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Brent Elementary School: anything and everything, please!
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Anonymous
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PP, as one of the new preschool parents, I can certainly tell you that the new PS folks have no interest in pushing anyone around. We have been welcomed by the school, teachers, and parent community and we are already participating in school life.
They keep the older kids separate from the younger ones which has been an issue since Francis and Stevens merged a couple of years ago. AA parents with young children at the school had and have the same concerns as anyone else. I have felt very safe there the many times I have visited or I would not send my child. DCPS including Rhee, the Principal, and teachers are working hard to make Francis-Stevens better for everyone. It takes time to turn a school around, but look for very good news about the school in the near future. As for the incident mentioned above, I don't know anything about it so can not verify the accuracy or not. If I find out something, I'll report back. Unfortunately, there are incidents everywhere. Look at the Hearst news. Good luck to you OP. |
Anonymous
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The OP is lucky! These are very helpful comments, and I appreciate the chance to listen in on the conversation the OP's question generates.
Could someone help me understand something? Several mention the value of "diversity" ("the lower grades at Brent are highly diverse...a lot of well-educated parents" ) Several also praise the increasing proportion of "in-boundary" students in recent Brent classes ("The school demographics transitioned a lot about 5 years ago- more in boundary families, for preS and PreK now its 95% in boundary") and make it clear "in-boundary" these days families who can afford a 2BDR for at least $500K and a 3BDR going for a lot more than that. I just don't think that what I thought "diversity" means is what "diversity" means on this board. |
Anonymous
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Here are current scores (% proficient in 2009, trend in % proficent over past year, and trend in % proficient over past 2 years) for reading and for math, for each Capitol Hill elementary school.
Amidon-Bowen READING 33 (+43% in past year, but -8% over past 2 years) MATH 21 (-9%, -5%) Brent READING 39 (-9%, -36%) MATH 64 (+33%, +88%) J.O. Wilson READING 71 (+6%, +31%) MATH 76 (+33%, +41%) Ludlow-Taylor READING 57 (+12%, -8%) MATH 57 (+8%, +30%) Maury READING 46 (-21%, -13%) MATH 30 (-48%, +3%) Miner READING 35 (-27%, +21%) MATH 31 (-23%, +41%) Payne READING 40 (+33%, +8%) MATH 41 (+86%, +64%) Tyler READING 54 (+46%, -7%) MATH 49 (+44%, +11%) Watkins READING 69 (+11%, +35%) MATH 67 (+20%, +60%) Scores tell only part of the story--in this case, that JO Wilson, Watkins, and probably Ludlow-Taylor and Tyler are solid and improving schools....if you go visit, I think you'll see Miner and Maury have wonderful advantages as well, especially in terms of school spirit and involved parents. There are a lot of good choices on the Hill--Brent, and many others! |
Anonymous
On these boards, diversity is code for more white kids from rich or upper middle class families. The homes around Brent can go for $1M.
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Anonymous
Exact quote:
How do you equate her dislike of filthy language and gangs beating up little girls with having a problem with minorities? Surely you aren't contending that minorities are down with filthy language and gangs beating up little girls. |
Anonymous
"Diversity" cuts both ways. |
Anonymous
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OP, try to look at schools from a long-term angle. If you move to the Hill (and I think you can find something in your price range, BTW) you will find that there is a lot of support for neighborhood schools. I'm not sure what age your child is, but there is a strong push to strengthen ward 6 middle schools. Another point is that even if you are in-bounds, your neighborhood school is not obliged to enroll your child until PK or K - not sure which. Also, the school boundaries sort of defy logic, so if Brent is your target school, you may not need to buy a house in the immediate, pricey blocks surrounding the school.
