New school(s) in Ward 3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

As a prior poster correctly noted: just like Wilson, a HS ought to have a sufficient amount of "whiteness," but not too much. No one knows really what the optimum amount of whiteness is, but DCPS has made clear that whiteness is a key consideration for them. This is all assuming that the HS is going to be located somewhere "West" in the city. We are only having this discussion to begin with because the other "Western" local HS is horribly overcrowded. There is no need to discuss a new HS in the middle of the city because none of the HSs in the middle or in the east of the city are in any way overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

As a prior poster correctly noted: just like Wilson, a HS ought to have a sufficient amount of "whiteness," but not too much. No one knows really what the optimum amount of whiteness is, but DCPS has made clear that whiteness is a key consideration for them. This is all assuming that the HS is going to be located somewhere "West" in the city. We are only having this discussion to begin with because the other "Western" local HS is horribly overcrowded. There is no need to discuss a new HS in the middle of the city because none of the HSs in the middle or in the east of the city are in any way overcrowded.

The problem is that white/asian public HS students in DC are a rare quantity. Their parents have the ability to vote with their fee, their wallets, or their time (i.e. moving to MoCo, paying for privates, navigating the charter system). DCPS wants these students around since they clearly improve the scores, ratings, and outcomes of both the schools, but also may have positive externalities on others.

But this is where we get to the crux of everything, if you have too few of them, the externalities are fleeting; due to the aforementioned ability of the white/asian parents. You do not want to be the only asian/white student. (See Eastern HS) DCPS is trying to figure out how to bus other students in without scaring off too many. But the tricky part is they can't bus in too many. It is a balancing game, nobody know how it will work out.

By putting new schools deep in Ward 3; I think DCPS thinks the only minority students who are willing to make the trek out are the ones with the most committed parents. This means, AA/Hispanic middle class families with involved parents. These students will add diversity, and not cause negative externalities. This may end up make schools look 'diverse' in a politically convenient way.

But what about the students, without involved parents or transportation options in Wards 7/8? Basically, DCPS has determined to reinforce the long-term decline of those schools.

Ward 3 for whites/asians and AA/hispanics with resources (with some charters/magnets for the lucky ones); and a failed school system for the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

As a prior poster correctly noted: just like Wilson, a HS ought to have a sufficient amount of "whiteness," but not too much. No one knows really what the optimum amount of whiteness is, but DCPS has made clear that whiteness is a key consideration for them. This is all assuming that the HS is going to be located somewhere "West" in the city. We are only having this discussion to begin with because the other "Western" local HS is horribly overcrowded. There is no need to discuss a new HS in the middle of the city because none of the HSs in the middle or in the east of the city are in any way overcrowded.

The problem is that white/asian public HS students in DC are a rare quantity. Their parents have the ability to vote with their fee, their wallets, or their time (i.e. moving to MoCo, paying for privates, navigating the charter system). DCPS wants these students around since they clearly improve the scores, ratings, and outcomes of both the schools, but also may have positive externalities on others.

But this is where we get to the crux of everything, if you have too few of them, the externalities are fleeting; due to the aforementioned ability of the white/asian parents. You do not want to be the only asian/white student. (See Eastern HS) DCPS is trying to figure out how to bus other students in without scaring off too many. But the tricky part is they can't bus in too many. It is a balancing game, nobody know how it will work out.

By putting new schools deep in Ward 3; I think DCPS thinks the only minority students who are willing to make the trek out are the ones with the most committed parents. This means, AA/Hispanic middle class families with involved parents. These students will add diversity, and not cause negative externalities. This may end up make schools look 'diverse' in a politically convenient way.

But what about the students, without involved parents or transportation options in Wards 7/8? Basically, DCPS has determined to reinforce the long-term decline of those schools.

Ward 3 for whites/asians and AA/hispanics with resources (with some charters/magnets for the lucky ones); and a failed school system for the rest.

I agree, but now you're getting off topic. Of course (I think everyone would agree) the federal governments should be spending literally trillions of dollars on wrap-around services for children of low socio-economic standing, beginning at preschool or before. If you do that, the students might not end up being three or four grade levels behind to begin with; and then there would be less inclination to view higher SES children as commodities to be pushed around the DCPS roulette table. But the main topic of discussion is what DCPS is going to do with that new real estate off MacArthur Boulevard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

As a prior poster correctly noted: just like Wilson, a HS ought to have a sufficient amount of "whiteness," but not too much. No one knows really what the optimum amount of whiteness is, but DCPS has made clear that whiteness is a key consideration for them. This is all assuming that the HS is going to be located somewhere "West" in the city. We are only having this discussion to begin with because the other "Western" local HS is horribly overcrowded. There is no need to discuss a new HS in the middle of the city because none of the HSs in the middle or in the east of the city are in any way overcrowded.

