Mundo Verde Public Charter: Failing on Its Most Basic Mission

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

Those scores are several years old so whatever. If you control for demographics, MV's scores are not impressive at all.

All scores are several years old. But doubt they will improve with the pandemic learning loss. Langley/ Seaton/ etc might be amazing, but families are still bailing in the upper grades.

Right. Langley and Seaton aren't that great, for sure. Yet MV is such a mess that people get offers from MV and stick with Langley and Seaton. Why? Didn't used to be that way.

I’m the Bruce Monroe poster. In DC’s first grade class, about half of the English dominant kids are out of bounds. We all chose BMPV over MV since both campuses are going all the way through their kindergarten and higher waitlists. And chose BMPV for the Spanish specifically. I don’t know, but I’d guess Powell is similar. There are MV families that are IB for BMPV, but all the families I know of have an older kid that still has the DCI guarantee. And plenty of older siblings to my child’s friends in 3-4th grade. Don’t know any fifth grade siblings, but that could be because they’re at Basis/Latin or just the way it’s worked out.

You are the Bruce Monroe booster. Do you know how many kids are below grade in Bruce Monroe? A lot. Ask me how I know. We left by second grade and most of the families that we knew left too. The people that stay know that they can move at any time if the school doesn’t work for them (and they move by third grade). There are tons of people from Bruce Monroe at charters including MV, DCB, CMI. You got
Your OOB spot because the IB families didn’t want it.

You are the [Mundo Verde] booster. Do you know how many kids are below grade in [Mundo Verde]? A lot. Ask me how I know. We left by second grade and most of the families that we knew left too. The people that stay know that they can move at any time if the school doesn’t work for them (and they move by third grade). There are tons of people from Mundo Verde at [other] charters including [Stokes, DCPS, etc.], DCB, CMI. You got
Your [lottery] spot because [other] families didn’t want it.

The point remains that families are choosing formerly less desirable DCPS schools over MV. If the third and fourth grade families we know can leave at any time, but don’t, that says something. Do with that what you will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our child is in this same class that op is referring to and we have had a night and day different experience. Yes there has been teacher turnover, but I don’t know what the admin can do to address that when teachers are leaving for higher paying dcps jobs or jobs closer to home. This has been an incredibly difficult year for teachers and so while the rate of change has been bad, it seems concentrated in this one class. Our kid is exceeding all academic expectations, and many of the other kids in the class are as well. Reading at 4th and 5th grade level and doing extremely hard math problems. The specials teachers are amazing, and the general environment is wonderful, with caring teachers and admin.

Not to diminish the op’s experience, but the reports of bullying I have heard on the what’s app chats always lack specificity in a way that makes me not understand what is going on. Just that the kids feelings were hurt, or was run into during recess. It raises questions as to whether the parents are confusing bullying with actual children engaging in growing up and playing. We have actually gotten concerned in the other direction, that this culture of fear around being accused of being a bully has forced kids to withdraw and be incredibly careful when they engage with their peers lest any action be misinterpreted. We have been at Calle ocho since the day it opened and have been so appreciative of the opportunities it has presented and the kindness of the staff. I really hope ops experience improves, but frankly it sounds like it won’t and they should consider other options. The idea that they believe that a second grade classroom is so full of bullying that their kid is in need self defense seems frankly misguided and unlikely.

I do not expect you or anyone else to understand what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes. I'm glad your experience is a positive one. But trust, your not knowing more than the "vague" details of what our child has endured, does not make you an expert here. And it doesn't in any way make what she experienced acceptable. Just don't pass what we've experienced with the incessant physically and verbally abusive behavior as overreactive in any way. You should love your child to the best of your abilities, and be thankful your child can roll with the punches. I'm not raising a girl to accept that - because unacceptable, violent behavior should be corrected. It should be corrected by a child's parents and the school in which the child is entrusted daily. What you categorize as misguided (and unlikely?) is ensuring our child has training to defend herself when someone intentionally attempts to inflict pain and belittlement on her, because the abuse was happening multiple times everyday without protection from the adults - who have been too under-resourced to address the situation. You may be a family contented with the cavalier "boys will be boys" attitude of a previous century. We are not.

