Kaya Leaving; John Davis in as interim

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe.

I have a simple question for Davis that Catania couldn't or wouldn't answer for me at a meet and greet when he was on the stump. Why could my math gifted kid take algebra as early as 5th grade at BASIS (with a teacher, vs. software) if we crack the lottery, but would have to wait until 8th grade to take it at any one of the three DCPS Ward 6 middle schools? For that matter, why could he take advanced Chinese, Spanish or French during the school day at Deal, but only introductory Spanish after school at one of the DCPS middle schools? Because we don't have any Ward 6 students who can handle challenging middle school work (or the high school work that would build on it)? Which study shows this? Answer, please.

The answer to "why" should be fairly obvious. But, more important is how to address the situation. This gets to an issue that has come up in different forms in multiple posts in this thread. DCPS has a lot of priorities, but one priority that it doesn't seem to have is making average or below average schools more appealing to families with high or very high expectations. With regard to Roosevelt High School, I suggested that a full range of advance classes be offered even if there were initially only one or two students available to take such classes. The presence of such classes would be an attraction for many families. But, in an era in which LEAP requirements are causing staff cutbacks, hiring teachers for under-attended classes -- even as an investment for the future -- is not seen as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any chance Kaya is caught up in the contractor scandal? She was soliciting donations from a contractor who defrauded the District. I'm sure there's plenty more cases we have not heard about yet.

No. She is expressly allowed to do that. Some don't like the way it 'looked' but they need to change the Chancellor's job description.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any chance Kaya is caught up in the contractor scandal? She was soliciting donations from a contractor who defrauded the District. I'm sure there's plenty more cases we have not heard about yet.

No. She is expressly allowed to do that. Some don't like the way it 'looked' but they need to change the Chancellor's job description.

Her being allowed to does not mean that it was the correct decision. She is encouraging the defrauding of the citizens who she is supposed to help grow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree Abigail Smith would be a good choice. I think she understands the scope of the problems facing DCPS and would listen to parents and teachers. She really does care and doesn't seem arrogant.

If you recall, several years ago, she wanted to do away with elementary school boundaries in favor of a system like Boston's, where parents are only guaranteed a spot at one of several schools in a local cluster. Our local cluster would have included a school with a DC-CAS proficiency pass rate of 80% and two in the 30s. Parents buying million dollar houses so their children could attend school #1 were really shaken up. She was the architect of the madness. Parents rose up in protest all over the city, and not just in upscale neighborhoods like Upper NW and Cap Hill. She squandered far too much political capital in the process to make an effective chancellor. The woman clearly lacks common sense in a big way. No thanks.

To be equally as fair in presentation, most of those community meetings used DC CAS scores as coded race discussions. I'm not a charter fan and agree that was the wrong approach, but let's keep in mind that at some point DC will have to address its growing classist and re-segregating schools.

Personally I feel it needs to be an outside candidate, hopefully with Fortune 500 experience. I want a buisness woman, not an DC politico.

Yes, I agree that the opposition to clusters was a race issue. I was against the idea at first, but now I totally get how it is a good solution to the problem of gentrified neighborhoods that exist within the drastic income inequality in this city. The idea should be revisited although the concerns of parents who feel their $1 mil house entitled them to a particular school will need to be addressed in a politically smart way. If we don't start thinking along these lines the Hill will never integrate the jr highs and high schools.

Total BS. There is no politically smart way to yank away the opportunity to send your kids to a strong neighborhood school for which you just bought a $1 million house. The Hill will never integrate the middle schools and high schools as long as DCPS refuses to allow the strongest cohorts of elementary schools students (from Maury, Brent, SWS and Watkins, maybe Ludlow in five years) feed to one middle school where a full menu of at-grade level and above-grade level classes are offered. And that's the name of that tune.

Sure there is a way to do it. There are limited seats already for PK spots - start out by creating an incentive for parents "shut out" of Brent to enroll at Tyler and go from there. There are enough families now zoned for Payne, Tyler, and Miner who would like to attend that I don't think it would be that difficult. But yeah I understand that people somehow believe they are purchasing a right to a public service when they buy those houses.

