New free shuttle service for students in Wards 7 & 8
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Anonymous
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This sounds promising. Hopefully, it can be expanded to drop off students EOTR to schools in other wards.
https://www.dcschoolconnect.com/ |
Anonymous
| Wonder if they'll run a shuttle to MacArthur high school. |
Anonymous
Question - is this supporting public schools, or not supporting public schools? Like, if you say the above are you infavor or charters and voucher access as well? Just curious, though I think overall any trasnportation linking wards is a good. |
Anonymous
It's responding to the reality of how many students are attending schools that aren't walkable. It makes accessing OOB and charter schools somewhat more equitable. |
Anonymous
Charter schools are public schools. Why would the city not support them? |
Anonymous
| because they aren't white kids going to Deal or Wilson from across Rock Creek Park! |
Anonymous
| I feel conflicted about this. I guess it boils down to whether you think school choice is good or whether it hurt neighborhood schools. The easier it is to go to a "better" school across town the less incentive their is to invest in your community. I know I wouldn't send my kids to many of the schools in Wards 7 & 8 so I don't blame those families for looking for other options. But how will those schools improve and attract more families if everyone bails. Its complicated. |
Anonymous
It's supporting students, especially those whose other option is public transportation that can be unsafe. There are certain bus routes and stops in this city that aren't the safest, especially if you're sending a third grader or younger on them. Charters in DC are public schools, but if you look at the routes supported, it includes DCPS as well. |
Anonymous
The only reason I'm still in DC is becauses of the lottery. If I hadn't "won," I'd have moved to the suburbs. Now I stay and continue to pay taxes, instead of just taking the free PK and running. |
Anonymous
There is a bus that transports DODDs from JBAB in Ward 8 to Hyde-Addison in Georgetown. DCPS could do a similar thing for other W7/8 students for both MacArthur HS and Foxhall ES. |
Anonymous
| School choice enables gentrification, whatever ones views on gentrification might be. |
Anonymous
It also makes for a lot of extra traffic in the city. |
Anonymous
So it's ok for middle class WOTR families who can easily get to lots of good charters to attend them, but not ok for EOTR families? They are forced to 'invest in their community" (which, btw, doesn't happen. People who have no choice will attend the crappy schools, people who do will move or private.) |
Anonymous
Then invest in a better metro and bus system. |
Anonymous
I think it hurts neighborhood schools but I also think that on this topic the horses are gone and the barn door is closed in DC. So if neighborhood schools are bad, and made worse by the charter system that's been in place for a decade+, I don't begrudge parents working as hard as they can within the system to get their kids the best education available to them. If I could turn back time I wouldn't have done the charter thing but I can't. There's a lady who drives 40 minutes to bring her sons to play at my neighborhood playground on the weekends, because there are always drug dealers and gang members at her neighborhood playground and she doesn't want any of her kids in danger and her older kids having that normalized/being recruited. Do I wish her neighborhood playground was safe and accessible and fun for her kids? Yes. But I don't begrudge her coming to ours; I think she's an amazing mom and I wish she didn't have to go to the trouble. |