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defending DC Public Schools
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Anonymous
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I'd appreciate some help in defending my (future) choice to send my child to a good DC public school (probably Murch, Eaton or Hearst), as opposed to moving to Maryland or Virginia or trying to scrape together the funds for a private school.
My parents and many of their friends seem to regard sending a child to a DC public school as akin to leaving the child on top of a mountain (with the possible exceptions of Lafayette and Horace Mann. Possible exceptions). Please don't tell me to ignore these people or to tell them to stick it where the sun don't shine. They are an integral part of my parents' circle, and my parents are loving grandparents who are an integral part of my life, and my child's. More importantly, these older people are opinion-setters in their way, active in their social and sports lives (golf, tennis, poker, continuing education, travel) choices. Part of their resistance/condescension is racist; part of it flows from their desire to validate their own, expensive choices in sending their kids to private schools; and part of it is based on anecdotes and media reports, and some personal experience (many are retired teachers). Especially with the holidays approaching, I'd like a dignified, courteous way to tell these folks that a good neighborhood public school has true value to me and to my child. But that sounds so empty sometimes. I am hopeful (or naive) enough to hope to change a few of their minds. They might still think DC schools stink to high heaven, but they might add, "Of course, so and so got lucky with a few good teachers at Hearst/Murch/Eaton." And then slowly the opinion pendulum might start swinging the other way. |
Anonymous
One can only hope so. I struggled with this issue too -- for most of the six years my kid has been in DCPS (Hearst). It finally dawned on me what the answer was: Look at how smart, well-rounded and well-adjusted my child is! He interacts all the time with NW private-school kids socially and through sports; he's at the same academic level they are. They may have more opportunities down the road due to the social advantages of growing up rich and private-school educated, but in terms of actually learning, kids of equal intelligence and diligence are all going to wind up in the same place. Mine will have had the advantage of interacting and knowing many, many more kinds of people than a lot of his more "privileged" cohort will. That's probably not too persuasive to doubters, but it's very reassuring to me. |
Anonymous
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We send our child to private, but we also tried the lottery system (PK) for several DCPS schools and charter schools--no luck. We were 0 for 6. Although now we are super happy with DC's private school and do think, objectively, that it provides a lot that DCPS cannot provide, we are keenly aware of the draws and benefits of public schools. We are also aware how fortunate we are to be able to afford private school.
I guess I just wanted to say that there are people who understand the predicament you are in, regardless of where their children are at school. People who can't grasp why people can't or don't want to go the private route are seriously intellectually limited, IMO. It's not you, OP, it's them. |
Anonymous
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OP,
Come up with talking points. - You know, we were surprised, too! - Our school choice is amazing. - We plan to give it a try, and will reassess as needed. - We know we may have to go private for middle school. A lot of DC families choose this path. - A huge plus is the sense of neighborhood. |
Anonymous
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"Although now we are super happy with DC's private school and do think, objectively, that it provides a lot that DCPS cannot provide, we are keenly aware of the draws and benefits of public schools."
Just curious what your views are about what your private offers that DCPS can't provide. I haven't toured any privates because we're doing public for now, but am interested in others' experiences and views. |
Anonymous
PP here. This is what we found thus far at the Pre-K level 1) Great ratio: 10 children/teacher (not a teacher plus an aide) 2) Excellent outdoor play space/access: 1-2 hours/day; a full-sized gym on days with inclement weather 3) PE 4/days week (this is in addition to outdoor play) 4) Lower School library with paid staff (not just volunteers); visit 1x/week, but parents can come in anytime and check out books, too 5) Science (1x/week) and Music (2x/week) teacher to supplement PK teacher 6) Excellent communication between families and the school 7) Age-appropriate curriculum: no "rush" to teach children to read/write at age 4, if not ready 8) Access to lower school counselor and a learning specialist, if needed As DC gets older, foreign language offered from 2nd (or 3rd?) grade; drama/theatre; extended field trips, etc. |
Anonymous
You've answered your own question here. There's no way anything you say will change their biases and regrets. Just avoid the topic as much as possible for now. As PP said, focus on how happy your child is with friends and teachers. Over time they will see how great your child's life is, and be happy for you. I lived this scenario. It wasn't pretty. Got lots of criticism from my very involved, well-off, locally influential yadda yadda yadda in-laws when I raised public as an option before I was even pregnant! You'd think I was planning to sell the baby for parts. It didn't seem to occur to them (although they've never been anything but welcoming) that I am a product of public schools and the daughter of an urban teacher (in-laws love my parents BTW). On my side, it didn't occur to me that we wouldn't consider public schools. But then again, I'm not from DC. Fast forward 6 years. Grandparents are now big fans of 2 "good" public schools that my DC and three other grandkids attend. Meanwhile, some private schools attended by other grandkids had teacher sex scandals, misdiagnosed learning disabilities and just plain obscene tuition for preschool. Others were great. For now it looks like all the kids are in the right places. College is of course a whole other topic. 
Enjoy the holidays. |
Anonymous
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Just curious why you need to defend future choices? Until you have specifics ("we are zoned for school X, and we are very excited to have little Campbell attend it for reasons A, B, and C") it seems like a waste of everyone's time and energy.
For now, if someone does happen to bring up school choices and you think your eventual plan will be met with disrespect, can't you say, "We're working on our school plan, but right now little Campbell is only X years old, so we're enjoying this stage of our lives." [smile] |
Anonymous
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No, OP hasn't answered her own question. She needs talking points to respond to them, that's all. She knows she's not going to change anyone's mind. These folks are out of line to be so adamant about OP's school choices. It shows that the best private schools in DC do not always produce alum with good manners or good breeding!
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Anonymous
Hmm. DCPS pre-K. We've got 10 kids in DD's class. One teacher, plus an aide. Not sure how that's worse than 10 kids and one teacher with no aide.
Sounds like DD's school.
Ditto.
We've got dedicated Music, Art, PE, and Spanish teachers. Once a week for each.
We've got three room parents, who are often in-class, taking photos for the class website. Also, dedicated mailing lists at the class, room-parent, and full school level.
Not sure how to respond to this, but I haven't seen this either. I think one of the great advantages of a neighborhood school is, it acts almost as a co-op: if they need extra help around the classroom, they can drop a notification on the class mailing list, and I can walk the half-block to school and lend a hand. Also, since we're not hemorrhaging money via tuition, it's much easier to write generous checks for the PTA. I think the school's PTA is on pace to raise $40k to fund salary and a special project space for our students. |
Anonymous
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11:44, what DCPS is running pre-K classes with 10 students? There are 10 children a teacher and an aide in your child's classroom?
That's an amazing ration and about 1/2 the number the budgets call for... In short, there should be at least 8 more children in the class and I'd love to know how the principal balanced the school budget to make this work. Please do let us know what DCPS has a 1/5 ratio in pre-K. |
Anonymous
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11:44, what school is this? We are in a JKLM district, and while PK ratios are good (due to the lottery system and pre-determined class size), it's no secret that K sizes this year are too large.
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Anonymous
What school is this? 3 room parents for 10 PK kids? Full size gym? 2 hours of recess? Music, Art, PE, and Spanish teachers weekly for PK? Weekly library visits" (Lafayette is once every other week.) Please share so that other parents can visit this school. |
Anonymous
| Sounds like Key school. One teacher plus an aide for approx. 20 students. Maybe that is what PP meant (rather than 10 students with a teacher and an aide). |
Anonymous
| Can't afford the real estate in Palisades (Key), and it is not easily accessible by public transit. It is hardly a typical DCPS. |