Experience with Shining Stars?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In recent Facebook posts they have included pictures of children coloring culturally relevant things. I think the question to ask is how faithful they are in the younger ages to Montessori materials. From what I know about Montessori, but from what I understand there would likely be some paper and crayons and the kids could choose to draw what they want, but not coloring papers, even if flags, etc, etc,

I'm super art-oriented and 100% applaud schools that give kids the opportunity to be creative by coloring, drawing, painting, etc. I guess what shocked me about it was that we've been to several other Montessori and Reggio schools, and several traditional schools, and we've seen the work their kids do. It's not worksheets. They get out construction paper, craft materials, paints, glue, etc. and actually *create.* These kids were just coloring in the lines on winter-themed worksheets. Our kid's daycare doesn't even do worksheets. (They get plain paper and make their own creations.) So it wasn't particularly inspiring to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to jump into this old thread to mention that we did an open house at SSMA today and saw kids in one of the primary (PK-3 to K) classrooms working on coloring worksheets. I was shocked. They couldn't even pretend to be working on something educational, knowing that the Open House was scheduled and that parents would be coming by? So yes, coloring worksheets are apparently still a thing here.

Wow. Were all of the students coloring on worksheets? I know my kid's play-based school has kids in PreK coloring on worksheets to strengthen fine motor skills, so I suppose what they were doing at SSMA could be considered educational. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt here...

Hi! Sorry for not seeing this and responding sooner. Yes, all of the kids in the entire primary classroom were working on coloring worksheets. I forget which room it was; one of the immersion classes, I think, on the basement level, all the way at the east end of the building (went down a long hallway and ramp, past a fish tank; a current parent would know what the room is called. Ghandi Stars? Something Else Stars?). The Principal (who seemed nice) had a few of the kids get up and show her where their favorite math, reading, etc. areas of the classroom were, and what their favorite tools were (e.g., blocks, beads, etc.). So I guess she was trying to compensate for the fact that the teacher had the kids coloring.

Hi, PP again. Just want to add one thing that I forgot to address, which is that I'm totally fine with kids doing fine motor skills activities. It's just that there are so many other activities the kids could've been doing that accomplished that goal: cutting paper, gluing, creating their own drawing following a theme or prompt (e.g., a self-portrait), drawing outlines around objects (e.g., their hands). This activity just struck me as really lacking in creativity, and not really a thing I would expect to see in a Montessori classroom. I also will add that I was honestly in the dark about all of last year's drama at SSMA going into the open house. I came to DCUM afterward to see what parents thought about the school (fully expecting to see a lot of "this school is great!" and "you'll be lucky if you get in!"), and that's how I found this thread. So until I saw those posts, I actually had a pretty favorable impression of the school and was very open-minded about it (like, blank slate open-minded), this coloring worksheet thing notwithstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to jump into this old thread to mention that we did an open house at SSMA today and saw kids in one of the primary (PK-3 to K) classrooms working on coloring worksheets. I was shocked. They couldn't even pretend to be working on something educational, knowing that the Open House was scheduled and that parents would be coming by? So yes, coloring worksheets are apparently still a thing here.

Wow. Were all of the students coloring on worksheets? I know my kid's play-based school has kids in PreK coloring on worksheets to strengthen fine motor skills, so I suppose what they were doing at SSMA could be considered educational. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt here...

Hi! Sorry for not seeing this and responding sooner. Yes, all of the kids in the entire primary classroom were working on coloring worksheets. I forget which room it was; one of the immersion classes, I think, on the basement level, all the way at the east end of the building (went down a long hallway and ramp, past a fish tank; a current parent would know what the room is called. Ghandi Stars? Something Else Stars?). The Principal (who seemed nice) had a few of the kids get up and show her where their favorite math, reading, etc. areas of the classroom were, and what their favorite tools were (e.g., blocks, beads, etc.). So I guess she was trying to compensate for the fact that the teacher had the kids coloring.