I hope it all works out for you. |
Anonymous
| There have been questions about how Brent is diverse at the lower grades while the surrounding houses are worth so much. I don't know the specific numbers, but most of the early classes appear to be about half black and half white with a few kids from other ethnic groups. Not everyone is crazy rich. Some of the kids live in apartments and many of them live in intergenerational families who have owned a house in boundary for generations. |
Anonymous
It's K. Kindergarten is mandatory. Pre-K is lottery. |
Anonymous
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OP here: There was a meeting at Francis-Stevens in which a prospective parent of a pre-K child suggested that younger children use a different door (one that faces the new playground) than older children. There could/should be a guard posted at that door to watch over the little ones. That is a wonderful suggestion. I hope it's implemented. The principal and teachers seem quite sympathetic to the concerns of parents of younger kids. There was no attitude or implication that if you didn't like violent behavior or potty-mouthed kids you should go to a private school or move to the suburbs.
Anyway, this probably belongs on a thread devoted to Francis-Stevens. As I mentioned, we must move out of our too-small apartment, and Capitol Hill beckons. There are apartment buildings there, and/or perhaps we could rent. I think the statement that you have to accept violent behavior (not kids letting off steam, but beating up another child), and filthy language, belongs to the past. It's about time people stood up and said, "THis is unacceptable. We will not have it in our schools." That (among other factors, of course) will change the schools. For many years, of course, people who found it unacceptable, and who had the means, did indeed send their kids to private schools or move away, including many African-American families. That is why schools like Francis-Stevens are under-enrolled. To the poster who said s/he'd appreciate a school that went up through middle school: I sympathize with the difficult choices facing parents of middle school kids. If Francis-Stevens were a lovely building (it has spacious grounds), then I, too, would rejoice in sending my child to a combined elementary school-middle school. But the school is so dark and dismal inside. I don't know why--there are tons of windows--but it's so depressing. (I have to enter the school to arrange special services for my pre-K child. The services are wonderful, by the way). Again, the principal and staff are sympathetic and might adjust the interior lights. The cafeteria is so depressing that it has been suggested that the smaller kids eat in their classrooms. I'm glad the principal, staff and community leaders don't shrug and say, "If you don't like it, move away." That was the attitude when I was growing up here in DC...I'm so glad it's changing! Thank you to all on this forum. |
Anonymous
THis is Daniel Holt, President of the PTA. Can you contact me about whatever issues you may have? Please reach out, I'd like to hear your perspecitive. |
Anonymous
| The Hill has a bevy of rock solid choices for Elementary School. You can find one that works for your family. |
Anonymous
Brent parent here: Brent is 50% African-American. At least 10 languages are spoken by Brent parents. Brent is half out-of-bounds and half in-bounds. Brent has a range of advanced and below basic students. Brent has a Chinese program with two instructors. Brent offers multiple Spanish and Chinese opportunities for students and adults. International Night is incredible - did you taste the homemade Ethiopian and Turkish food that two families make each year? Brent's Third grade learned about Colombia and migratory birds. Brent gardens host birds which migrate to Colombia. The class hosted Colombian officials in their classroom, traveled to the Colombian Embassy for classes on Colombian culture and biology. Students also exchanged letters with students from an exchange school in Colombia - the letters were translated by volunteers. Most DCPS employees at Brent are happily returning for another year. 13 of 14 Brent teachers returned this year. Brent is diverse and has a strong focus on foreign language and culture. And the staff is happy. Not sure if we are talking about the same Brent school . . . |
Anonymous
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Brent has benefited from a couple of things. First, it is in the pretty historical Capitol Hill, a couple of blocks from Capitol South. The location alone make is attractive for teachers.
Second, Dr. Wilhoyte, the principal, is excellent. Let me just say, she did not need IMPACT to clean house. She works hard at both catching kids, who have not been taught well, up and implementing accelerated learning. Third, teachers are excellent. My daughter has always had a great teacher. Teachers participate in PTA meetings and have been cheerleaders for the PTA. And fourth, Brent Community gets it frankly. These are our tax payer dollars and we will have a neighborhood school that meets our standards. Our next effort is Middle School and we are prepared to fight and win the same battles. In the meantime, we are working to get a new fence - the chain link fence does not represent our community. |
Anonymous
| Question for Brent parents then? Why were the test scores so terrible? The same question might be asked of Maury parents, but that's another thread. |