Joe Weedon wants permission to send his daughter to Walls

[Anonymous]

PP, even if getting subs are difficult there should be no reason why there are high absenteeism rates at schools unless the main teacher has a family or medical reasons or as outlined by the law. In the event that a teacher will be out on a long extended absence or related family reasons or by law, the school community has a right to be informed that the main teacher will be out and a permanent sub has been acquired.

While the school community is not entitled to know the reason why the main teacher is out on leave, they are entitled to reasonable academic accommodations for their child. I am surprised there hasn't been a lawsuit regarding the way in which DCPS handles such leave and academic learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, even if getting subs are difficult there should be no reason why there are high absenteeism rates at schools unless the main teacher has a family or medical reasons or as outlined by the law. In the event that a teacher will be out on a long extended absence or related family reasons or by law, the school community has a right to be informed that the main teacher will be out and a permanent sub has been acquired.

While the school community is not entitled to know the reason why the main teacher is out on leave, they are entitled to reasonable academic accommodations for their child. I am surprised there hasn't been a lawsuit regarding the way in which DCPS handles such leave and academic learning.

Please tell me on what grounds a parent can sue a school district for absent teachers who are using their allotted personal time off? This is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:If his daughter spent most of her time in middle school playing cards, being unchallenged and having a frequent rotation of subs or teachers coming/going, why does he need a WashPo article to tell us what we all know? DCPS is not prepared for middle school and certainly, there are only a few slots at the magnet high schools. I'm assuming that Weedon probably had to get a tutor for his DD in order for her to do well on PARCC and entrance exams to Walls given the lack of proper rigor.

While DCPS struggles with proper middle/high school neighborhood options, the schools in the suburbs struggle with how not to be pressure cookers. Those in the private Big 10 also struggle with the pressure cooker environments.

Its a sad state of affairs when our only option in this region and across the country is a pressure cooker school which comes with lots of learning, room for challenge/growth and opportunities vs disengaged low scoring schools rife with little challenge.

DC is in a unique position because the city council allowed charters here to directly compete with city public schools, thereby almost forcing DCPS to begin looking at how to retain residents for funding schools. New residents are trying to hold DCPS accountable with little success. DCPS is only good through elementary and they don't seem to care about proper neighborhood middle/high school options because its economic city tax base is strong. Many residents in the District are childfree and therefore don't use the city's schools so they really don't care to be involved. Many are also transient and not here for the long term. Still, others will leave after the free pre-k for the suburbs or private schools.

There are a lot of DC type A types who think tutoring is necessary, but for smart motivated kids its
unnecessary. The broad brush applied to EH and by extension its students and community is unfair when you can't even acknowledge the kids who happen succeed, however much they're an exception.

While the Weedons have seen the social and community benefits that come with attending their neighborhood middle school, they have also encountered the challenges. Most prominently: high turnover among teachers and administrators, which leads to an unstable academic environment. His daughter says she has become an expert card player because of all the free time she has had with substitute teachers.

Are you ignoring this portion of the article or just lacking proper comprehension? There was an unstable academic environment, his daughter became an expert card player and you tell me that the possibility of Malia having a tutor is a type A behavior? I am sure her parents had to fill in the large academic DCPS gaps in some form--- tutors, enrichment, etc. There are many posters on here who attend DCPS in upper elementary/middle school who provide out-of-school experiences--- which are a form of enrichment. There are others who have a tutor but probably wouldn't admit it --- the horror of do as I say, but not as I do exist in many DC liberal circles.

PP, you need to get off the offensive train, I did not paint the EH community with a broad brush nor did I state that there aren't smart kids at EH. I simply came to a conclusion based on what I read on WashPo.

gee, that kind of sounds like it was [i]A JOKE[/i]. I would question why he'd make a joke at the expense of a school he's trying to prop up. Then again, playing cards is a good skill for reinforcing math, albeit not where you'd want a middle schooler's math focus to be.

Passing PARCC is just not a big deal for a smart kid. The idea of tutoring someone to succeed at PARCC is mind numbingly stupid.

