If DC public charters are created to help the underprivileged is it bad to

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

Yeah, the above is us. With our first kid, it was clear the kid would do well anywhere. The second clearly needs more out of school. Will our choices be the same for both in a choice-heavy environment? Who knows.

You really shouldn't feel bad about taking part in programs/activities for lower-SES families because your participation actually makes such programs more sustainable. And it's rare that your participation prevents access to another family.

Overall, we need to stop overthinking everything in terms of our individual choices. You'll always be able to identify something "problematic" with this or that choice if you're intent on doing so. To the extent we are concerned about certain things, it probably makes more sense to get involved or support efforts at a systematic, maco-level, which is only way many of these problems can be addressed in earnest. In the meantime, just do what makes best sense for your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

I'm not sure why this is a dichotomy for you, especially at your IB Title 1 school. Your IB school is for your community, and you are a part of that community. You should stay in it to serve it. Title 1 also has some of the best teacher training around, so if you want your kid to receive the best education, you chances of getting it at a Title 1 is better than getting it at an "OOB DCPS where the family community is similar to" you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charter schools were created by republicans to F with public schools. Don't overthink it.

+1 I'm kind of tickled by the idea that someone thinks they were created to help the underprivileged. They were created to weaken and siphon money out of public schools and into pockets like the DeVos's.

Yeah, where do people read charters were designed to help poor DC kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Charter schools were created by republicans to F with public schools. Don't overthink it.

+1 I'm kind of tickled by the idea that someone thinks they were created to help the underprivileged. They were created to weaken and siphon money out of public schools and into pockets like the DeVos's.

Yeah, where do people read charters were designed to help poor DC kids?

OP did say "many charters", and it's like in the charter of many charters that they have a goal of serving the under-served.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

Yeah, the above is us. With our first kid, it was clear the kid would do well anywhere. The second clearly needs more out of school. Will our choices be the same for both in a choice-heavy environment? Who knows.

You really shouldn't feel bad about taking part in programs/activities for lower-SES families because your participation actually makes such programs more sustainable. And it's rare that your participation prevents access to another family.

Overall, we need to stop overthinking everything in terms of our individual choices. You'll always be able to identify something "problematic" with this or that choice if you're intent on doing so. To the extent we are concerned about certain things, it probably makes more sense to get involved or support efforts at a systematic, maco-level, which is only way many of these problems can be addressed in earnest. In the meantime, just do what makes best sense for your family.

No, your participation doesn't make such programs more sustainable -- not at a Title 1 school. The school gets federal funds to make everything low cost. But as more high-income families join, the Title 1 funding goes away, and leaves the school (and parents) in a real lurch. Check schools like Watkins where there are never enough funds to ensure that everyone who needs affordable aftercare can actually get it.

[Anonymous]

Edit: "it's LIKELY"

[Anonymous]

OP, your only real solution in DC is to feel bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

Yeah, the above is us. With our first kid, it was clear the kid would do well anywhere. The second clearly needs more out of school. Will our choices be the same for both in a choice-heavy environment? Who knows.

You really shouldn't feel bad about taking part in programs/activities for lower-SES families because your participation actually makes such programs more sustainable. And it's rare that your participation prevents access to another family.

Overall, we need to stop overthinking everything in terms of our individual choices. You'll always be able to identify something "problematic" with this or that choice if you're intent on doing so. To the extent we are concerned about certain things, it probably makes more sense to get involved or support efforts at a systematic, maco-level, which is only way many of these problems can be addressed in earnest. In the meantime, just do what makes best sense for your family.

No, your participation doesn't make such programs more sustainable -- not at a Title 1 school. The school gets federal funds to make everything low cost. But as more high-income families join, the Title 1 funding goes away, and leaves the school (and parents) in a real lurch. Check schools like Watkins where there are never enough funds to ensure that everyone who needs affordable aftercare can actually get it.

+1. I wish our IB was still Title 1. It was so much better than it is now, with more high SES families and no Title 1 funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

Yeah, the above is us. With our first kid, it was clear the kid would do well anywhere. The second clearly needs more out of school. Will our choices be the same for both in a choice-heavy environment? Who knows.

You really shouldn't feel bad about taking part in programs/activities for lower-SES families because your participation actually makes such programs more sustainable. And it's rare that your participation prevents access to another family.

