4 one, said Sawin."

The most beautiful thing about this it actually encourages SES integration as super savy folks from higher tiers might be willing to take a chance on moving to a lower tier nieghborhood to have a better chance of landing in a high demand school.

Maybe - but the tiers are adjusted every single year. So it's hard to predict. My sister and her family live in Chicago -- 3 years ago when their oldest was in 5th they bought on a Tier 2 block. Now their block is a 4.

[Anonymous]

Chicago sounds like a real pain in the tuchas for families with school-age children. San Francisco, too. And Manhattan. It's really tough to be a highly-educated person who loves an urban environment but also wants to raise well-educated kids. On the bright side: the availability of self-determined options in D.C. is a lot better than what's available in some other cities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chicago has test-in and magnet schools at all grades, and they give weight to SES in the application process.

This explains how it works. https://chalkbeat.org/posts/chicago/2018/10/25/chicago-school-application-tier-system-explained/

Excerpt:

"The tier labels factor mostly into admissions to prekindergarten and kindergarten and again for entrance into competitive seventh-grade academic centers and high schools. They are not a factor in attending open enrollment, or neighborhood, schools.

Using public schools data, a group of civic technologists this week updated an application that lets families look up their tier by address. Every household gets assigned a tier of 1, 2, 3, or 4, with a “1” generally being a low-income neighborhood and a “4” being the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

Besides median income of the households within the census tracts, other factors that influence tier assignments are the percentages of single-parent homes, homes where English is not the first language, and homeownership. Also factors are the education levels of adults who reside in the tract and achievement results of neighborhood schools.

When families apply for popular schools — those requiring tests or lotteries — the school system sets aside a percentage of seats for students from each tier. According to preliminary research results from the first year of the district’s universal enrollment system GoCPS, students in tier 4 neighborhoods are more likely to apply to the district’s most popular programs. And so, when it comes to test-in schools, they tend to have to post higher scores to gain admission.

Put another way, a student from a Tier 1 neighborhood often can gain admission into a selective enrollment school with a lower cutoff score than a Tier 4 one, said Sawin."

Sounds like a mess. Another reason why Rahm Emmanuel, who once had a reputation, will soon be looking for work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On a different tack when we talk about limited school capacity west of the Park - does anyone talk about new charters west of Rock Creek Park? Does PCSB have any known positive or negative views about this?

I think the odds are higher than most people here will anticipate. I was in a recent meeting with Bowser where she talked about the possibility of another WoTP high school. She insisted that such a decision would driven by the population growth (i.e. over-crowding at Wilson).

However, based on her other comments that night, I would extrapolate that any new WOTP high school will likely be open to all of DC. Bowser is big on this, keeping the pathways to WOTP schools open to motivated families throughout the District. I could, potentially, see a magnet charter HS opening WOTP. Ideally, it would combine by-right and application set-asides. For example, promise that 50% of seats are set aside for Hardy students and 50% held for District-wide applications. That would balance diversity, equity, and proximity goals. Any Hardy kids not making the cut-off would still retain rights to Wilson.

Again, DCPS and Bowser needs to lead with carrots, not sticks.

This would only work if District-wide spots were awarded competitively, magnet style, to those applicants with the best academic records, so that students are well-prepared and highly motivated. Otherwise, Upper Northwest parents would never buy it. Those who send their kids to Hardy stomach it, knowing that while it is not on par with Deal at least their kids go on to Wilson. But if a new WOTP becomes just a bigger and badder version of Hardy, with students whose preparation is more spotty and attitude is less attuned to learning, then this will be a worse outcome for Northwest students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chicago has test-in and magnet schools at all grades, and they give weight to SES in the application process.

This explains how it works. https://chalkbeat.org/posts/chicago/2018/10/25/chicago-school-application-tier-system-explained/

Excerpt:

"The tier labels factor mostly into admissions to prekindergarten and kindergarten and again for entrance into competitive seventh-grade academic centers and high schools. They are not a factor in attending open enrollment, or neighborhood, schools.

Using public schools data, a group of civic technologists this week updated an application that lets families look up their tier by address. Every household gets assigned a tier of 1, 2, 3, or 4, with a “1” generally being a low-income neighborhood and a “4” being the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

Besides median income of the households within the census tracts, other factors that influence tier assignments are the percentages of single-parent homes, homes where English is not the first language, and homeownership. Also factors are the education levels of adults who reside in the tract and achievement results of neighborhood schools.

When families apply for popular schools — those requiring tests or lotteries — the school system sets aside a percentage of seats for students from each tier. According to preliminary research results from the first year of the district’s universal enrollment system GoCPS, students in tier 4 neighborhoods are more likely to apply to the district’s most popular programs. And so, when it comes to test-in schools, they tend to have to post higher scores to gain admission.

Put another way, a student from a Tier 1 neighborhood often can gain admission into a selective enrollment school with a lower cutoff score than a Tier 4 one, said Sawin."

Sounds like a mess. Another reason why Rahm Emmanuel, who once had a reputation, will soon be looking for work.

For starters, Chicago is so much bigger than DC.

But people aren't up in arms about it. In fact, there is HUGE demand for these schools among people from all parts of the city. Interestingly most schools, public and private in Chicago are K-8 and many privates work to make sure their students do well on the entrance exams for selective high schools.

Rahm is going to be out of work for trying to cover up a police shooting and a host of other unpopular things, including tripling the property tax rates. The Tier weighting for application and magnet schools isn't such a big deal.