The school has had high turnover. They're on their 4th principal in 4 years. They've had the same IB coordinator the entire time and she's fantastic. I'm sure whatever shortcomings EH has (and not to mitigate the school's struggles), motivated kids can succeed in such an environment. Most white IB families (and some AA too) just won't give it the time of day.

So you’re just going to ignore that Malia has had educational gaps and come up with the pitiful excuse that card games are a way to reinforce math skills?

What gaps? The ones that got her accepted into SWW? You're reaching

DP- are you kidding? Or do you not understand reading comprehension? No one is reaching- you don’t become an “expert card Player” because you’re learning so much at school.

Why not? Maybe you've never heard of the MIT Blackjack Bank. But that's not really relevant here.

But it was a dumb JOKE. Your grand sense of humor is clearly on display here

(1) You don’t understand what constites a joke. Weedon was clearly making a point about teacher absenteeism which you seem not to understand.
(2) Lots of adults who are great at math do play blackjack in their spare time. What you’re not understanding is that students at MIT don’t play cards at school during learning time. I don’t know why this has to be explained.

In sum- the article makes clear what we all know- Eliot-Hine fails its students.

Teacher absenteeism is a problem throughout DCPS and EH is no exception. You try dealing with heartbreaking stuff students routine bring to class and keep a stone exterior.

you don't understand how coveted Walls seats are and someone completing EH and still gaining a seat at Walls kind of disproves your theory. I doubt it makes the kid any kind of uber student but it obviously didn't harm her prospects. But go ahead and die on that hill.

It did t harm her prospects. It probably helped. Once students are past the test SWW seems to make sure they take students from every DCPS MS in the city.

[Anonymous]

I've known Joe and Amy for 20 years. I doubt they got their kid a tutor. I know they're truly agonizing over this decision. They didn't think they'd be the focus of the article. They thought many students would be profiled as they made their decision all over the city. The reporter changed the focus after they landed the interview with the Weedons. Best of luck to them and to Malia. Working to support city schools really is a thankless job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've known Joe and Amy for 20 years. I doubt they got their kid a tutor. I know they're truly agonizing over this decision. They didn't think they'd be the focus of the article. They thought many students would be profiled as they made their decision all over the city. The reporter changed the focus after they landed the interview with the Weedons. Best of luck to them and to Malia. Working to support city schools really is a thankless job.

They are reaping what they sowed and wish they would spare us their public ‘agonizing.’’

Most parents have the good sense not to put their kid in the spotlight the way they did. No wonder they became the focus of the story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, even if getting subs are difficult there should be no reason why there are high absenteeism rates at schools unless the main teacher has a family or medical reasons or as outlined by the law. In the event that a teacher will be out on a long extended absence or related family reasons or by law, the school community has a right to be informed that the main teacher will be out and a permanent sub has been acquired.

While the school community is not entitled to know the reason why the main teacher is out on leave, they are entitled to reasonable academic accommodations for their child. I am surprised there hasn't been a lawsuit regarding the way in which DCPS handles such leave and academic learning.

Please tell me on what grounds a parent can sue a school district for absent teachers who are using their allotted personal time off? This is ridiculous.

Clearly your reading comprehension skills are lacking. The burden is NOT on the teacher as I have noted. The burden is on DCPS to provide adequate measures to ensure quality academic instruction is met for ALL students. I’m sure an attorney could argue that DCPS is not providing adequate accommodations for students with disabilities and the general student population as outlined in District and Federal laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If his daughter spent most of her time in middle school playing cards, being unchallenged and having a frequent rotation of subs or teachers coming/going, why does he need a WashPo article to tell us what we all know? DCPS is not prepared for middle school and certainly, there are only a few slots at the magnet high schools. I'm assuming that Weedon probably had to get a tutor for his DD in order for her to do well on PARCC and entrance exams to Walls given the lack of proper rigor.

While DCPS struggles with proper middle/high school neighborhood options, the schools in the suburbs struggle with how not to be pressure cookers. Those in the private Big 10 also struggle with the pressure cooker environments.