But the severe behavioral problems were merely the first three months of the year. The rest has been dominated by teacher turnover. And the effects of it can't just be swept under the rug simply because your child is excelling. The truth is that many, many others are not. Parents are enrolling their kids in tutoring because the Lord of the Flies daycare that is the MV because their kids are not thriving in the chaos. I invite you to write your truth. Just don't be so doubtful of what others are going through. Because it is true and it exists in larger numbers than you are giving credit.

To suggest that those who don't share your same point of view are a confused anomaly only makes you seem very short-sighted, uncaring and out of sync with the reality around you.

+1000 That's well said. I stand by my prior post that accused them of straight up victim blaming and suggesting that if it didn't happen to their kid then it didn't happen. And I was labeled a racist for saying so.

(Can't help but notice the woman who thought being against bullying was racist has put her keyboard down now.)

NP: We are at another charter that has similar problems as MV in terms of discipline and administration. It drives me nuts when parents--who are clearly aware of the issues--don't speak up or seem at all concerned about these issues just because the issues are not directly impacting their children. Do you not see the irony that these schools tout that they are all about equity and supposed commitment to social justice but then refuse to address any real challenges? It's ALL performative.

Which charter? I wonder if it is my charter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our child is in this same class that op is referring to and we have had a night and day different experience. Yes there has been teacher turnover, but I don’t know what the admin can do to address that when teachers are leaving for higher paying dcps jobs or jobs closer to home. This has been an incredibly difficult year for teachers and so while the rate of change has been bad, it seems concentrated in this one class. Our kid is exceeding all academic expectations, and many of the other kids in the class are as well. Reading at 4th and 5th grade level and doing extremely hard math problems. The specials teachers are amazing, and the general environment is wonderful, with caring teachers and admin.

Not to diminish the op’s experience, but the reports of bullying I have heard on the what’s app chats always lack specificity in a way that makes me not understand what is going on. Just that the kids feelings were hurt, or was run into during recess. It raises questions as to whether the parents are confusing bullying with actual children engaging in growing up and playing. We have actually gotten concerned in the other direction, that this culture of fear around being accused of being a bully has forced kids to withdraw and be incredibly careful when they engage with their peers lest any action be misinterpreted. We have been at Calle ocho since the day it opened and have been so appreciative of the opportunities it has presented and the kindness of the staff. I really hope ops experience improves, but frankly it sounds like it won’t and they should consider other options. The idea that they believe that a second grade classroom is so full of bullying that their kid is in need self defense seems frankly misguided and unlikely.

I do not expect you or anyone else to understand what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes. I'm glad your experience is a positive one. But trust, your not knowing more than the "vague" details of what our child has endured, does not make you an expert here. And it doesn't in any way make what she experienced acceptable. Just don't pass what we've experienced with the incessant physically and verbally abusive behavior as overreactive in any way. You should love your child to the best of your abilities, and be thankful your child can roll with the punches. I'm not raising a girl to accept that - because unacceptable, violent behavior should be corrected. It should be corrected by a child's parents and the school in which the child is entrusted daily. What you categorize as misguided (and unlikely?) is ensuring our child has training to defend herself when someone intentionally attempts to inflict pain and belittlement on her, because the abuse was happening multiple times everyday without protection from the adults - who have been too under-resourced to address the situation. You may be a family contented with the cavalier "boys will be boys" attitude of a previous century. We are not.

But the severe behavioral problems were merely the first three months of the year. The rest has been dominated by teacher turnover. And the effects of it can't just be swept under the rug simply because your child is excelling. The truth is that many, many others are not. Parents are enrolling their kids in tutoring because the Lord of the Flies daycare that is the MV because their kids are not thriving in the chaos. I invite you to write your truth. Just don't be so doubtful of what others are going through. Because it is true and it exists in larger numbers than you are giving credit.

