If Fenty Loses ...

[Anonymous]

How much disruption can we expect at the school level?
I'm thinking Walls and Wilson.
We're in private now, considering a return to DCPS.
I realize this is premature and speculative ...
Personally I was thinking I might vote for Fenty (very reluctantly) but I just saw Harry Jaffe's article (thanks Jeff for posting) and am so damn sick of this madness.
They are missing the forest for the trees.

[Anonymous]

Tell you Councilmembers what you want to see at your local schools. And tell Vince Gray.

[Anonymous]

I think the Fenty is the better option. Ward 6 schools elementary schools have come SO FAR under Fenty/Rhee. It's hard to know exactly how or why.

[Anonymous]

Ward 6 schools have come along because so many people are underwater in their Capitol Hill Row Houses.

Alan Lew definitely deserves credit for repairs on certain buildings too.

Rhee is definitely bending over backwards for Capitol Hill parents. As a resident of Ward 6 who sends my child to a school off the Hill, it's shocking to see how she snubs parents at Title I schools, while catering to affluent parents.

What's sad is, she can't count on the children of these highly-educated and affluent parents to bring up her test scores. This baby boomlet will still take years before these children dominate the grades tested by the DC-CAS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ward 6 schools have come along because so many people are underwater in their Capitol Hill Row Houses.

Alan Lew definitely deserves credit for repairs on certain buildings too.

Rhee is definitely bending over backwards for Capitol Hill parents. As a resident of Ward 6 who sends my child to a school off the Hill, it's shocking to see how she snubs parents at Title I schools, while catering to affluent parents.

What's sad is, she can't count on the children of these highly-educated and affluent parents to bring up her test scores. This baby boomlet will still take years before these children dominate the grades tested by the DC-CAS.

Not a DC parent but ... I can uderstand why she "snubs" those parents. She has to go after those parents who are going to be involved in their kids education - not just when there a problem but all year round. Sad to say that economics and education level DO effect parents and how much they choose to get involved in their child's education and learning.

[Anonymous]

I plan on voting for Gray because my children are among the 39% of public school students educated in charter schools, which Fenty routinely disrupts our lives with arbitrary and illegal budget cuts, or ignores us as in the DC-CAS press release where our children's scores weren't mentioned (substantially higher in secondary schools, about the same in elementary). Gray does not ignore charters.

If Rhee leaves, some of the schools that I am aware of will breath a sigh of relief. The principal in my in boundary elementary school has been very careful to slowly Rhee-form, and not upset or draw attention. Although she is a Rhee appointee, she has seen colleagues dismissed for no apparent reason. She is making a positive change in the school. I think the change in that school will continue, and the new trajectory established by Rhee, but not necessarily nurtured by her, will continue.

I also think the schools will improve because whoever comes next won't be as relentless in the test, test prep, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I plan on voting for Gray because my children are among the 39% of public school students educated in charter schools, which Fenty routinely disrupts our lives with arbitrary and illegal budget cuts, or ignores us as in the DC-CAS press release where our children's scores weren't mentioned (substantially higher in secondary schools, about the same in elementary). Gray does not ignore charters.

If Rhee leaves, some of the schools that I am aware of will breath a sigh of relief. The principal in my in boundary elementary school has been very careful to slowly Rhee-form, and not upset or draw attention. Although she is a Rhee appointee, she has seen colleagues dismissed for no apparent reason. She is making a positive change in the school. I think the change in that school will continue, and the new trajectory established by Rhee, but not necessarily nurtured by her, will continue.

I also think the schools will improve because whoever comes next won't be as relentless in the test, test prep, etc.

maybe i don't understand things very well, but it seems that the charter schools are scoring just as well or better than the DCPS WITHOUT the insane test prep. does this mean that charters are just taking care of business in the course of every day education? or that the test prep doesn't really help all that much? or something else....

[Anonymous]

Ward 6 schools have come along because so many people are underwater in their Capitol Hill Row Houses.

This is just silly, none of my neighbors who bought in the last 5 years and sold in the last couple of years have had any problem selling for a profit. Cap Hill's been rock solid.

