Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One pp said that OOB is not the problem. It is a problem at Deal. I don't know the figures, but if all OOB at deal returned to their middle school, would it mean Deal is still at capacity? How abt Wilson?

Janney needs a solution and unfortunately it means a boundary shift plus eliminating OOB at all grades

Your OOB argument vis a vis Janney only makes sense if there are so many OOB kids in the current 3rd grade that eliminating them would reduce all of the classes to 25. Are there really 25+ OOB students in 3rd grade at Janney? I doubt that is the case, so even if you could lawfully remove all the OOB kids in the grade, it wouldn't help. Creating one more physical classroom out of existing space is the solution (e.g., you might convert a dedicated science room to a regular classroom and have science in the regular classroom like most schools do).

[Anonymous]

It's ultimately a boundary issue. Don't forget about the proposal to award 10 percent of lottery seats to at risk kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One pp said that OOB is not the problem. It is a problem at Deal. I don't know the figures, but if all OOB at deal returned to their middle school, would it mean Deal is still at capacity? How abt Wilson?

Janney needs a solution and unfortunately it means a boundary shift plus eliminating OOB at all grades

Your OOB argument vis a vis Janney only makes sense if there are so many OOB kids in the current 3rd grade that eliminating them would reduce all of the classes to 25. Are there really 25+ OOB students in 3rd grade at Janney? I doubt that is the case, so even if you could lawfully remove all the OOB kids in the grade, it wouldn't help. Creating one more physical classroom out of existing space is the solution (e.g., you might convert a dedicated science room to a regular classroom and have science in the regular classroom like most schools do).

Forget OOB students, there are "OOD" students at Deal and Wilson. That is, students who really live outside Washington, DC but use a fake DC address. They tend to come to Deal and Wilson from feeder schools where their parents have successfully burrowed them in. Some estimates are between 5 and 10% of of Deal and Wilson students are not Washington, DC residents. This is shameful.

[Anonymous]

PP, that is another topic which deserves a new thread if you want to start one, but this is focused on overcrowded elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

DC should have an outside auditor verify residency, that would be the best bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if some Janney children were moved to Mann it would relieve overcrowding, both at Janney but also at Deal. But it would make Mann overcrowded and make Janney parents upset after 5th grade. Still something to consider on the margin.

In the end this is all going to be steps on the margin. Lose a few PK4 classes; tolerate larger class sizes; reduce the boundary some, moving kids to Mann and Hearst; take fewer OOB children; and sadly, likely just make the school less attractive so families will not move in. Wish them well.

I can't for the life me figure out why Hearst hasn't attracted more NW bound families. Good school with great feed and reasonable size. They might be less IB centric, but they're doing well with the kids who attend.

Do you know anyone at the school? This has changed dramatically. If they adjusted the boundaries a little bit, it would be fully IB in lower grades pretty quick. Even the PoP moved directly into boundary planning to attend. With the new physical plant the school has changed a lot. Come to the Hearst playground and you will meet many families there!

This issue is the political pushback in DC that would likely result from OOB enrollment at Hearst being squeezed down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, that is another topic which deserves a new thread if you want to start one, but this is focused on overcrowded elementary schools.

At least Janney acted aggressively when they caught some residency cheaters last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if some Janney children were moved to Mann it would relieve overcrowding, both at Janney but also at Deal. But it would make Mann overcrowded and make Janney parents upset after 5th grade. Still something to consider on the margin.

In the end this is all going to be steps on the margin. Lose a few PK4 classes; tolerate larger class sizes; reduce the boundary some, moving kids to Mann and Hearst; take fewer OOB children; and sadly, likely just make the school less attractive so families will not move in. Wish them well.

I can't for the life me figure out why Hearst hasn't attracted more NW bound families. Good school with great feed and reasonable size. They might be less IB centric, but they're doing well with the kids who attend.

Do you know anyone at the school? This has changed dramatically. If they adjusted the boundaries a little bit, it would be fully IB in lower grades pretty quick. Even the PoP moved directly into boundary planning to attend. With the new physical plant the school has changed a lot. Come to the Hearst playground and you will meet many families there!

This issue is the political pushback in DC that would likely result from OOB enrollment at Hearst being squeezed down.

NP here. I don't understand this. If OOB spots are dependent upon space available after IB kids enroll, how can there be political pushback? What can politicians do if an entire entering class is filled with IB kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if some Janney children were moved to Mann it would relieve overcrowding, both at Janney but also at Deal. But it would make Mann overcrowded and make Janney parents upset after 5th grade. Still something to consider on the margin.