To suggest that those who don't share your same point of view are a confused anomaly only makes you seem very short-sighted, uncaring and out of sync with the reality around you.

+1000 That's well said. I stand by my prior post that accused them of straight up victim blaming and suggesting that if it didn't happen to their kid then it didn't happen. And I was labeled a racist for saying so.

(Can't help but notice the woman who thought being against bullying was racist has put her keyboard down now.)

NP: We are at another charter that has similar problems as MV in terms of discipline and administration. It drives me nuts when parents--who are clearly aware of the issues--don't speak up or seem at all concerned about these issues just because the issues are not directly impacting their children. Do you not see the irony that these schools tout that they are all about equity and supposed commitment to social justice but then refuse to address any real challenges? It's ALL performative.

Yes indeed. We are also at a different (non-MV) charter. Equity and social justice has been turned on its head to mean that they protect at all costs the feelings of the aggressor at the expense of not only the direct victim, but also the other kids in the class who witness the aggression. The irony is that the schools spend so much time worrying about equity for the aggressor that they ignore the impact of these outbursts on the other students and the rest of the community - as if equity doesn't mean also providing a safe learning environment for those kids as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

Those scores are several years old so whatever. If you control for demographics, MV's scores are not impressive at all.

All scores are several years old. But doubt they will improve with the pandemic learning loss. Langley/ Seaton/ etc might be amazing, but families are still bailing in the upper grades.

Right. Langley and Seaton aren't that great, for sure. Yet MV is such a mess that people get offers from MV and stick with Langley and Seaton. Why? Didn't used to be that way.

I’m the Bruce Monroe poster. In DC’s first grade class, about half of the English dominant kids are out of bounds. We all chose BMPV over MV since both campuses are going all the way through their kindergarten and higher waitlists. And chose BMPV for the Spanish specifically. I don’t know, but I’d guess Powell is similar. There are MV families that are IB for BMPV, but all the families I know of have an older kid that still has the DCI guarantee. And plenty of older siblings to my child’s friends in 3-4th grade. Don’t know any fifth grade siblings, but that could be because they’re at Basis/Latin or just the way it’s worked out.

Are you planning to stay until 5th? As Pp noted many bail after 2nd. Two neighbors did and they note that many other families do as well. We have two former BM teachers teaching at my NOVA dual language school and they say it’s a bit of a mess in the upper grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our child is in this same class that op is referring to and we have had a night and day different experience. Yes there has been teacher turnover, but I don’t know what the admin can do to address that when teachers are leaving for higher paying dcps jobs or jobs closer to home. This has been an incredibly difficult year for teachers and so while the rate of change has been bad, it seems concentrated in this one class. Our kid is exceeding all academic expectations, and many of the other kids in the class are as well. Reading at 4th and 5th grade level and doing extremely hard math problems. The specials teachers are amazing, and the general environment is wonderful, with caring teachers and admin.

Not to diminish the op’s experience, but the reports of bullying I have heard on the what’s app chats always lack specificity in a way that makes me not understand what is going on. Just that the kids feelings were hurt, or was run into during recess. It raises questions as to whether the parents are confusing bullying with actual children engaging in growing up and playing. We have actually gotten concerned in the other direction, that this culture of fear around being accused of being a bully has forced kids to withdraw and be incredibly careful when they engage with their peers lest any action be misinterpreted. We have been at Calle ocho since the day it opened and have been so appreciative of the opportunities it has presented and the kindness of the staff. I really hope ops experience improves, but frankly it sounds like it won’t and they should consider other options. The idea that they believe that a second grade classroom is so full of bullying that their kid is in need self defense seems frankly misguided and unlikely.