Wrong. A good many high SES Hill families already use Tyler Traditional (and Payne, Miner and Amidon) for ECE. But very few stay for K or the elementary grades, mainly because the structures aren't in place for them to have faith in the program, namely the staff needed to provide strong support to both academic stragglers and advanced learners, along with disruptive kids. They leave it to PTAs to fundraise to pay for classroom aides past K, along with behavioral technicians. It's a rotten system all around. Parents can't be blamed. New chancellor take note.

This. I was at a happy hour for Miner PK3 admits and there were ~20 high SES IB families there. The ECE is actually diverse at most of these Hill schools now, while the upper grades remain unused by high SES IB families. I actually know a high SES IB family whose sent their kid to Miner for K two years ago (parents are both Drs). Thought they would take a chance after being satisfied with PK and shut out of lottery. Thought they had a bit more flexibility than other families to take the risk since their kid is mixed race (AA/white), so wouldn't "stand out" as obviously even if he were the only high SES attendee. Were absolutely horrified and pulled kid for best lottery placement they could get the next year (mediocre charter).

[Anonymous]

Were all the parents of Miner PK3 admits included in this happy hour?

Hope so.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe.

I have a simple question for Davis that Catania couldn't or wouldn't answer for me at a meet and greet when he was on the stump. Why could my math gifted kid take algebra as early as 5th grade at BASIS (with a teacher, vs. software) if we crack the lottery, but would have to wait until 8th grade to take it at any one of the three DCPS Ward 6 middle schools? For that matter, why could he take advanced Chinese, Spanish or French during the school day at Deal, but only introductory Spanish after school at one of the DCPS middle schools? Because we don't have any Ward 6 students who can handle challenging middle school work (or the high school work that would build on it)? Which study shows this? Answer, please.

The answer to "why" should be fairly obvious. But, more important is how to address the situation. This gets to an issue that has come up in different forms in multiple posts in this thread. DCPS has a lot of priorities, but one priority that it doesn't seem to have is making average or below average schools more appealing to families with high or very high expectations. With regard to Roosevelt High School, I suggested that a full range of advance classes be offered even if there were initially only one or two students available to take such classes. The presence of such classes would be an attraction for many families. But, in an era in which LEAP requirements are causing staff cutbacks, hiring teachers for under-attended classes -- even as an investment for the future -- is not seen as possible.

Here's the issue: Those schools DO offer advanced courses. However, they're filled with students who are simply average. The curriculum is watered down for them. While many take AP classes, few pass the AP exam. This has been the topic of several news pieces.

Dunbar offered a class in Mandarin last year. The pregnant teacher quit the second a chair was thrown by a student.

So, schools can offer those courses, but until the culture of the schools change, will those families with high expectations send their children there? Because the course offerings ARE there. And the classes ARE full.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree Abigail Smith would be a good choice. I think she understands the scope of the problems facing DCPS and would listen to parents and teachers. She really does care and doesn't seem arrogant.

If you recall, several years ago, she wanted to do away with elementary school boundaries in favor of a system like Boston's, where parents are only guaranteed a spot at one of several schools in a local cluster. Our local cluster would have included a school with a DC-CAS proficiency pass rate of 80% and two in the 30s. Parents buying million dollar houses so their children could attend school #1 were really shaken up. She was the architect of the madness. Parents rose up in protest all over the city, and not just in upscale neighborhoods like Upper NW and Cap Hill. She squandered far too much political capital in the process to make an effective chancellor. The woman clearly lacks common sense in a big way. No thanks.

To be equally as fair in presentation, most of those community meetings used DC CAS scores as coded race discussions. I'm not a charter fan and agree that was the wrong approach, but let's keep in mind that at some point DC will have to address its growing classist and re-segregating schools.

