Latin Cooper - Capitol Hill families?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High SES CH parents who are sticklers for appropriate rigor, and good facilities, in public middle schools can, and still often do, relocate to the burbs if they're not satisfied with DC options.

I've decided that I'm not OK with the Latin Cooper building and location, though we're close to the top of the 5th grade WL. Another family can have our spot if we get it.

Those of you who criticize such parents for being too picky and demanding, now that more "honors" classes and "differentiation" is in the mix in Ward 6 middle schools than 5 or 10 years ago, please explain to us how low SES minority kids benefit from the exodus. Who, exactly, wins other than suburban realtors? What's in it for DC to drive many high SES parents to the burbs over public middle and high school quality?

Because DC knows they'll be easily replaced.

And anyway, DC is not interested in "quality" but "equity." These things need not be in competition, but quality (in the way it's assessed by UMC families), just isn't on DC's radar screen. My sense is that they don't want a Deal-like situation on the Hill because it would eventually crowd out all the low-SES kids and that would be a much bigger political problem than the current dissatisfaction of UMC families on the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High SES CH parents who are sticklers for appropriate rigor, and good facilities, in public middle schools can, and still often do, relocate to the burbs if they're not satisfied with DC options.

I've decided that I'm not OK with the Latin Cooper building and location, though we're close to the top of the 5th grade WL. Another family can have our spot if we get it.

Those of you who criticize such parents for being too picky and demanding, now that more "honors" classes and "differentiation" is in the mix in Ward 6 middle schools than 5 or 10 years ago, please explain to us how low SES minority kids benefit from the exodus. Who, exactly, wins other than suburban realtors? What's in it for DC to drive many high SES parents to the burbs over public middle and high school quality?

Because DC knows they'll be easily replaced.

And anyway, DC is not interested in "quality" but "equity." These things need not be in competition, but quality (in the way it's assessed by UMC families), just isn't on DC's radar screen. My sense is that they don't want a Deal-like situation on the Hill because it would eventually crowd out all the low-SES kids and that would be a much bigger political problem than the current dissatisfaction of UMC families on the Hill.

That's a facile argument which reinforces the poor persecuted UMC white narrative, but the reality is more like DCPS doesn't give a s*** about equity either. If you think they fail your privileged self wait until you see how badly they fail the poor kids without your privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High SES CH parents who are sticklers for appropriate rigor, and good facilities, in public middle schools can, and still often do, relocate to the burbs if they're not satisfied with DC options.

I've decided that I'm not OK with the Latin Cooper building and location, though we're close to the top of the 5th grade WL. Another family can have our spot if we get it.

Those of you who criticize such parents for being too picky and demanding, now that more "honors" classes and "differentiation" is in the mix in Ward 6 middle schools than 5 or 10 years ago, please explain to us how low SES minority kids benefit from the exodus. Who, exactly, wins other than suburban realtors? What's in it for DC to drive many high SES parents to the burbs over public middle and high school quality?

Because DC knows they'll be easily replaced.

And anyway, DC is not interested in "quality" but "equity." These things need not be in competition, but quality (in the way it's assessed by UMC families), just isn't on DC's radar screen. My sense is that they don't want a Deal-like situation on the Hill because it would eventually crowd out all the low-SES kids and that would be a much bigger political problem than the current dissatisfaction of UMC families on the Hill.

That's a facile argument which reinforces the poor persecuted UMC white narrative, but the reality is more like DCPS doesn't give a s*** about equity either. If you think they fail your privileged self wait until you see how badly they fail the poor kids without your privilege.

Wow. Hence the scare quotes around "equity" and the statement that DC is more concerned with political optics above all else. Calm down.

FWIW, I'm black and UMC, so to the extent I was pushing a particular narrative it isn't necessarily (much less essentially) a "white" one.

[Anonymous]

Well, on the original thread topic, Hill family here and thrilled our kiddo got into Latin Cooper campus.

Pretty sure there will be a bus. But 17 minute commute is fine with us too.

Don't care about the building. I went to a fantastic private high school that was a dump. People matter more than buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, on the original thread topic, Hill family here and thrilled our kiddo got into Latin Cooper campus.

Pretty sure there will be a bus. But 17 minute commute is fine with us too.

Don't care about the building. I went to a fantastic private high school that was a dump. People matter more than buildings.