I do not expect you or anyone else to understand what it's like to walk in anyone else's shoes. I'm glad your experience is a positive one. But trust, your not knowing more than the "vague" details of what our child has endured, does not make you an expert here. And it doesn't in any way make what she experienced acceptable. Just don't pass what we've experienced with the incessant physically and verbally abusive behavior as overreactive in any way. You should love your child to the best of your abilities, and be thankful your child can roll with the punches. I'm not raising a girl to accept that - because unacceptable, violent behavior should be corrected. It should be corrected by a child's parents and the school in which the child is entrusted daily. What you categorize as misguided (and unlikely?) is ensuring our child has training to defend herself when someone intentionally attempts to inflict pain and belittlement on her, because the abuse was happening multiple times everyday without protection from the adults - who have been too under-resourced to address the situation. You may be a family contented with the cavalier "boys will be boys" attitude of a previous century. We are not.

But the severe behavioral problems were merely the first three months of the year. The rest has been dominated by teacher turnover. And the effects of it can't just be swept under the rug simply because your child is excelling. The truth is that many, many others are not. Parents are enrolling their kids in tutoring because the Lord of the Flies daycare that is the MV because their kids are not thriving in the chaos. I invite you to write your truth. Just don't be so doubtful of what others are going through. Because it is true and it exists in larger numbers than you are giving credit.

To suggest that those who don't share your same point of view are a confused anomaly only makes you seem very short-sighted, uncaring and out of sync with the reality around you.

+1000 That's well said. I stand by my prior post that accused them of straight up victim blaming and suggesting that if it didn't happen to their kid then it didn't happen. And I was labeled a racist for saying so.

(Can't help but notice the woman who thought being against bullying was racist has put her keyboard down now.)

NP: We are at another charter that has similar problems as MV in terms of discipline and administration. It drives me nuts when parents--who are clearly aware of the issues--don't speak up or seem at all concerned about these issues just because the issues are not directly impacting their children. Do you not see the irony that these schools tout that they are all about equity and supposed commitment to social justice but then refuse to address any real challenges? It's ALL performative.

Yes indeed. We are also at a different (non-MV) charter. Equity and social justice has been turned on its head to mean that they protect at all costs the feelings of the aggressor at the expense of not only the direct victim, but also the other kids in the class who witness the aggression. The irony is that the schools spend so much time worrying about equity for the aggressor that they ignore the impact of these outbursts on the other students and the rest of the community - as if equity doesn't mean also providing a safe learning environment for those kids as well.

Word.

It also doesn't help the aggressors to go too easy on them. It creates division among the kids when certain peers are allowed repeated egregious behavior.

[Anonymous]

Have another meeting and you need to bring a lawyer. Seriously that is the only thing schools respond to

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the bullying wasn't just "I hate you; you're ugly" or a shove here and there. It was brutal: kicking, punching, shoving down to the ground, slamming her head into playground equipment and more. And, of course, there was plenty of the "I hate you; you're ugly" garbage. For the first three months of school it was multiple times each day. It's pretty much under control at this point. But that's how our year started. The teacher turnover has been nonstop. The parents have banded together out of necessity, and we never receive responses from the ED or board of directors. It is a clear demonstration of how much disrespect MV' leadership has for parents, again because our children are disposable. Once we leave, someone else will happily jump in to take our kid's place. Really just rotten.


Also, I'm pretty flattered that some of you think I'm a mom (referring to "her"). Must be the result of good writing discipline provided by my good, pre-common core public school education. But I'm a feminist dad with a mission of raising a strong daughter.

"slamming head"-you need to document with photos any bruises, bleeding etc. Is she being taken to the nurse when these things happen? If someone slammed my kids head into equipment and she was injured I would probably let the school know to deal with it or I am callig the police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

Another BM parent with kid in upper grade. I definitely don't think my kid is being challenged as much as she should and we will bail def by 5th grade, but the class size is small, 17 so they are able to give a lot of attention to kids. I was worried about bullying since she is an "only" in the classroom but she has never reported any bullying or violent behavior in the almost 6 years she has been there. I would take a mediocre spot at MV just for the DCI feed though.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

Those scores are several years old so whatever. If you control for demographics, MV's scores are not impressive at all.

All scores are several years old. But doubt they will improve with the pandemic learning loss. Langley/ Seaton/ etc might be amazing, but families are still bailing in the upper grades.