Personally I feel it needs to be an outside candidate, hopefully with Fortune 500 experience. I want a buisness woman, not an DC politico.

Yes, I agree that the opposition to clusters was a race issue. I was against the idea at first, but now I totally get how it is a good solution to the problem of gentrified neighborhoods that exist within the drastic income inequality in this city. The idea should be revisited although the concerns of parents who feel their $1 mil house entitled them to a particular school will need to be addressed in a politically smart way. If we don't start thinking along these lines the Hill will never integrate the jr highs and high schools.

Total BS. There is no politically smart way to yank away the opportunity to send your kids to a strong neighborhood school for which you just bought a $1 million house. The Hill will never integrate the middle schools and high schools as long as DCPS refuses to allow the strongest cohorts of elementary schools students (from Maury, Brent, SWS and Watkins, maybe Ludlow in five years) feed to one middle school where a full menu of at-grade level and above-grade level classes are offered. And that's the name of that tune.

Sure there is a way to do it. There are limited seats already for PK spots - start out by creating an incentive for parents "shut out" of Brent to enroll at Tyler and go from there. There are enough families now zoned for Payne, Tyler, and Miner who would like to attend that I don't think it would be that difficult. But yeah I understand that people somehow believe they are purchasing a right to a public service when they buy those houses.

Wrong. A good many high SES Hill families already use Tyler Traditional (and Payne, Miner and Amidon) for ECE. But very few stay for K or the elementary grades, mainly because the structures aren't in place for them to have faith in the program, namely the staff needed to provide strong support to both academic stragglers and advanced learners, along with disruptive kids. They leave it to PTAs to fundraise to pay for classroom aides past K, along with behavioral technicians. It's a rotten system all around. Parents can't be blamed. New chancellor take note.

This. I was at a happy hour for Miner PK3 admits and there were ~20 high SES IB families there. The ECE is actually diverse at most of these Hill schools now, while the upper grades remain unused by high SES IB families. I actually know a high SES IB family whose sent their kid to Miner for K two years ago (parents are both Drs). Thought they would take a chance after being satisfied with PK and shut out of lottery. Thought they had a bit more flexibility than other families to take the risk since their kid is mixed race (AA/white), so wouldn't "stand out" as obviously even if he were the only high SES attendee. Were absolutely horrified and pulled kid for best lottery placement they could get the next year (mediocre charter).

My point is that choice sets would have to address these concerns in advance. And for your friends IB for Miner, choice sets offer the best chance of creating a school where they would be satisfied.

[Anonymous]

"But yeah I understand that people somehow believe they are purchasing a right to a public service when they buy those houses."

SHOCKING that people make home buying decisions based on what city services they would expect to receive. Even MORE SHOCKING that people with kids buy homes based on the local schools. I mean, why would we expect people to engage in rational decision making? People don't act rationally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree Abigail Smith would be a good choice. I think she understands the scope of the problems facing DCPS and would listen to parents and teachers. She really does care and doesn't seem arrogant.

If you recall, several years ago, she wanted to do away with elementary school boundaries in favor of a system like Boston's, where parents are only guaranteed a spot at one of several schools in a local cluster. Our local cluster would have included a school with a DC-CAS proficiency pass rate of 80% and two in the 30s. Parents buying million dollar houses so their children could attend school #1 were really shaken up. She was the architect of the madness. Parents rose up in protest all over the city, and not just in upscale neighborhoods like Upper NW and Cap Hill. She squandered far too much political capital in the process to make an effective chancellor. The woman clearly lacks common sense in a big way. No thanks.

To be equally as fair in presentation, most of those community meetings used DC CAS scores as coded race discussions. I'm not a charter fan and agree that was the wrong approach, but let's keep in mind that at some point DC will have to address its growing classist and re-segregating schools.

Personally I feel it needs to be an outside candidate, hopefully with Fortune 500 experience. I want a buisness woman, not an DC politico.