Hi, PP again. Just want to add one thing that I forgot to address, which is that I'm totally fine with kids doing fine motor skills activities. It's just that there are so many other activities the kids could've been doing that accomplished that goal: cutting paper, gluing, creating their own drawing following a theme or prompt (e.g., a self-portrait), drawing outlines around objects (e.g., their hands). This activity just struck me as really lacking in creativity, and not really a thing I would expect to see in a Montessori classroom. I also will add that I was honestly in the dark about all of last year's drama at SSMA going into the open house. I came to DCUM afterward to see what parents thought about the school (fully expecting to see a lot of "this school is great!" and "you'll be lucky if you get in!"), and that's how I found this thread. So until I saw those posts, I actually had a pretty favorable impression of the school and was very open-minded about it (like, blank slate open-minded), this coloring worksheet thing notwithstanding.

PP with the motor skills post - even though my kid's PreK DCPS does use worksheets, they also cut out shapes, draw, and paste in addition to tracing their names, so I, too, think it's unfortunate to see a school with a child-directed learning approach. I wanted Montessori for both of my children and SSMA looked like the most likely to get into via lottery, but I know Montessori only works if it's done well. We are IB for Langdon, so I will enter my youngest for the Montessori program and my oldest for the traditional program. Sucks because SSMA could be an amazing school under the right leadership.

What's the likelihood of Dr. R resigning, retiring, or getting terminated before the lottery deadline?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to jump into this old thread to mention that we did an open house at SSMA today and saw kids in one of the primary (PK-3 to K) classrooms working on coloring worksheets. I was shocked. They couldn't even pretend to be working on something educational, knowing that the Open House was scheduled and that parents would be coming by? So yes, coloring worksheets are apparently still a thing here.

Wow. Were all of the students coloring on worksheets? I know my kid's play-based school has kids in PreK coloring on worksheets to strengthen fine motor skills, so I suppose what they were doing at SSMA could be considered educational. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt here...

Hi! Sorry for not seeing this and responding sooner. Yes, all of the kids in the entire primary classroom were working on coloring worksheets. I forget which room it was; one of the immersion classes, I think, on the basement level, all the way at the east end of the building (went down a long hallway and ramp, past a fish tank; a current parent would know what the room is called. Ghandi Stars? Something Else Stars?). The Principal (who seemed nice) had a few of the kids get up and show her where their favorite math, reading, etc. areas of the classroom were, and what their favorite tools were (e.g., blocks, beads, etc.). So I guess she was trying to compensate for the fact that the teacher had the kids coloring.

Hi, PP again. Just want to add one thing that I forgot to address, which is that I'm totally fine with kids doing fine motor skills activities. It's just that there are so many other activities the kids could've been doing that accomplished that goal: cutting paper, gluing, creating their own drawing following a theme or prompt (e.g., a self-portrait), drawing outlines around objects (e.g., their hands). This activity just struck me as really lacking in creativity, and not really a thing I would expect to see in a Montessori classroom. I also will add that I was honestly in the dark about all of last year's drama at SSMA going into the open house. I came to DCUM afterward to see what parents thought about the school (fully expecting to see a lot of "this school is great!" and "you'll be lucky if you get in!"), and that's how I found this thread. So until I saw those posts, I actually had a pretty favorable impression of the school and was very open-minded about it (like, blank slate open-minded), this coloring worksheet thing notwithstanding.

PP with the motor skills post - even though my kid's PreK DCPS does use worksheets, they also cut out shapes, draw, and paste in addition to tracing their names, so I, too, think it's unfortunate to see a school with a child-directed learning approach. I wanted Montessori for both of my children and SSMA looked like the most likely to get into via lottery, but I know Montessori only works if it's done well. We are IB for Langdon, so I will enter my youngest for the Montessori program and my oldest for the traditional program. Sucks because SSMA could be an amazing school under the right leadership.

What's the likelihood of Dr. R resigning, retiring, or getting terminated before the lottery deadline?