Right. Langley and Seaton aren't that great, for sure. Yet MV is such a mess that people get offers from MV and stick with Langley and Seaton. Why? Didn't used to be that way.

I’m the Bruce Monroe poster. In DC’s first grade class, about half of the English dominant kids are out of bounds. We all chose BMPV over MV since both campuses are going all the way through their kindergarten and higher waitlists. And chose BMPV for the Spanish specifically. I don’t know, but I’d guess Powell is similar. There are MV families that are IB for BMPV, but all the families I know of have an older kid that still has the DCI guarantee. And plenty of older siblings to my child’s friends in 3-4th grade. Don’t know any fifth grade siblings, but that could be because they’re at Basis/Latin or just the way it’s worked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the record, the bullying wasn't just "I hate you; you're ugly" or a shove here and there. It was brutal: kicking, punching, shoving down to the ground, slamming her head into playground equipment and more. And, of course, there was plenty of the "I hate you; you're ugly" garbage. For the first three months of school it was multiple times each day. It's pretty much under control at this point. But that's how our year started. The teacher turnover has been nonstop. The parents have banded together out of necessity, and we never receive responses from the ED or board of directors. It is a clear demonstration of how much disrespect MV' leadership has for parents, again because our children are disposable. Once we leave, someone else will happily jump in to take our kid's place. Really just rotten.


Also, I'm pretty flattered that some of you think I'm a mom (referring to "her"). Must be the result of good writing discipline provided by my good, pre-common core public school education. But I'm a feminist dad with a mission of raising a strong daughter.

"slamming head"-you need to document with photos any bruises, bleeding etc. Is she being taken to the nurse when these things happen? If someone slammed my kids head into equipment and she was injured I would probably let the school know to deal with it or I am callig the police.

I would also involve the police, given this is repeated and "brutal." I wouldn't put my child in the way of this kind of harm repeatedly. If the school isn't doing anything, you need to escalate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are several former families posting here. We spend seven years at MV. My older child went from prek- 5th and we pulled my second child. I know dozens and dozens of parents who tried to solve similar problems, and all left in frustration. These are families who joined the school in the first or second year if its existence with nothing but enthusiasm and hope. And families who joined a few years later, hoping for the best. All tried to change things when they saw problems arise. They had senior roles in the Padres parent organization, They tried to stop expansion. They supported the forming of the union. They volunteered in the classrooms.

The administration shuts down dissent and is secretive about what's going on. And then they craft some spin-doctored talking points that don't address any of the concerns families raise. It is not a situation that can be changed, unless the senior administration is replaced.

I know two families who pulled kids mid-year this year because things were untenable.

Leave now or leave later.

Not at MV but according to the retention data they aren’t bleeding students.

Which sort of speaks to how bad the alternatives are.

I posted previously about similar dynamics at my kids' charter, and this is true. A bad day at one of these better-regarded charters is still better than a good day at my inbound.

Same! Everyone leaves my IB between first and third grade. In addition, we have 0% chance at DCI if we stayed at our IB.

Well, for the kids who are in upper elementary now, MV really was a better option several years ago. Nowadays I guess it just depends what you're willing to tolerate in exchange for Spanish and the unspecified probability of DCI. But the way MV burns through its K and older waitlists, any family with a kid at Langley, Seaton, or Garrison past preschool has effectively chosen that over MV. And those schools have full or near-full K classes. This was not the case 5 years ago. And it's part of why MV's star has dimmed.

Laugh all you want, the numbers are there. People are choosing Langley over MV in K, 1st, 2nd. LANGLEY.

But they aren't staying in 3-5. Langley's PARRC scores are pretty terrible.

Those scores are several years old so whatever. If you control for demographics, MV's scores are not impressive at all.

All scores are several years old. But doubt they will improve with the pandemic learning loss. Langley/ Seaton/ etc might be amazing, but families are still bailing in the upper grades.

Right. Langley and Seaton aren't that great, for sure. Yet MV is such a mess that people get offers from MV and stick with Langley and Seaton. Why? Didn't used to be that way.

