When will schools like Janney step up and do their fair share to take at-risk kids??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to Janney, and I would happily support increasing class sizes by 10 percent and saving those spots for at-risk students. That’s two kids per class. Does anyone seriously think that would be outrageously disruptive? Your kids can handle having a couple more friends.

I assume you do not have a 2nd grader. Class size is currently 28. If you have a child with any needs - they are not being served.

[Anonymous]

This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

What happens when they get to Deal and don’t have the ability to self segregate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

What happens when they get to Deal and don’t have the ability to self segregate?

. Janney kids are labeled as the kids from the rich white school at deal. (Per my deal children)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

What happens when they get to Deal and don’t have the ability to self segregate?

. Janney kids are labeled as the kids from the rich white school at deal. (Per my deal children)

Gentrification invariably will change Deal and Wilson to be more like Janney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to Janney, and I would happily support increasing class sizes by 10 percent and saving those spots for at-risk students. That’s two kids per class. Does anyone seriously think that would be outrageously disruptive? Your kids can handle having a couple more friends.

I assume you do not have a 2nd grader. Class size is currently 28. If you have a child with any needs - they are not being served.

I'd push for more diversity at our DCPS if the school was handling the diversity they already have effectively. They aren't, so I'm not. The reality is that DCPS is a low-capacity school system across the board. Things only work well after 2nd grade with highly favorable demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

Reality sucks though. Have you all never heard of Brown v Board of Education? The comments on this thread makes me sad. And yes my MS kid doesn’t go to a private school or any school in the Wilson feeder pattern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

What happens when they get to Deal and don’t have the ability to self segregate?

. Janney kids are labeled as the kids from the rich white school at deal. (Per my deal children)

Ah, yes, because definitely the Janney neighborhood is richer and whiter than the Lafayette one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

I overpaid for a house in-bounds for Janney and I very much want the city to make decisions that make it possible for significantly more poor kids to attend Janney. I realize that's not the majority view. But being afraid that my neighbors will whine about it is no reason for public officials not to try it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when rezoning takes place and OSSE creates space overage for at-risk set-aside for which schools do not meet a minimum threshold for % at risk based on IB enrollment. Politically volatile but practical and systematic. No individual school will do this independently and every "successful" school is already at or above capacity.

should add that DCPS needs to provide incentives for the schools to take on at-risk students and penalties for falling short.

In other words, you want at risk kids to be forced into crowded classrooms when every study in the world says smaller class size is better for at risk kids? Because these schools aren't going to get physically bigger.

Schools don't need to get physically bigger -- the zones just needs to get smaller. As PP mentioned there are federal subsidies for transportation.

As long at the schools can provide the space they obviously can't make anyone enroll in a system where choice is a premium. At risk families have choices too but more hurdles and the system needs to help with those obstacles. Schools would need to offer enough supports to draw and retain at risk students. These are public schools that should offer a level playing field anyway.

Ok, then that would necessitate more schools. How are ya gonna do that?

Not really. You can shift Janney kids to Murch or Mann or Hearst or all three.

No way. All of these schools are bursting at the seams or will be in the next 5 years. Have you seen the projected birth rates and predicted school attendance rates for Ward 3 over the next 5-10 years? Under the current system, OOB will be completely shut out of WoTP schools by 2025: https://ggwash.org/view/71802/can-dcps-survive-the-coming-enrollment-surge

The child growth is not evenly spread out - it's concentrated in Wards 3, west side of Ward 2, and EoTP north of Columbia Heights.

How will shrinking the catchment areas for JKLMM help create more room for OOB? The kids outside the newly shrunken catchment areas will need to go somewhere else. Where do they go that's decently close to their neighborhood? You shrink boundaries but the kids who are now outside the boundary will need to be placed in a school. Your proposal makes no sense.

That's why I think Bowser will dismantle the boundary system when she leaves office in 2022. It will be the lasting piece of her legacy and then she can go peddle herself as an "education reformer" and make money. Meanwhile, the rest of us will be left to navigate the mess she leaves behind.

That will never happen. And, please stop trying to use my kids for your SJW experimentation.

Which is it -- are your schools bursting at the seams or do you need more capacity (ie more schools)? You people love to eat your own cake

[Anonymous]

The only way to open up capacity at overcrowded schools - is to create something that parent's value over their neighborhood choice.

Maybe if DCPS created a Montessori program at the Fillmore school, parents would select it and alleviate some of the current crowding enabling more at risk children to attend schools that are perceived as High Performing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

I overpaid for a house in-bounds for Janney and I very much want the city to make decisions that make it possible for significantly more poor kids to attend Janney. I realize that's not the majority view. But being afraid that my neighbors will whine about it is no reason for public officials not to try it.

Woukd you agree to be zoned out of Janney to make this happen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

What happens when they get to Deal and don’t have the ability to self segregate?

. Janney kids are labeled as the kids from the rich white school at deal. (Per my deal children)

Ah, yes, because definitely the Janney neighborhood is richer and whiter than the Lafayette one.

Don't worry - my kids say the Lafayette kids have the same label.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only way to open up capacity at overcrowded schools - is to create something that parent's value over their neighborhood choice.

Maybe if DCPS created a Montessori program at the Fillmore school, parents would select it and alleviate some of the current crowding enabling more at risk children to attend schools that are perceived as High Performing.

Or build more neighborhood schools that parents are glad to send their children to! Janney students should obviously be split into two schools at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound crass, but the reason why parents dig deep to overpay for smallish center-hall Colonials in AU Park is that they want the best DC elementary school for their kids. And Janney has been the best for a couple of decades. They are not going to accept decisions that dilute the resources that their kids get today or dilute Janney’s academic quality. That’s the realty.

I overpaid for a house in-bounds for Janney and I very much want the city to make decisions that make it possible for significantly more poor kids to attend Janney. I realize that's not the majority view. But being afraid that my neighbors will whine about it is no reason for public officials not to try it.

Woukd you agree to be zoned out of Janney to make this happen?

Sure; as long as my family is not literally the only one being moved, the benefits of being at Janney (which are mostly due to being in a school with a student body that's mostly wealthy) would almost certainly continue at whatever other school we got moved to.