Yes, I agree that the opposition to clusters was a race issue. I was against the idea at first, but now I totally get how it is a good solution to the problem of gentrified neighborhoods that exist within the drastic income inequality in this city. The idea should be revisited although the concerns of parents who feel their $1 mil house entitled them to a particular school will need to be addressed in a politically smart way. If we don't start thinking along these lines the Hill will never integrate the jr highs and high schools.

Total BS. There is no politically smart way to yank away the opportunity to send your kids to a strong neighborhood school for which you just bought a $1 million house. The Hill will never integrate the middle schools and high schools as long as DCPS refuses to allow the strongest cohorts of elementary schools students (from Maury, Brent, SWS and Watkins, maybe Ludlow in five years) feed to one middle school where a full menu of at-grade level and above-grade level classes are offered. And that's the name of that tune.

Sure there is a way to do it. There are limited seats already for PK spots - start out by creating an incentive for parents "shut out" of Brent to enroll at Tyler and go from there. There are enough families now zoned for Payne, Tyler, and Miner who would like to attend that I don't think it would be that difficult. But yeah I understand that people somehow believe they are purchasing a right to a public service when they buy those houses.

Wrong. A good many high SES Hill families already use Tyler Traditional (and Payne, Miner and Amidon) for ECE. But very few stay for K or the elementary grades, mainly because the structures aren't in place for them to have faith in the program, namely the staff needed to provide strong support to both academic stragglers and advanced learners, along with disruptive kids. They leave it to PTAs to fundraise to pay for classroom aides past K, along with behavioral technicians. It's a rotten system all around. Parents can't be blamed. New chancellor take note.

This. I was at a happy hour for Miner PK3 admits and there were ~20 high SES IB families there. The ECE is actually diverse at most of these Hill schools now, while the upper grades remain unused by high SES IB families. I actually know a high SES IB family whose sent their kid to Miner for K two years ago (parents are both Drs). Thought they would take a chance after being satisfied with PK and shut out of lottery. Thought they had a bit more flexibility than other families to take the risk since their kid is mixed race (AA/white), so wouldn't "stand out" as obviously even if he were the only high SES attendee. Were absolutely horrified and pulled kid for best lottery placement they could get the next year (mediocre charter).

I'm very interested in your story, but it is incomprehensible. Can you add back all the missing words? Who was horrified at what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"But yeah I understand that people somehow believe they are purchasing a right to a public service when they buy those houses."

SHOCKING that people make home buying decisions based on what city services they would expect to receive. Even MORE SHOCKING that people with kids buy homes based on the local schools. I mean, why would we expect people to engage in rational decision making? People don't act rationally.

Nothing is "SHOCKING" here, we are recognizing a self-perpetuating problem and theorizing solutions.

Choice sets were an interesting idea that deserved a full exploration. Obviously the city wasn't ready for it, but if we don't look at new ideas we will never break the cycle.

[Anonymous]

Cute that you think you can force enconomically well-off families into violent and seriously below average DC schools. They move, go private, or manipulate the system that you set up to go to a good school. This debate already happened forty years ago, and recently under Abigail as DME. We know the outcome. And the people in the underperforming schools don't want to be schlepped across town either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cute that you think you can force enconomically well-off families into violent and seriously below average DC schools. They move, go private, or manipulate the system that you set up to go to a good school. This debate already happened forty years ago, and recently under Abigail as DME. We know the outcome. And the people in the underperforming schools don't want to be schlepped across town either.

Nobody is forcing you to go anywhere! If you feel so embattled and threatened by school integration, then why are you in DCPS at all? What are you going to do for MS and HS? And nobody is talking about a bussing operation - we are talking about the ulitmately untenable arrangement where you have low performing, unintegrated schools literally blocks away from majority white higher performing schools. The sooner the Hill comes together to fix this, the better for everyone.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe.