Overall, we need to stop overthinking everything in terms of our individual choices. You'll always be able to identify something "problematic" with this or that choice if you're intent on doing so. To the extent we are concerned about certain things, it probably makes more sense to get involved or support efforts at a systematic, maco-level, which is only way many of these problems can be addressed in earnest. In the meantime, just do what makes best sense for your family.

No, your participation doesn't make such programs more sustainable -- not at a Title 1 school. The school gets federal funds to make everything low cost. But as more high-income families join, the Title 1 funding goes away, and leaves the school (and parents) in a real lurch. Check schools like Watkins where there are never enough funds to ensure that everyone who needs affordable aftercare can actually get it.

+1. I wish our IB was still Title 1. It was so much better than it is now, with more high SES families and no Title 1 funding.

But what do you suggest as the alternative? High SES kids need and have a right to attend schools just as much as lower SES kids do.

[Anonymous]

Yeh, POC here. I wouldn’t want my kids going to a school that’s full of all white kids either. So I get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

Yeah, the above is us. With our first kid, it was clear the kid would do well anywhere. The second clearly needs more out of school. Will our choices be the same for both in a choice-heavy environment? Who knows.

You really shouldn't feel bad about taking part in programs/activities for lower-SES families because your participation actually makes such programs more sustainable. And it's rare that your participation prevents access to another family.

Overall, we need to stop overthinking everything in terms of our individual choices. You'll always be able to identify something "problematic" with this or that choice if you're intent on doing so. To the extent we are concerned about certain things, it probably makes more sense to get involved or support efforts at a systematic, maco-level, which is only way many of these problems can be addressed in earnest. In the meantime, just do what makes best sense for your family.

No, your participation doesn't make such programs more sustainable -- not at a Title 1 school. The school gets federal funds to make everything low cost. But as more high-income families join, the Title 1 funding goes away, and leaves the school (and parents) in a real lurch. Check schools like Watkins where there are never enough funds to ensure that everyone who needs affordable aftercare can actually get it.

+1. I wish our IB was still Title 1. It was so much better than it is now, with more high SES families and no Title 1 funding.

But what do you suggest as the alternative? High SES kids need and have a right to attend schools just as much as lower SES kids do.

Have the High SES families pay more into the school, to make up for the funds that were lost?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean you can play this game forever in DC.

We are at a Title 1 DCPS (middle class white family) and we often have to have a discussion about whether we will participate in a program because we know it is designed for the many at risk kids at our school and we don't want to take opportunities away from other kids. On the other hand, it's our school and we want to be part of the community. And we don't want our kid to feel separate and apart.

Example: the school has heavily subsidized after care. It's ridiculously inexpensive. Is it wrong for us to use it even though we can afford to pay more? In the end we do use it because what is the alternative? For our kid to to go to some more expensive aftercare program somewhere else so that we don't feel guilty using a subsidized service? How would that look to the kids? It makes no sense. So we get a benefit we didn't earn and don't technically need, but it's really the most sensible outcome.

And then during the lottery each year we always feel a bit confused. Does it make more sense to stay and invest in our IB school (which we like!), or to acknowledge that this school is designed to serve the needs of a community we don't really belong to and lottery into a charter or OOB DCPS where the family community is more similar to us (whiter, more middle or upper middle class). I honestly don't know the answer. So far we've stayed out of loyalty to the school and because our kid is happy. Maybe we'll last until middle. It's really hard to know what the right thing to do it, especially when of course it's a crapshoot whether we even get into another school anyway.

Public school in DC is not for the faint of heart. Unless you live in a small number of school boundaries, you will at some point have to struggle with the question of whether to make a choice that serves your community or that serves your child, and then also to question what it even means to do right by your kid. There is no "set it and forget it" mode for most DC public school parents. You will have to wrestle with these questions.

Yeah, the above is us. With our first kid, it was clear the kid would do well anywhere. The second clearly needs more out of school. Will our choices be the same for both in a choice-heavy environment? Who knows.

You really shouldn't feel bad about taking part in programs/activities for lower-SES families because your participation actually makes such programs more sustainable. And it's rare that your participation prevents access to another family.

Overall, we need to stop overthinking everything in terms of our individual choices. You'll always be able to identify something "problematic" with this or that choice if you're intent on doing so. To the extent we are concerned about certain things, it probably makes more sense to get involved or support efforts at a systematic, maco-level, which is only way many of these problems can be addressed in earnest. In the meantime, just do what makes best sense for your family.

