School Choice => School Chance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago no one was going to SWS at Peabody. A group of Capitol Hill families decided to try it. Then each year more kids went. For a while it evolved into a very segregated program (mostly white IB) as compared to the "regular" Peabody program downstairs. Then, more IB families started enrolling downstairs. Now both programs are among the most popular in the city. Was it a leap of faith as one of those early families? Yes. Did it all work out fine for my kids? Yes. We stayed in the cluster the whole way. They are both now at Walls and thriving.

If people of higher SES and educational levels would commit to their neighborhood schools and STAY, they will improve. It takes a critical mass. But it can happen. Look at Brent, Maury, and now hopefully LT. But so many people here don't even set foot in a school before they deem it unworthy.

But your story is only true for Peabody. People still don't go to Watkins and it's been 20 years now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago no one was going to SWS at Peabody. A group of Capitol Hill families decided to try it. Then each year more kids went. For a while it evolved into a very segregated program (mostly white IB) as compared to the "regular" Peabody program downstairs. Then, more IB families started enrolling downstairs. Now both programs are among the most popular in the city. Was it a leap of faith as one of those early families? Yes. Did it all work out fine for my kids? Yes. We stayed in the cluster the whole way. They are both now at Walls and thriving.

If people of higher SES and educational levels would commit to their neighborhood schools and STAY, they will improve. It takes a critical mass. But it can happen. Look at Brent, Maury, and now hopefully LT. But so many people here don't even set foot in a school before they deem it unworthy.

You missed the part where DC took SWS from the Hill and made it a citywide school. Because the city loves to piss on Ward 6.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago no one was going to SWS at Peabody. A group of Capitol Hill families decided to try it. Then each year more kids went. For a while it evolved into a very segregated program (mostly white IB) as compared to the "regular" Peabody program downstairs. Then, more IB families started enrolling downstairs. Now both programs are among the most popular in the city. Was it a leap of faith as one of those early families? Yes. Did it all work out fine for my kids? Yes. We stayed in the cluster the whole way. They are both now at Walls and thriving.

If people of higher SES and educational levels would commit to their neighborhood schools and STAY, they will improve. It takes a critical mass. But it can happen. Look at Brent, Maury, and now hopefully LT. But so many people here don't even set foot in a school before they deem it unworthy.

I'm always amused by upper income mostly white families that seem to believe that all it takes is to select a struggling, low-income school and "stay" and that the school magically transforms. Unfortunately it is just not that simple and it's pretty insulting to the really hard work of strong school leaders and teachers and also extremely insulting to the many families in the school that are there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago no one was going to SWS at Peabody. A group of Capitol Hill families decided to try it. Then each year more kids went. For a while it evolved into a very segregated program (mostly white IB) as compared to the "regular" Peabody program downstairs. Then, more IB families started enrolling downstairs. Now both programs are among the most popular in the city. Was it a leap of faith as one of those early families? Yes. Did it all work out fine for my kids? Yes. We stayed in the cluster the whole way. They are both now at Walls and thriving.

If people of higher SES and educational levels would commit to their neighborhood schools and STAY, they will improve. It takes a critical mass. But it can happen. Look at Brent, Maury, and now hopefully LT. But so many people here don't even set foot in a school before they deem it unworthy.

I'm always amused by upper income mostly white families that seem to believe that all it takes is to select a struggling, low-income school and "stay" and that the school magically transforms. Unfortunately it is just not that simple and it's pretty insulting to the really hard work of strong school leaders and teachers and also extremely insulting to the many families in the school that are there.

I'm asking honestly, no snark intended. It seems that those schools that have improved the most in the shortest amount of time are in fact those where committed, likely higher SES-mix families have decided to pursue through a certain grade en masse. They work together to get $$ to the PTA, supplement and are very vocal when there are opportunities to advocate with DCPS. It isn't necessarily white, but a cohort of single-minded families, and those tend to be an IB group who have the time and resources to make the change. I don't know which comes first - improvements in the school or the cohort, but one follows the other pretty rapidly.

[Anonymous]

10:25, very few really believe that as the data indicates absolutely.

They're just trying to guilt others or virtue signal on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20 years ago no one was going to SWS at Peabody. A group of Capitol Hill families decided to try it. Then each year more kids went. For a while it evolved into a very segregated program (mostly white IB) as compared to the "regular" Peabody program downstairs. Then, more IB families started enrolling downstairs. Now both programs are among the most popular in the city. Was it a leap of faith as one of those early families? Yes. Did it all work out fine for my kids? Yes. We stayed in the cluster the whole way. They are both now at Walls and thriving.

If people of higher SES and educational levels would commit to their neighborhood schools and STAY, they will improve. It takes a critical mass. But it can happen. Look at Brent, Maury, and now hopefully LT. But so many people here don't even set foot in a school before they deem it unworthy.

You missed the part where DC took SWS from the Hill and made it a citywide school. Because the city loves to piss on Ward 6.

And they also expanded the boundaries for Maury when the school is already overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The "but I pay taxes!" argument would be more compelling if your taxes only paid for education.

At this point, I'm wondering what my taxes actually DO pay for because the city services are less than ideal. But that's for another thread!

They pay for, among other things, great and improved care for the homeless. Ask the Mayor.

They also pay for hundred-million renovations of failing schools. Ask the Mayor (and previous ones)

And sweetheart deals for your contracting or consulting company, if you gave enough money to Bowser's campaign. There also may be a sweet, highly-paid, do-nothing-to-very-little DC job for you, if you gave enough to The Bowse.

If you guys think that DC is bad, you'd last 10 seconds in CA. Per student school expenditures half the size of DC, rotten test scores, crumbling roads, poor public transit, lines at the DMV that go out the door. The low tax states in the South have even worse outcomes. You get what you pay for.

Nope, the point is that we don't get what we pay for.

Yes, you do. Lower tax jurisdictions have much worse services. Plenty of places like NY and NJ have much higher taxes than DC (2.5% property taxes in NJ), and they don't get free prek for two years.

See, you are contradicting yourself.

BTW, I don't care about other cities, I care about DC. And, as previous PP said, we do NOT get what we pay.

What exactly do you think you're supposed to be getting for your money? PK3 and PK4 at the school of your choice isn't guaranteed. High quality neighborhood schools isn't guaranteed either. I think that money could be used better as well, but the "I pay taxes so I deserve to not be disappointed on Lottery Day" argument smacks of entitlement to me.

Not rocket science, really. I want the real money to go to the good schools, so they can build up capacity to benefit more kids.

Instead, the real money now is being wasted on empty monuments to cronyism and political machinations.

Do you live in boundary for the good schools? If so, good news. Your kid can go there for kindergarten. If not, why are you entitled to a seat in someone else's school?

Someone else's school - LOL. They're all DC schools, lady.

That's fine. But good luck telling all those JKLM parents that they no longer have IB preference. Dimwit.

[Anonymous]

I am a pk3 parent that 'struck out'. And I don't even have sympathy for myself. Once I hit K- my choice is IB or move. We will move. However lumping a failed educational system
For a lack of free preschool (daycare) is a non starter for me.
It's non compulsory education.