Its a sad state of affairs when our only option in this region and across the country is a pressure cooker school which comes with lots of learning, room for challenge/growth and opportunities vs disengaged low scoring schools rife with little challenge.

DC is in a unique position because the city council allowed charters here to directly compete with city public schools, thereby almost forcing DCPS to begin looking at how to retain residents for funding schools. New residents are trying to hold DCPS accountable with little success. DCPS is only good through elementary and they don't seem to care about proper neighborhood middle/high school options because its economic city tax base is strong. Many residents in the District are childfree and therefore don't use the city's schools so they really don't care to be involved. Many are also transient and not here for the long term. Still, others will leave after the free pre-k for the suburbs or private schools.

There are a lot of DC type A types who think tutoring is necessary, but for smart motivated kids its
unnecessary. The broad brush applied to EH and by extension its students and community is unfair when you can't even acknowledge the kids who happen succeed, however much they're an exception.

While the Weedons have seen the social and community benefits that come with attending their neighborhood middle school, they have also encountered the challenges. Most prominently: high turnover among teachers and administrators, which leads to an unstable academic environment. His daughter says she has become an expert card player because of all the free time she has had with substitute teachers.

Are you ignoring this portion of the article or just lacking proper comprehension? There was an unstable academic environment, his daughter became an expert card player and you tell me that the possibility of Malia having a tutor is a type A behavior? I am sure her parents had to fill in the large academic DCPS gaps in some form--- tutors, enrichment, etc. There are many posters on here who attend DCPS in upper elementary/middle school who provide out-of-school experiences--- which are a form of enrichment. There are others who have a tutor but probably wouldn't admit it --- the horror of do as I say, but not as I do exist in many DC liberal circles.

PP, you need to get off the offensive train, I did not paint the EH community with a broad brush nor did I state that there aren't smart kids at EH. I simply came to a conclusion based on what I read on WashPo.

gee, that kind of sounds like it was [i]A JOKE[/i]. I would question why he'd make a joke at the expense of a school he's trying to prop up. Then again, playing cards is a good skill for reinforcing math, albeit not where you'd want a middle schooler's math focus to be.

Passing PARCC is just not a big deal for a smart kid. The idea of tutoring someone to succeed at PARCC is mind-numbingly stupid.

The school has had high turnover. They're on their 4th principal in 4 years. They've had the same IB coordinator the entire time and she's fantastic. I'm sure whatever shortcomings EH has (and not to mitigate the school's struggles), motivated kids can succeed in such an environment. Most white IB families (and some AA too) just won't give it the time of day.

1. I'm pretty sure that MIT students are not playing BlackJack during the academic learning day.

2. I am almost certain that Joe Weedon was not happy about his daughter becoming a good card player which is why he displayed so much angst over the decision to send his daughter to Walls. He wants his daughter to be in an academically enriched environment.

3. Would you joke about your kid in a school in which the admin was a revolving door, the teacher absenteeism was high and your child became a good card player?

4. While passing PARCC is not a big deal, what is a big deal is that Malia Weedon spent most of her middle school years thoroughly unchallenged. This is a sad state of affairs. Its possible that she did not make any academic growth though she may have made social growth to be able to thrive in any setting.

Well put.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, even if getting subs are difficult there should be no reason why there are high absenteeism rates at schools unless the main teacher has a family or medical reasons or as outlined by the law. In the event that a teacher will be out on a long extended absence or related family reasons or by law, the school community has a right to be informed that the main teacher will be out and a permanent sub has been acquired.

While the school community is not entitled to know the reason why the main teacher is out on leave, they are entitled to reasonable academic accommodations for their child. I am surprised there hasn't been a lawsuit regarding the way in which DCPS handles such leave and academic learning.

Please tell me on what grounds a parent can sue a school district for absent teachers who are using their allotted personal time off? This is ridiculous.

Clearly your reading comprehension skills are lacking. The burden is NOT on the teacher as I have noted. The burden is on DCPS to provide adequate measures to ensure quality academic instruction is met for ALL students. I’m sure an attorney could argue that DCPS is not providing adequate accommodations for students with disabilities and the general student population as outlined in District and Federal laws.

