Why is Murch accepting so many OOB students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember two years ago when DCPS did the language push on schools? The Murch principal asked parents and the Deal principal what was most useful for the kids as a special, language or geography? Geography it was which is now in the rotation with music, art, library and gym on the specials schedule.

Murch also has an outstanding full-immersion five-day a week after school program (CLS) in three languages -- Spanish, Italian, and French. It is an ideal option for bilingual students (there are special sections for native speakers) and families interested in full immersion for fluency and comprehension.

Just to be precise, the language school is independent of Murch and next door in the church, but very well integrated into the after school procedures of Murch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OOB system seems broken.

Don't necessarily agree - but wonder how things may change once the at-risk set aside places are fully implemented.

It is broken. Either DCPS needs to decide it truly wants to be a neighborhood based school system -- a concept that It seems to pay lip service to -- or admit that it is a helter-skelter city-wide arrangement.

[Anonymous]

what is the limit in class size in dcps?

[Anonymous]

OP, before we got to Murch, I shared your concerns, but after being there, so far, I don't see them. Some previous posters explained the class size dynamic, and the fact that enrollment did not meet projections. I would much rather have a smaller class size with some OOB kids than have a large class, like those at Janney. A fair amount of research says that reducing class size is the single most important thing you can do to improve outcomes.

At, and least in our class, the OOB kids are very similar to the rest of the class: one from Crestwood, and one from somewhere around Glover Park. Smart, well-behaved, lovely kids. I'm fine with some OOB if it is done to keep classes small, even if the school overall is large. The school seems to have plenty of community -- so much so that as a working mom, I really can't keep up with it all. If I actually went to all the school events (as I would in theory like to do), I don't know how I could avoid being part of the community. Already, I have had plenty of interaction with the parents and kids in my son's class -- as I do try to make it to almost all of the class events -- which are also very numerous.

But Murch does badly need a new, larger, modern building -- and I am glad it looks like it is still on track to get it. And if the issue with OOB becomes not rounding up small classes, but making large classes, I would be very opposed.

[Anonymous]

Oh - and I do worry about the at-risk change. That could have substantial potential to change the classroom dynamics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what is the limit in class size in dcps?

The goal is listed the WTU contract, but the list of exceptions is long and covers everything. But generally,

Maximum Size
Pre-Kindergarten Without an Aide
15
Pre-Kindergarten With an Aide
20
Kindergarten Through Grade 2
20
Grades 3 Through 12
25
Remedial Classes
12
Career and Technology Education
18

There are also limits for specialized classes.

The other limit is the fire code, which will vary based on the size of the particular classroom and the building it is in.