I have a simple question for Davis that Catania couldn't or wouldn't answer for me at a meet and greet when he was on the stump. Why could my math gifted kid take algebra as early as 5th grade at BASIS (with a teacher, vs. software) if we crack the lottery, but would have to wait until 8th grade to take it at any one of the three DCPS Ward 6 middle schools? For that matter, why could he take advanced Chinese, Spanish or French during the school day at Deal, but only introductory Spanish after school at one of the DCPS middle schools? Because we don't have any Ward 6 students who can handle challenging middle school work (or the high school work that would build on it)? Which study shows this? Answer, please.

The answer to "why" should be fairly obvious. But, more important is how to address the situation. This gets to an issue that has come up in different forms in multiple posts in this thread. DCPS has a lot of priorities, but one priority that it doesn't seem to have is making average or below average schools more appealing to families with high or very high expectations. With regard to Roosevelt High School, I suggested that a full range of advance classes be offered even if there were initially only one or two students available to take such classes. The presence of such classes would be an attraction for many families. But, in an era in which LEAP requirements are causing staff cutbacks, hiring teachers for under-attended classes -- even as an investment for the future -- is not seen as possible.

You were skipping a step at Roosevelt - a thoroughly high SES friendly MS feeder.

OK, so not possible. Fallback to Plan B, wait 15-20 years until demographic changes serve up the critical mass of students needed to pack bona fide advanced MS classes in Ward 6, and maybe Ward 5. Many of us would rather have a DCPS Chancellor prepared to admit the not possible part, with accompanying explanation, than another that won't, even if the lackluster output is the same in the short-term. If the policy were on the table, in the medium-term, high SES parent voters might rebel against the LEAP requirements causing staff cutbacks (given that budget stringency isn't the problem). One or two heads could roll on the city council as a result, meaning that change might come sooner than 15-20 years out. Not a great result, but better than none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cute that you think you can force enconomically well-off families into violent and seriously below average DC schools. They move, go private, or manipulate the system that you set up to go to a good school. This debate already happened forty years ago, and recently under Abigail as DME. We know the outcome. And the people in the underperforming schools don't want to be schlepped across town either.

Nobody is forcing you to go anywhere! If you feel so embattled and threatened by school integration, then why are you in DCPS at all? What are you going to do for MS and HS? And nobody is talking about a bussing operation - we are talking about the ulitmately untenable arrangement where you have low performing, unintegrated schools literally blocks away from majority white higher performing schools. The sooner the Hill comes together to fix this, the better for everyone. [/q?


Interesting idea. When I lived in Dupont years ago,chock full of whites, I did not put my interacial child in the almost completely minority assigned school for a couple of reasons. Not to be a one of, school was engaged in a lot of remediation, and it was a school that had zero pictures of non AA statesmen inventors etc hanging in the hall. It was entirely decorated with AA figures, African cloth patterns and the like. The secretary also asked me off the bat if I spoke Spanish, which I found bizarre but also say a lot about the demographic shifts in the city at the time in terms of visually white people looking into lower performing public schools. Whites have flowed into some schools in DC that are either predominantly white now or well integrated. Yes, they are desirable. In all of these, the white students are doing well, the high see minority students well, and the low ses still struggle along but maybe less so. White families have made integration inroads in a school system that I think they should be given some credit for. It would be interesting to see how that correlates to the re entry into dcps/charter of middle or high income minorities who could add another layer of much needed diversity. I actually like your ideas, if there are enough high performing kids in capitol hill to go around without having to be tip of the spear, which is ok to ask but totally unfair to demand. At the same time, l just as the predominantly white schools should be welcoming to diversity in word and deed I would hope the schools wanting/receiving a flow of white kids that hadn't had them would be as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cute that you think you can force enconomically well-off families into violent and seriously below average DC schools. They move, go private, or manipulate the system that you set up to go to a good school. This debate already happened forty years ago, and recently under Abigail as DME. We know the outcome. And the people in the underperforming schools don't want to be schlepped across town either.

Cute that folks- maybe not you- can assume that teachers can provide rigor & raise test scores in those violent schools. So- too violent for kids- but not too violent for testing miracles.