In the end this is all going to be steps on the margin. Lose a few PK4 classes; tolerate larger class sizes; reduce the boundary some, moving kids to Mann and Hearst; take fewer OOB children; and sadly, likely just make the school less attractive so families will not move in. Wish them well.

I can't for the life me figure out why Hearst hasn't attracted more NW bound families. Good school with great feed and reasonable size. They might be less IB centric, but they're doing well with the kids who attend.

Do you know anyone at the school? This has changed dramatically. If they adjusted the boundaries a little bit, it would be fully IB in lower grades pretty quick. Even the PoP moved directly into boundary planning to attend. With the new physical plant the school has changed a lot. Come to the Hearst playground and you will meet many families there!

This issue is the political pushback in DC that would likely result from OOB enrollment at Hearst being squeezed down.

NP here. I don't understand this. If OOB spots are dependent upon space available after IB kids enroll, how can there be political pushback? What can politicians do if an entire entering class is filled with IB kids?

When upper NW schools like Hearst or Eaton take a lot of OOB students, over time there develop expectations that some substantial number of slots in such schools will be available to students in areas where their elem school options are perceived as lacking. In fact, this has been part of DCPS 'safety valve' strategy. Take a lot of that away, and there will be some very unhappy voters in wards that tend to decide elections for mayor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP here. I don't understand this. If OOB spots are dependent upon space available after IB kids enroll, how can there be political pushback? What can politicians do if an entire entering class is filled with IB kids?

When upper NW schools like Hearst or Eaton take a lot of OOB students, over time there develop expectations that some substantial number of slots in such schools will be available to students in areas where their elem school options are perceived as lacking. In fact, this has been part of DCPS 'safety valve' strategy. Take a lot of that away, and there will be some very unhappy voters in wards that tend to decide elections for mayor.

Except that as already pointed out, this has been happening for years at the elementary level. In fact the door is almost completely closed at PK4. Hearst, Shepherd, and maybe Eaton were the only Wilson feeder schools with any OOB intake in PK and even these numbers were small. Hearst was about 75% IB and many of the rest were sibs and proximity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if some Janney children were moved to Mann it would relieve overcrowding, both at Janney but also at Deal. But it would make Mann overcrowded and make Janney parents upset after 5th grade. Still something to consider on the margin.

In the end this is all going to be steps on the margin. Lose a few PK4 classes; tolerate larger class sizes; reduce the boundary some, moving kids to Mann and Hearst; take fewer OOB children; and sadly, likely just make the school less attractive so families will not move in. Wish them well.

I can't for the life me figure out why Hearst hasn't attracted more NW bound families. Good school with great feed and reasonable size. They might be less IB centric, but they're doing well with the kids who attend.

Do you know anyone at the school? This has changed dramatically. If they adjusted the boundaries a little bit, it would be fully IB in lower grades pretty quick. Even the PoP moved directly into boundary planning to attend. With the new physical plant the school has changed a lot. Come to the Hearst playground and you will meet many families there!

This issue is the political pushback in DC that would likely result from OOB enrollment at Hearst being squeezed down.

NP here. I don't understand this. If OOB spots are dependent upon space available after IB kids enroll, how can there be political pushback? What can politicians do if an entire entering class is filled with IB kids?

When upper NW schools like Hearst or Eaton take a lot of OOB students, over time there develop expectations that some substantial number of slots in such schools will be available to students in areas where their elem school options are perceived as lacking. In fact, this has been part of DCPS 'safety valve' strategy. Take a lot of that away, and there will be some very unhappy voters in wards that tend to decide elections for mayor.

I understand. But what can they actually do about it? I'm wondering what kind of pushback there could actually be. They can't stop IB kids from enrolling, so why can't a school say 'sorry, no space this year.'

[Anonymous]

There are about 10 kids in Janney's overcrowded third grade who moved to AU Park for a year to get into Janney and then moved elsewhere in the city. Maybe 1 or 2 who lie about living in AU park but live elsewhere in DC. And 1 who definitely lives in Maryland (but I don't think the school knows).

[Anonymous]

No one should harbor an expectation they will get a spot anywhere OOB. It is a lottery for a reason.

[Anonymous]

They do not want Deal and Wilson to become majority white. It would expose all sorts of issues and cause a host of problems. Continuing to set aside some IB seats - together with the feeder patterns - prevents that from happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, that is another topic which deserves a new thread if you want to start one, but this is focused on overcrowded elementary schools.

At least Janney acted aggressively when they caught some residency cheaters last year.

not according to this thread.