The problem is that white/asian public HS students in DC are a rare quantity. Their parents have the ability to vote with their fee, their wallets, or their time (i.e. moving to MoCo, paying for privates, navigating the charter system). DCPS wants these students around since they clearly improve the scores, ratings, and outcomes of both the schools, but also may have positive externalities on others.

But this is where we get to the crux of everything, if you have too few of them, the externalities are fleeting; due to the aforementioned ability of the white/asian parents. You do not want to be the only asian/white student. (See Eastern HS) DCPS is trying to figure out how to bus other students in without scaring off too many. But the tricky part is they can't bus in too many. It is a balancing game, nobody know how it will work out.

By putting new schools deep in Ward 3; I think DCPS thinks the only minority students who are willing to make the trek out are the ones with the most committed parents. This means, AA/Hispanic middle class families with involved parents. These students will add diversity, and not cause negative externalities. This may end up make schools look 'diverse' in a politically convenient way.

But what about the students, without involved parents or transportation options in Wards 7/8? Basically, DCPS has determined to reinforce the long-term decline of those schools.

Ward 3 for whites/asians and AA/hispanics with resources (with some charters/magnets for the lucky ones); and a failed school system for the rest.

We're talking about HS kids. They can get themselves to and from school via public transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

That's kind of the thinking behind moving Hardy to GDS and putting a hew high school at Hardy. It's not middle of the city but it's closer to the middle than GDS.

[Anonymous]

How on earth can hardy be a high school? It would be very small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How on earth can hardy be a high school? It would be very small.

DCPS is saying around 800 students. DCPS has 11,300 kids in grades 9-12 in 15 schools, an average of 750 per school. So slightly above the DCPS average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

As a prior poster correctly noted: just like Wilson, a HS ought to have a sufficient amount of "whiteness," but not too much. No one knows really what the optimum amount of whiteness is, but DCPS has made clear that whiteness is a key consideration for them. This is all assuming that the HS is going to be located somewhere "West" in the city. We are only having this discussion to begin with because the other "Western" local HS is horribly overcrowded. There is no need to discuss a new HS in the middle of the city because none of the HSs in the middle or in the east of the city are in any way overcrowded.

The problem is that white/asian public HS students in DC are a rare quantity. Their parents have the ability to vote with their fee, their wallets, or their time (i.e. moving to MoCo, paying for privates, navigating the charter system). DCPS wants these students around since they clearly improve the scores, ratings, and outcomes of both the schools, but also may have positive externalities on others.

But this is where we get to the crux of everything, if you have too few of them, the externalities are fleeting; due to the aforementioned ability of the white/asian parents. You do not want to be the only asian/white student. (See Eastern HS) DCPS is trying to figure out how to bus other students in without scaring off too many. But the tricky part is they can't bus in too many. It is a balancing game, nobody know how it will work out.

By putting new schools deep in Ward 3; I think DCPS thinks the only minority students who are willing to make the trek out are the ones with the most committed parents. This means, AA/Hispanic middle class families with involved parents. These students will add diversity, and not cause negative externalities. This may end up make schools look 'diverse' in a politically convenient way.

But what about the students, without involved parents or transportation options in Wards 7/8? Basically, DCPS has determined to reinforce the long-term decline of those schools.

Ward 3 for whites/asians and AA/hispanics with resources (with some charters/magnets for the lucky ones); and a failed school system for the rest.

There is this implicit assumption that no poor or middle-income families can afford to live in Ward 3, but that neglects the fact that there are plenty of moderately priced apartment buildings along MacArthur Blvd.. Some of these apartment buildings are now drawing a substantial number of housing voucher recipients (we know this because their neighbors have been complaining about the anti-social behavior of some of the new residents who have moved in there from homeless situations). So, its feasible that DCPS could be envisaging that more low-income families will move into these buildings once this school is built and that other city agencies may even facilitate this. And they are also working on the assumption that, with the new comp plan, there will be more high-density housing built along MacArthur Blvd. and other thoroughfares in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a Western met only needs of westernmost HS students how many students would it have? If it was for the rest of DC, why not put it in the middle of the city?