Yaaaassss. Rational, grounded, flexible, pragmatic. I think I ❤️ U. If your kid is anything like you they will thrive at Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, on the original thread topic, Hill family here and thrilled our kiddo got into Latin Cooper campus.

Pretty sure there will be a bus. But 17 minute commute is fine with us too.

Don't care about the building. I went to a fantastic private high school that was a dump. People matter more than buildings.

Yes, but facilities still matter. We do we settle for so little in this city where middle schools are concerned? Why do we need to choose between windows and decent academics EotP? Better libraries and gyms and playing fields and strong arts programs and decent academics? The arrangement is shameful, yet most voters with children of school age tolerate it quietly, if not silently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, on the original thread topic, Hill family here and thrilled our kiddo got into Latin Cooper campus.

Pretty sure there will be a bus. But 17 minute commute is fine with us too.

Don't care about the building. I went to a fantastic private high school that was a dump. People matter more than buildings.

Yes, but facilities still matter. We do we settle for so little in this city where middle schools are concerned? Why do we need to choose between windows and decent academics EotP? Better libraries and gyms and playing fields and strong arts programs and decent academics? The arrangement is shameful, yet most voters with children of school age tolerate it quietly, if not silently.

Stuart Hobson is a decent facility, right?

[Anonymous]

Yes, after a 40 million dollar renovation 9 years ago. But the SH’s academics and discipline disappoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, on the original thread topic, Hill family here and thrilled our kiddo got into Latin Cooper campus.

Pretty sure there will be a bus. But 17 minute commute is fine with us too.

Don't care about the building. I went to a fantastic private high school that was a dump. People matter more than buildings.

Yes, but facilities still matter. We do we settle for so little in this city where middle schools are concerned? Why do we need to choose between windows and decent academics EotP? Better libraries and gyms and playing fields and strong arts programs and decent academics? The arrangement is shameful, yet most voters with children of school age tolerate it quietly, if not silently.

I don't think anyone was really saying that facilities "don't matter". My impression was that they were saying that they aren't determinative of the decision. I don't think you can find anyone who would not choose a nice facility than the one they have if it was offered.

[Anonymous]

I hear parents EOTP claim that good facilities don't matter in regard to BASIS on a regular basis. Mention BASIS' bad facilities and you're a troll, because, you know, the kids don't mind the building. The same will be said of Latin Cooper by Sept. Translation: we don't want to move from Ward 5 or 6; we're not going to move. The middle school facilities are good enough because we said so.

[Anonymous]

There's this conspiracy theorist idea permeating this thread that somehow "DCPS" or "DC" are conspiring to keep quality MS education away from Capitol Hill. No one who understands how decisions in government or at DCPS are made would ever allege such a thing. I know a lot of us (me too, btw) are not getting what we want. And that for many of us this is the first time in our privileged lives we can't argue for or leverage relationships to get our desired outcome. But how self centered and entitled are we therefore conclude it must be an intentional conspiracy? Plus, apparently the conspirators are doing the bidding of poor people and the underserved, because that's something that actually happens...anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear parents EOTP claim that good facilities don't matter in regard to BASIS on a regular basis. Mention BASIS' bad facilities and you're a troll, because, you know, the kids don't mind the building. The same will be said of Latin Cooper by Sept. Translation: we don't want to move from Ward 5 or 6; we're not going to move. The middle school facilities are good enough because we said so.

Let me start by observing your last sentence is one of the dumbest things I've read on DCUM in some time. School choice is exactly that, a choice. Every family makes a decision that is best for their kid/family/circumstance. Unless you you have unlimited means and political contacts there are trade-offs and choices to be made - you can't waive a magic wand or spend $1 billion to build your own school and get everything you want. So, yes, families decide on their own what is "good enough" (facilities, academics, extracurriculars, etc.), they declare it to be so and they make their own decision. Or should they be consulting you first?

With resect to Basis and its facilities, honestly you seem really bitter. I don't think anyone who sends their kid to Basis would opt for the current building and facility vs Latin's. That would be crazy. I think what you are hearing is people saying that the education that Basis offers is great enough for them to justify marginal physical space. That's a personal preference based on their own needs and wants. I don't question why someone would prioritize academics over other things (when you can't get the Basis rigor anywhere else, let alone with great facilities.) That doesn't confuse me. What confounds me is why you seem so invested in and angry about Basis's facilities and how and what other families prioritize their needs.