My reading comprehension skills are just fine. Note I did not ask about suing an individual TEACHER but the SCHOOL DISTRICT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know Weedon, but why on earth would anyone talk about this with the WaPo?

Looks like political posturing at the expense of an 8th grader.

It's nobody's damn business? How is she going to feel arty school through the end of the year?

My kid can barely look at me when I step foot on campus. He'd run off to the circus if I let a reporter take pictures of him.

Another poster nailed it: Because he spent years chastising families for my choosing Eastern. Now that he is faced with the same decision, he needs a public airing of the dilemma that is now his. All of this trumps his daughter’s right to privacy.

So he wanted other parents (high SES) to " pave the way" for his kids to the point of castigating them, but when that didnt happen "in time" hes jumping ship, rather than seize the opportunity to "pave the way" for others? You just cant make this stuff up...

That’s exactly it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've known Joe and Amy for 20 years. I doubt they got their kid a tutor. I know they're truly agonizing over this decision. They didn't think they'd be the focus of the article. They thought many students would be profiled as they made their decision all over the city. The reporter changed the focus after they landed the interview with the Weedons. Best of luck to them and to Malia. Working to support city schools really is a thankless job.

Have you supported them in castigating others who have left their IB school? That's the only reason they are now getting things thrown back at them. If they had minded their own business, or even better recognized that parents had a lot of good reasons to avail themselves of schools like SWW, no one would care about their current decision and the likelihood they choose SWW.

[Anonymous]

The Weedons are actually availing themselves of a school he said should not even exist. If he had his way, there would be no application schools at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've known Joe and Amy for 20 years. I doubt they got their kid a tutor. I know they're truly agonizing over this decision. They didn't think they'd be the focus of the article. They thought many students would be profiled as they made their decision all over the city. The reporter changed the focus after they landed the interview with the Weedons. Best of luck to them and to Malia. Working to support city schools really is a thankless job.

Have you supported them in castigating others who have left their IB school? That's the only reason they are now getting things thrown back at them. If they had minded their own business, or even better recognized that parents had a lot of good reasons to avail themselves of schools like SWW, no one would care about their current decision and the likelihood they choose SWW.

I was active in Hill schools for years and when I told Joe many years ago at a CHPSPO meeting that we were moving my kid to a private, he reacted like I killed his dog in front of him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've known Joe and Amy for 20 years. I doubt they got their kid a tutor. I know they're truly agonizing over this decision. They didn't think they'd be the focus of the article. They thought many students would be profiled as they made their decision all over the city. The reporter changed the focus after they landed the interview with the Weedons. Best of luck to them and to Malia. Working to support city schools really is a thankless job.

So they’re the first people to agonize over a school decision? They didn’t care before what parents felt when they made the difficult choice to send their kid to a charter or pay for private.

Why would he cooperate with the Post? Obviously this story would blow up- haven’t you looked at how many posts on this forum just lambast him for his anti charter ways?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know Weedon, but why on earth would anyone talk about this with the WaPo?

Looks like political posturing at the expense of an 8th grader.

It's nobody's damn business? How is she going to feel arty school through the end of the year?

My kid can barely look at me when I step foot on campus. He'd run off to the circus if I let a reporter take pictures of him.

Another poster nailed it: Because he spent years chastising families for my choosing Eastern. Now that he is faced with the same decision, he needs a public airing of the dilemma that is now his. All of this trumps his daughter’s right to privacy.

So he wanted other parents (high SES) to " pave the way" for his kids to the point of castigating them, but when that didnt happen "in time" hes jumping ship, rather than seize the opportunity to "pave the way" for others? You just cant make this stuff up...

Yes, exactly. He knows the teachers there - the commitment. I think their real dilemma was having her tahr the test, not now. Maybe it is the daughter’s decision? The irony is, if she went to Eastern, she’d be a shoo-in for a very top college.

[Anonymous]

The delimia is being comfortable with a disconnect between espoused views & practice. And maybe- trashing other schools in the article.
Pride ALWAYS comes before the fall.