As a prior poster correctly noted: just like Wilson, a HS ought to have a sufficient amount of "whiteness," but not too much. No one knows really what the optimum amount of whiteness is, but DCPS has made clear that whiteness is a key consideration for them. This is all assuming that the HS is going to be located somewhere "West" in the city. We are only having this discussion to begin with because the other "Western" local HS is horribly overcrowded. There is no need to discuss a new HS in the middle of the city because none of the HSs in the middle or in the east of the city are in any way overcrowded.

The problem is that white/asian public HS students in DC are a rare quantity. Their parents have the ability to vote with their fee, their wallets, or their time (i.e. moving to MoCo, paying for privates, navigating the charter system). DCPS wants these students around since they clearly improve the scores, ratings, and outcomes of both the schools, but also may have positive externalities on others.

But this is where we get to the crux of everything, if you have too few of them, the externalities are fleeting; due to the aforementioned ability of the white/asian parents. You do not want to be the only asian/white student. (See Eastern HS) DCPS is trying to figure out how to bus other students in without scaring off too many. But the tricky part is they can't bus in too many. It is a balancing game, nobody know how it will work out.

By putting new schools deep in Ward 3; I think DCPS thinks the only minority students who are willing to make the trek out are the ones with the most committed parents. This means, AA/Hispanic middle class families with involved parents. These students will add diversity, and not cause negative externalities. This may end up make schools look 'diverse' in a politically convenient way.


There are many moderately priced apartments along Connecticut Avenue too that houses many families.

But what about the students, without involved parents or transportation options in Wards 7/8? Basically, DCPS has determined to reinforce the long-term decline of those schools.

Ward 3 for whites/asians and AA/hispanics with resources (with some charters/magnets for the lucky ones); and a failed school system for the rest.

There is this implicit assumption that no poor or middle-income families can afford to live in Ward 3, but that neglects the fact that there are plenty of moderately priced apartment buildings along MacArthur Blvd.. Some of these apartment buildings are now drawing a substantial number of housing voucher recipients (we know this because their neighbors have been complaining about the anti-social behavior of some of the new residents who have moved in there from homeless situations). So, its feasible that DCPS could be envisaging that more low-income families will move into these buildings once this school is built and that other city agencies may even facilitate this. And they are also working on the assumption that, with the new comp plan, there will be more high-density housing built along MacArthur Blvd. and other thoroughfares in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

wait who believes that MacArthur apartments with vouchers are going to supply a substantial amount of students to any high school in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wait who believes that MacArthur apartments with vouchers are going to supply a substantial amount of students to any high school in DC?

No. In fact, very many students who attend Upper NW grade schools live in the numerous 2 and 2+ BR apartments that exist all around these neighborhoods. Historically, these students attend deal through to Wilson, and more recently they are staying through Hardy to Wilson, too. There's no reason to question whether this pattern would continue with a new ES/MS/HW track in Ward 2/3 D.C.

There certainly should be MORE affordable housing in these neighborhoods (and many units are rapidly being built as I type), but there is also no loss of inventory for anyone who wants to live there. The root "issue" has always been, with respect to Upper NW schools, that some (by no means many or all) lower-income citizens would simply rather rent a house EOTP than an apartment WOTP. But I have no doubt that "if you build it, they will (continue to) come."

[Anonymous]

Why can't they just build a new elementary school in the Duke Ellington field? That is where most of the stoddert families live

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't they just build a new elementary school in the Duke Ellington field? That is where most of the stoddert families live

That field isn't in Stoddert's boundaries any more, Troll. Clearly you've been having fun trying to trigger people here for a long time. Try again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How on earth can hardy be a high school? It would be very small.

DCPS is saying around 800 students. DCPS has 11,300 kids in grades 9-12 in 15 schools, an average of 750 per school. So slightly above the DCPS average.

But you are forgetting how many middle and HS are vastly underenrolled. Its a waste of money. Turn Brookland Middle into a true test in magnet. that will alleviate a lot of crowding in upper NW

[Anonymous]

It would be incredible - though perhaps unimaginable - if DCPS could have a true test-in magnet STEM. NYC has Stuyvesant and Bronx Science; Virginia has TJ. It could be done with an at-risk preference or special programming to help at risk kids.