No more Cardozo Middle; feeders to go to FS

[Anonymous]

We just got the letter from the Ferebee -- Cardozo Middle is being fazed out.

Starting next year, 5th graders from Seaton, Cleveland and Garrison will have the right to attend SWWFS.

Once the new middle school opens (for current 1st graders and beyond), that right goes away, and they will be channeled to the new Euclid Street middle.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow, so they are phasing out Cardozo Middle earlier than expected? The Euclid St thing I already knew. Is Cardozo High needing more space, is that why?

How are all these kids gonna fit at SWW@FS?

[Anonymous]

Does Cleveland still have the Spanish feed to MacFarland?

[Anonymous]

Where does the program for new arrivals go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh wow, so they are phasing out Cardozo Middle earlier than expected? The Euclid St thing I already knew. Is Cardozo High needing more space, is that why?

How are all these kids gonna fit at SWW@FS?

SWW@FS is in swing space right now, maybe that’s what gives them the flexibility? They’re sure to retain more kids with this plan than with Cardozo middle.

[Anonymous]

They are moving into a newly renovated building in the fall.

[Anonymous]

I'm an IB parent who didn't send to Cardozo Middle and I'm not surprised by the decision. In terms of test scores, it was one of the worst performing. In terms of IB students, it was one of the lowest. Closing the school is the best decision ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an IB parent who didn't send to Cardozo Middle and I'm not surprised by the decision. In terms of test scores, it was one of the worst performing. In terms of IB students, it was one of the lowest. Closing the school is the best decision ever.

Well they were already going to create Euclid Middle and shut down Cardozo Middle. Is this intended to create a clean break so they don't have to keep the staff?

[Anonymous]

This is great news for everyone involved. Cordozo needs to focus on its high schoolers, that middle school wasn't doing anyone any favors.

Hope the new middle school has a strong team in place, they're gonna need it.

[Anonymous]

I’ll state the ugly: white families are in the elementaries and are willing to go to SWW@FS but not Cardozo. It’s clear that DCPS is trying to create pathways for white families. Their meta assumption is that if they create places where white families will join that they’re doing something net good for DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll state the ugly: white families are in the elementaries and are willing to go to SWW@FS but not Cardozo. It’s clear that DCPS is trying to create pathways for white families. Their meta assumption is that if they create places where white families will join that they’re doing something net good for DC.

Cordozo is objectively bad. No kid, regardless of race, is being served well by going there. What you said isn't wrong but it's not like they're only letting the white kids go to SWW@FS. It's a problem that it takes white families to get DCPS to implement this kind of change, but that doesn't mean the change itself is bad.

Also I don't really think it's fair to say "white families". It's upper income families. They are disproportionately white, but there are a lot of upper income Black and Brown families who also want to see this change. I just don't like seeing those families get erased from this type of discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll state the ugly: white families are in the elementaries and are willing to go to SWW@FS but not Cardozo. It’s clear that DCPS is trying to create pathways for white families. Their meta assumption is that if they create places where white families will join that they’re doing something net good for DC.

It seems like very few people of any race are willing to go to Cardozo middle. It a very low utilization-to-capacity rate (47%), despite its central location well-served by Metro and bus.

Please do tell us what's so great about Cardozo middle that people are failing to recognize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll state the ugly: white families are in the elementaries and are willing to go to SWW@FS but not Cardozo. It’s clear that DCPS is trying to create pathways for white families. Their meta assumption is that if they create places where white families will join that they’re doing something net good for DC.

It seems like very few people of any race are willing to go to Cardozo middle. It a very low utilization-to-capacity rate (47%), despite its central location well-served by Metro and bus.

Please do tell us what's so great about Cardozo middle that people are failing to recognize.

This is correct. The feeder schools send very, very few kids to Cardozo middle. I think it’s <10 per school per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll state the ugly: white families are in the elementaries and are willing to go to SWW@FS but not Cardozo. It’s clear that DCPS is trying to create pathways for white families. Their meta assumption is that if they create places where white families will join that they’re doing something net good for DC.

I'm someone who is willing to call that out when I see it, but that's not what's happening here. The feeder I'm familiar with, Seaton, sends less than 10 kids to Cardozo per year. Last years more -than-90 percent brown and black 5th grade class scattered to 18 different middle schools. The school holds a middle school fair and encourages kids to lottery to a better school.

Cardozo middle was also an afterthought of a school.

[Anonymous]

These three elementary schools probably have the largest post-4th grade exodus anywhere in the city. This should change that.