No, your participation doesn't make such programs more sustainable -- not at a Title 1 school. The school gets federal funds to make everything low cost. But as more high-income families join, the Title 1 funding goes away, and leaves the school (and parents) in a real lurch. Check schools like Watkins where there are never enough funds to ensure that everyone who needs affordable aftercare can actually get it.

+1. I wish our IB was still Title 1. It was so much better than it is now, with more high SES families and no Title 1 funding.

But what do you suggest as the alternative? High SES kids need and have a right to attend schools just as much as lower SES kids do.

Have the High SES families pay more into the school, to make up for the funds that were lost?

They do. Taxes.

Look, this is ridiculous. You want higher SES families to NOT attend schools with poorer kids? This would help whom, exactly.

[Anonymous]

I swear, white people complain about everything! This is embarrassing! Homeschool your kids if you’re afraid to have them around a diverse group of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course it’s okay. But, be cognizant of the fact that being an only anything is hard. Being a minority of one at a school is much harder than being one of even a small group. If your child will actually be the only white student, is that a good social environment for him or her?

Why is it not a good social environment. African Americans, Latinos and Asians frequently experience being the only one in work environments, academics and social settings. As a person of color this has been my reality quite frequently. I am so confused by this way of thinking. Its ridiculous. This is why so many White families have decided to take their children out of DCPCS schools by Kindergarten they don't want to be the only ones left in the upper grades. You can say it is about test scores but it is deeper than that. If a school has majority at risk students (English as a Second Lang, Special education, homeless, lower SES) in the upper testing grades then research indicates the test scores will be lower. Do not assume that the school is not as good if the test scores are low that is flawed thinking. Teachers in title one schools can out teach many teachers in other schools from what I have experienced in my over 20 years in the education system. Many white parents do not want their children in a school or class with all minority students. They may not admit it but it is true. I wish people would just be honest and begin to address their biases.

Totally agree with you on testing, but disagree on the issue of whether it is hard to be "the only" or one of the only of a racial or ethnic group in a community.

Of course many Black, Latino, and AAPI folks do this in life, and for many it becomes so common that they don't even think about it. That does not mean it is not hard, and that doesn't mean it's not especially hard for young kids in a school environment, at a time in life when you are trying to wrap your head around where you belong. I have heard and read many accounts of people who went to majority white schools as the only POC and the challenges that created for them. Just because it's common doesn't mean it's not hard.

I do think there is value for white kids in being in that position though, as it should help them develop the empathy and understanding needed to combat white supremacy in their lives. However, there is a complicating factor, which is that anyone who is a minority in a population needs support in order to navigate that experience. Especially little kids. They are going to need to talk it out and process feelings of exclusion or not belonging. It's really important. I think we mostly know what that looks like for POC in majority white environments -- you need diverse teaching staff, and support from family and other POC who will make sure the child knows that they are valuable, that they belong. I think it's harder for kids who are white minorities in majority black and brown school environments to get those kinds of supports.

If it was a white adult going into a majority black environment, it would be one thing to say "Suck it up, black people do this all the time." Merited, even. But you can't say that to a Kindergartener who comes home crying because she doesn't look like the other kids or doesn't feel like she fits in. That can be hard, and honestly some kids might just do better in an environment where there are more kids that look like them. That doesn't have to mean a majority-white school. But just like a Black, Latino, or AAPI family might choose a school in part because there is a critical mass of other POC who will make their kid feel like they belong, a white family might make the same choice. I get the dynamics are different and that it feels like the white family is simply biased against POC. It's impossible to escape that implication. But if you've ever had a kid who is "the only" in their class, and seen how it can impact their self-perception, ability to make friends, and confidence, you understand what a hard choice that is. We are talking about kids who are 3 years old, 6 years old, 8 years old. These are not adults. You cannot simply tell them to suck it up and leave it at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I swear, white people complain about everything! This is embarrassing! Homeschool your kids if you’re afraid to have them around a diverse group of kids.

People are actually talking about lack of diversity. A school that is 84% black, 8% white, 6% Latino, and 2% AAPI? Not diverse. This is like saying that a black family who chooses not to send their children to the 90% white charter school are "afraid of diversity." They are afraid that their child will not fit in or feel welcome. Come on.