The reason Rhee is bending over backwards to accomodate Capitol Hill parents is that several of the elementary schools there have the greatest chance of becominig the next "marquee" schools in DCPS.

The only way to improve DCPS is to slowly expand the number of truly good elementary schools, rather than trying to raise every single one in the system equally.

Sad, but true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ward 6 schools have come along because so many people are underwater in their Capitol Hill Row Houses.

This is just silly, none of my neighbors who bought in the last 5 years and sold in the last couple of years have had any problem selling for a profit. Cap Hill's been rock solid.

The reason Rhee is bending over backwards to accomodate Capitol Hill parents is that several of the elementary schools there have the greatest chance of becominig the next "marquee" schools in DCPS.

The only way to improve DCPS is to slowly expand the number of truly good elementary schools, rather than trying to raise every single one in the system equally.

Sad, but true.

Exactly. The "new HD Cooke!!" is a silk purse from a sow's ear. Brent & Maury could become the next Murch or Janney, that's what she's hoping for. You hit the nail on the head, PP.

[Anonymous]

Oh sure, forget about the failing schools in Wards 1, 7 & 8. Who cares about "those" kids?. Just forcus on expanding the truly good elementary schols! How ignorant are you?!

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but dropping $750K on a 3 bedroom row house in 2007, means that you don't have the ready cash for private and it's not so easy to cut and run to the suburbs. There are a whole crop of parents with three and four year olds on the Hill that have an interest in DCPS who simply would not have, had they paid $180K for their home.

As for "marquee" schools, I guess you mean like upper NW? A school that serves children that aren't on a free or reduced price lunch?

Is it troubling to anyone that Rhee seems to have given up on low-income children? While the parents of these children may not be well represented on DCUM, they do make up the majority of DCPS.

Again, even on the Hill, you've got 3 years before in boundary children dominate Brent's testing grades and even longer at schools like Ludlow-Taylor, Miner and Maury.

[Anonymous]

Certain schools are getting attention because the parents are demanding it. There are so many parents who could care less where their kids go and what type of education they get. They never show up to school or participate. I've only learned this recently but yeah, it's sad and their kids' low performance needs to be blamed on them not curriculum, teachers or central office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it troubling to anyone that Rhee seems to have given up on low-income children? While the parents of these children may not be well represented on DCUM, they do make up the majority of DCPS.

There are two schools serving largely low-income kids near me--HD Cooke and Cleveland ES--that are getting a lot of support and attention and are, by all accounts, doing very well. Like a previous poster said, parent involvement is critical to school improvement. Parents need to demand it and help make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, but dropping $750K on a 3 bedroom row house in 2007, means that you don't have the ready cash for private and it's not so easy to cut and run to the suburbs. There are a whole crop of parents with three and four year olds on the Hill that have an interest in DCPS who simply would not have, had they paid $180K for their home.

As for "marquee" schools, I guess you mean like upper NW? A school that serves children that aren't on a free or reduced price lunch?

Is it troubling to anyone that Rhee seems to have given up on low-income children? While the parents of these children may not be well represented on DCUM, they do make up the majority of DCPS.

Again, even on the Hill, you've got 3 years before in boundary children dominate Brent's testing grades and even longer at schools like Ludlow-Taylor, Miner and Maury.

Of course it is troubling. It has always been troubling. (By the way, I hope you saw "The Lottery"). What is particularly disturbing here is that Rhee has been packaged and sold all along as someone who is completely invested in poorest and least connected of students. She is supposed to be their champion. So, the irony (and hypocrisy) of this political approach is here has a very special stench to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Certain schools are getting attention because the parents are demanding it. There are so many parents who could care less where their kids go and what type of education they get. They never show up to school or participate. I've only learned this recently but yeah, it's sad and their kids' low performance needs to be blamed on them not curriculum, teachers or central office.

I care very much about the education of my child. How dare you assume that parents care less for their children because the parents do not have silk purses. I would never send my child to the neighborhood school, as it is one of the schools that is often overlooked by Rhee et al and her groupies on DCUM. I send my child to a charter school. I am sure that my child is receiving as good an education or better than the education your child has received at his/her marquee school on the hill or JKLMM.