Before the deadline, zero chance. If next year's test scores and other metrics are bad enough to jeopardize the charter, maybe then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to jump into this old thread to mention that we did an open house at SSMA today and saw kids in one of the primary (PK-3 to K) classrooms working on coloring worksheets. I was shocked. They couldn't even pretend to be working on something educational, knowing that the Open House was scheduled and that parents would be coming by? So yes, coloring worksheets are apparently still a thing here.

Wow. Were all of the students coloring on worksheets? I know my kid's play-based school has kids in PreK coloring on worksheets to strengthen fine motor skills, so I suppose what they were doing at SSMA could be considered educational. Trying to give them the benefit of the doubt here...

Hi! Sorry for not seeing this and responding sooner. Yes, all of the kids in the entire primary classroom were working on coloring worksheets. I forget which room it was; one of the immersion classes, I think, on the basement level, all the way at the east end of the building (went down a long hallway and ramp, past a fish tank; a current parent would know what the room is called. Ghandi Stars? Something Else Stars?). The Principal (who seemed nice) had a few of the kids get up and show her where their favorite math, reading, etc. areas of the classroom were, and what their favorite tools were (e.g., blocks, beads, etc.). So I guess she was trying to compensate for the fact that the teacher had the kids coloring.

Hi, PP again. Just want to add one thing that I forgot to address, which is that I'm totally fine with kids doing fine motor skills activities. It's just that there are so many other activities the kids could've been doing that accomplished that goal: cutting paper, gluing, creating their own drawing following a theme or prompt (e.g., a self-portrait), drawing outlines around objects (e.g., their hands). This activity just struck me as really lacking in creativity, and not really a thing I would expect to see in a Montessori classroom. I also will add that I was honestly in the dark about all of last year's drama at SSMA going into the open house. I came to DCUM afterward to see what parents thought about the school (fully expecting to see a lot of "this school is great!" and "you'll be lucky if you get in!"), and that's how I found this thread. So until I saw those posts, I actually had a pretty favorable impression of the school and was very open-minded about it (like, blank slate open-minded), this coloring worksheet thing notwithstanding.

PP with the motor skills post - even though my kid's PreK DCPS does use worksheets, they also cut out shapes, draw, and paste in addition to tracing their names, so I, too, think it's unfortunate to see a school with a child-directed learning approach. I wanted Montessori for both of my children and SSMA looked like the most likely to get into via lottery, but I know Montessori only works if it's done well. We are IB for Langdon, so I will enter my youngest for the Montessori program and my oldest for the traditional program. Sucks because SSMA could be an amazing school under the right leadership.

What's the likelihood of Dr. R resigning, retiring, or getting terminated before the lottery deadline?

Before the deadline, zero chance. If next year's test scores and other metrics are bad enough to jeopardize the charter, maybe then.

They aren't going to lose their charter! Only if the PMF score is 20% or lower next year, and it's 41 right now. Even the hottest of messes rarely score as low as 20%.

Could they have an embarrassing hearing with lots of awkward questions? Sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is entering K and completed the last two years at SSMA. We’ve had incredible teachers for primary and my child is reading and doing so well in math (addition, subtraction and multiplication) and receives so much emotional support. Another kid in class was doing long division. If you get a good instructor and your kid is a good candidate for Montessori, I recommend it. The other issues mentioned by other posters are true with many families happy with lower grades and community, but there are admin issues and the question of how well the higher grades are performing.

Multiplication and long division before K. They'll be doing calculus before middle school. Sounds odd considering the amount of worksheets and coloring activities some other SSMA parents complain about.

Just wanted to jump into this old thread to mention that we did an open house at SSMA today and saw kids in one of the primary (PK-3 to K) classrooms working on coloring worksheets. I was shocked. They couldn't even pretend to be working on something educational, knowing that the Open House was scheduled and that parents would be coming by? So yes, coloring worksheets are apparently still a thing here.

Were there a lot of parents there? Did they acknowledge any of the problems?