I’m the Bruce Monroe poster. In DC’s first grade class, about half of the English dominant kids are out of bounds. We all chose BMPV over MV since both campuses are going all the way through their kindergarten and higher waitlists. And chose BMPV for the Spanish specifically. I don’t know, but I’d guess Powell is similar. There are MV families that are IB for BMPV, but all the families I know of have an older kid that still has the DCI guarantee. And plenty of older siblings to my child’s friends in 3-4th grade. Don’t know any fifth grade siblings, but that could be because they’re at Basis/Latin or just the way it’s worked out.

Are you planning to stay until 5th? As Pp noted many bail after 2nd. Two neighbors did and they note that many other families do as well. We have two former BM teachers teaching at my NOVA dual language school and they say it’s a bit of a mess in the upper grades.

That's changing. The school is gentrifying rapidly and I know many third grade families, and some fourth grade families, that are not planning on leaving. Because fifth grade is an entry year for the two big lottery middle schools (Basis and Latin), my guess is that I'll see a bunch of older siblings peel off after fourth, and the younger siblings stay at BMPV until they matriculate in their older sibling's middle school. I know no families (out of dozens) that have safety or classroom management concerns, and some that are meh on the academics in upper grades. But I also know charter families that are meh on upper grade academics, and I really don't see much difference between what the third graders at BMPV or DCB/MV/etc. are doing on a daily basis. If I did, then I would have chosen one of those schools. My thinking is that unless we're willing to move or pay private, we need to accept that our school choices will involve supplementing and accepting that a diverse, stable school in DC comes with trade offs. Like many other families, we'll probably need to switch schools in fifth grade for middle school. Either a Deal/Hardy feeder, or somewhere like Basis or Latin. That's not necessarily a reflection of the elementary school, though it does cause instability in those grades (across the District, not just at BMPV).

As I'm sure you know from working with them, the teachers at BMPV are generally strong and experienced. They're also burnt out by DCPS central office and I can't blame anyone for moving to a suburban school district for that reason. People also like to talk down old employers, but take that with a grain of salt. You're only talking to the teachers that found DCPS so intolerable that they took a pay cut to leave. Not saying they're wrong to do so, but I am saying that I'm not seeing or hearing about the impact on classroom management and student safety that is being described in this thread.

[Anonymous]

OP, what you describe is so alarming, traumatic for your daughter, and a dereliction of duty from MV on their basic duty to keep their students safe. Clearly the teachers are in over their heads and don't have institutional support. Disregard anyone on DCUM who argues otherwise.

I think you need to escalate this above the school administration. Maybe your daughter is safe now but I don't feel any assurance that other kids are uniformly safe. The charter board, your city councilmember (we brought a DCPS facilities issue to the attention of our councilmember and they fixed it almost immediately), the press, a personal lawyer. Don't try to litigate it on DCUM or directly with the school -- clearly that isn't working. time to escalate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what you describe is so alarming, traumatic for your daughter, and a dereliction of duty from MV on their basic duty to keep their students safe. Clearly the teachers are in over their heads and don't have institutional support. Disregard anyone on DCUM who argues otherwise.

I think you need to escalate this above the school administration. Maybe your daughter is safe now but I don't feel any assurance that other kids are uniformly safe. The charter board, your city councilmember (we brought a DCPS facilities issue to the attention of our councilmember and they fixed it almost immediately), the press, a personal lawyer. Don't try to litigate it on DCUM or directly with the school -- clearly that isn't working. time to escalate.

I would add doing a power analysis of the board. How might you persuade each member?

[Anonymous]

Who is on your Board? Our charters board is full of, frankly, boot lickers of the administration, people who think a Board will pad their thin resume, intellectual lightweights. Honestly I would not waste my time. hire a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Would you put your kids in Mundo Verde knowing you will only live in DC until the end of first grade? How stable have the prek to 1 teachers been? Are these classroom management issues and bullying present at those young ages?

[Anonymous]

You must be new here.

Expat?

Pay for private.