I am probably wasting my time here but maybe I can get you to see this by asking you to look at the exact inverse. DCPS spent $10s of millions to renovate High Schools - some of them have amazing facilities. Unfortunately they also have less than 10% of kids at grade level. I would NEVER send my kid to my IB feeder HS because the amazing facilities do not outweigh the crappy education and low performing student body. Does that decision anger you as well? Because it is the precise inverse of what angers you about Basis families deciding the education is worth the facilities trade-off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's this conspiracy theorist idea permeating this thread that somehow "DCPS" or "DC" are conspiring to keep quality MS education away from Capitol Hill. No one who understands how decisions in government or at DCPS are made would ever allege such a thing. I know a lot of us (me too, btw) are not getting what we want. And that for many of us this is the first time in our privileged lives we can't argue for or leverage relationships to get our desired outcome. But how self centered and entitled are we therefore conclude it must be an intentional conspiracy? Plus, apparently the conspirators are doing the bidding of poor people and the underserved, because that's something that actually happens...anywhere.

Hardly a conspiracy theory: reality. DCPS could have changed the Hill ES feed arrangements during the 2013-2014 boundary review to create a high-performing pan Ward 6 MS. There was, and is, widespread support for the initiative at the grassroots across on CH, just not on the part of the ed powers that be and their parent shills in the Cluster school community. DCPS could also have introduced a full complement of not just "honors" classes, but GT programming in this new MS, and/or created at least one test-in MS program in the District. Other US cities have one or more test-in middle school programs, e.g. Boston, NYC and our near neighbors in MoCo and Fairfax. Michelle Rhee used to speak of her plans to add MS GT testing and programming. But she and Fenty went down too early for GT to launch.

Privileged lives, entitled? Speak for yourself. I grew up in a rural area, read a lot, took math classes I paid for at a community college, went to an Ivy on a Full Pell Grant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear parents EOTP claim that good facilities don't matter in regard to BASIS on a regular basis. Mention BASIS' bad facilities and you're a troll, because, you know, the kids don't mind the building. The same will be said of Latin Cooper by Sept. Translation: we don't want to move from Ward 5 or 6; we're not going to move. The middle school facilities are good enough because we said so.

Let me start by observing your last sentence is one of the dumbest things I've read on DCUM in some time. School choice is exactly that, a choice. Every family makes a decision that is best for their kid/family/circumstance. Unless you you have unlimited means and political contacts there are trade-offs and choices to be made - you can't waive a magic wand or spend $1 billion to build your own school and get everything you want. So, yes, families decide on their own what is "good enough" (facilities, academics, extracurriculars, etc.), they declare it to be so and they make their own decision. Or should they be consulting you first?

With resect to Basis and its facilities, honestly you seem really bitter. I don't think anyone who sends their kid to Basis would opt for the current building and facility vs Latin's. That would be crazy. I think what you are hearing is people saying that the education that Basis offers is great enough for them to justify marginal physical space. That's a personal preference based on their own needs and wants. I don't question why someone would prioritize academics over other things (when you can't get the Basis rigor anywhere else, let alone with great facilities.) That doesn't confuse me. What confounds me is why you seem so invested in and angry about Basis's facilities and how and what other families prioritize their needs.

I am probably wasting my time here but maybe I can get you to see this by asking you to look at the exact inverse. DCPS spent $10s of millions to renovate High Schools - some of them have amazing facilities. Unfortunately they also have less than 10% of kids at grade level. I would NEVER send my kid to my IB feeder HS because the amazing facilities do not outweigh the crappy education and low performing student body. Does that decision anger you as well? Because it is the precise inverse of what angers you about Basis families deciding the education is worth the facilities trade-off.

NP. So you've said lady, many times on DCUM. The facilities at BASIS still suck. Fair point that could move for good public school facilities and do not. Easier to rationalize your choice.

[Anonymous]

Stuart Hobson is a beautiful renovation but that has done nothing to change the fact that I can’t send my 14 year old into the close by neighborhood markets because they have had to make rules about no one under 18 allowed in without an adult rule - and have to enforce it equitably because of woke neighbors. I did not send my child to SH because of the rowdy students. I am guessing others have made the same choice.