Hello! Let's see...I think there were about 7-8 families there. Did they address any of the problems? Ehhhh. I'll be honest, I wasn't aware of all of the problems going into the open house (but boy did I get up to speed afterward! Thank you, DCUM, for existing.). However, one astute dad there must have been familiar with a lot of it, because he asked some great, on-point questions that were relevant to a lot of the issues (as I later learned), and I think his questions must have been intended to suss out whether things were getting addressed now. (Trying to think of an example, and am blanking at the moment. Will follow up if I recall any. Sorry, we've been doing so many open houses lately that I've forgotten some of details.)

I can say, on one of the issues--heat--that the school had installed electric plug-in overhead heaters above some of the doorways to the rooms on the main level. They look like those heaters you see on restaurant patios. I was actually really surprised to see them inside a building--it seemed unsafe, since they get so hot!--but apparently there are models you can get intended for indoor and outdoor use.

Hello again. Just thought of one of the questions the other parent asked: he inquired about the retention rate (/why the school was able to clear its waitlist). The answer he got was basically, "well, we're not really sure why people left." Again, I didn't know about all of the school's problems going into the open house, so I wasn't super-focused on the response, but I can say now that it seems they were playing dumb with him.

[Anonymous]

The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

What a fine husband he must be!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

A new principal started there this week, or this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

I know exactly what he means! She was very engaging at the open house I went to last year -so much so that I thought maybe she wasn't all bad - but when I stopped by the office afterwards to ask the front desk a question, she walked in and her entire demeanor changed. Hard to explain, but her energy shifted and she was just cold and dismissive. Looked right past me like she didn't just see me 10 minutes earlier. Clearly the person she presented to prospective parents is not who she really is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

I know exactly what he means! She was very engaging at the open house I went to last year -so much so that I thought maybe she wasn't all bad - but when I stopped by the office afterwards to ask the front desk a question, she walked in and her entire demeanor changed. Hard to explain, but her energy shifted and she was just cold and dismissive. Looked right past me like she didn't just see me 10 minutes earlier. Clearly the person she presented to prospective parents is not who she really is.

That’s ....frightening. What a nut job. Why is it so hard to oust her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

A new principal started there this week, or this year?

This week/year as in 2020. The previous principal did not return after winter break I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

I know exactly what he means! She was very engaging at the open house I went to last year -so much so that I thought maybe she wasn't all bad - but when I stopped by the office afterwards to ask the front desk a question, she walked in and her entire demeanor changed. Hard to explain, but her energy shifted and she was just cold and dismissive. Looked right past me like she didn't just see me 10 minutes earlier. Clearly the person she presented to prospective parents is not who she really is.

That’s ....frightening. What a nut job. Why is it so hard to oust her?

She filled the Shining Stars Board with her friends. They're the only ones who can remove her. We tried to appeal to them a couple years back to remove Dr. R and they threatened to dissolve the Community Association in response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The dad asking the good questions is my husband . I prepared him beforehand with a list of questions. He mentioned that the principal is very new, and they weren’t really given a reason as to why the previous one left/was let go. He could tell there was something off about Dr. R, but couldn’t find a way to explain what exactly it was. He also was not impressed with the answers he was given, but he said it also could have been because the principal just started working there this week. That being said, he was pleased with what he saw in the classrooms. He went to the OH to determine if we should risk putting SSMA at the bottom of our list, and his overall feeling was that in terms of a last resort, it wasn’t that bad.

Hello! I’m the PP who attended the OH. You did a great job prepping your husband! I was actually just thinking about Ms. Rodriguez’s demeanor at the OH, too, and I also felt something was off about her. The word that just came to mind was “avoidant,” like she wouldn’t make eye contact with me while I was standing right next to her. I don’t know what to make of that. My impression of the school after the OH and before I learned about all of its recent problems was actually pretty positive, but after learning of other families’ experiences with Ms. R.’s poor leadership, we won’t even be putting this school on our list. Our IB school has far better leadership than this one.

[Anonymous]

Kudos to your husband for being willing to ask tough questions in public!