Two Rivers/Two Rivers Young: How Are Things Going Under New Leadership?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This school is under extremely toxic management. Look at the teacher turnover rate. Do NOT send your child there, they provide FAPE even less than a typical DCPS school.

Are current parents not concerned? Or does it not matter?

Like most things involving DC schools it isn't that simple. Parents start at TR because they do ECE well and because it is a better option than otherwise available. No one is choosing TR over Brent or Maurey. They are unlikely to choose it over LT. TR is great in ECE because the school skews (more so in before times) high SES. They focus on kindness and other laudable goals. Kids come from households that read to them and supplementation in ECE is really just living a privileged life. Then in 2nd or so kids start leaving. Some for privates, some get lucky in the lottery and move on to LT and other schools. The culture gets lost right when teaching and learning gets real. TR has always struggled with how to balance "equity" (whatever the F that means) with book learning. That was true before COVID and before the current group think. Remember, those parents were there because their were no better options. That doesn't change in 2nd or 3rd or even fourth. But the bar for how "better" or even good TR is starts to drop dramatically. It goes from a good option, to a barely acceptable one, to "OMG we need to move if we don't get lucky in 5th grade lottery!" 5th grade is when everyone runs for the doors (Latin, BASIS, Latin 2, privates) because TR MS isn't a good option. Has never been a good option even in the before times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This school is under extremely toxic management. Look at the teacher turnover rate. Do NOT send your child there, they provide FAPE even less than a typical DCPS school.

Are current parents not concerned? Or does it not matter?

Like most things involving DC schools it isn't that simple. Parents start at TR because they do ECE well and because it is a better option than otherwise available. No one is choosing TR over Brent or Maurey. They are unlikely to choose it over LT. TR is great in ECE because the school skews (more so in before times) high SES. They focus on kindness and other laudable goals. Kids come from households that read to them and supplementation in ECE is really just living a privileged life. Then in 2nd or so kids start leaving. Some for privates, some get lucky in the lottery and move on to LT and other schools. The culture gets lost right when teaching and learning gets real. TR has always struggled with how to balance "equity" (whatever the F that means) with book learning. That was true before COVID and before the current group think. Remember, those parents were there because their were no better options. That doesn't change in 2nd or 3rd or even fourth. But the bar for how "better" or even good TR is starts to drop dramatically. It goes from a good option, to a barely acceptable one, to "OMG we need to move if we don't get lucky in 5th grade lottery!" 5th grade is when everyone runs for the doors (Latin, BASIS, Latin 2, privates) because TR MS isn't a good option. Has never been a good option even in the before times.

All of this. It was never that good, it just provided the cultural things that high-SES people thought they wanted from ECE. But to do that stuff AND deliver strong academics AND maintain diversity is a lot of walking and chewing gum. The school just wasn't up to doing all that, and then COVID took a bite out of it, and the first year of Latin Cooper took a big hit to their rising 5th and 6th grade classes.

And having kids at two locations puts people off TR4th (let that be a lesson to you cluster boosters!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This school is under extremely toxic management. Look at the teacher turnover rate. Do NOT send your child there, they provide FAPE even less than a typical DCPS school.

Are current parents not concerned? Or does it not matter?

Like most things involving DC schools it isn't that simple. Parents start at TR because they do ECE well and because it is a better option than otherwise available. No one is choosing TR over Brent or Maurey. They are unlikely to choose it over LT. TR is great in ECE because the school skews (more so in before times) high SES. They focus on kindness and other laudable goals. Kids come from households that read to them and supplementation in ECE is really just living a privileged life. Then in 2nd or so kids start leaving. Some for privates, some get lucky in the lottery and move on to LT and other schools. The culture gets lost right when teaching and learning gets real. TR has always struggled with how to balance "equity" (whatever the F that means) with book learning. That was true before COVID and before the current group think. Remember, those parents were there because their were no better options. That doesn't change in 2nd or 3rd or even fourth. But the bar for how "better" or even good TR is starts to drop dramatically. It goes from a good option, to a barely acceptable one, to "OMG we need to move if we don't get lucky in 5th grade lottery!" 5th grade is when everyone runs for the doors (Latin, BASIS, Latin 2, privates) because TR MS isn't a good option. Has never been a good option even in the before times.

All of this. It was never that good, it just provided the cultural things that high-SES people thought they wanted from ECE. But to do that stuff AND deliver strong academics AND maintain diversity is a lot of walking and chewing gum. The school just wasn't up to doing all that, and then COVID took a bite out of it, and the first year of Latin Cooper took a big hit to their rising 5th and 6th grade classes.

And having kids at two locations puts people off TR4th (let that be a lesson to you cluster boosters!)

10 years ago, almost everyone chose it over LT given the option; now virtually no one does. For the past two years, TR kids have come to LT in droves. I think the “rise” of LT has accelerated the decline of TR, because quite a few kids had the right to opt into LT and even a couple of years ago, it wasn’t that hard to lottery in. (Like LT’s IB% has increased 40% in a decade; given that it’s largely happening 1 grade at a time, that is actually incredible just mathematically speaking.)

[Anonymous]

TR is basically a feeder school for Inspired Teaching at this point.

[Anonymous]

Lots of hyperbole and drama in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of hyperbole and drama in this thread.

Why don't you tell us what happened to the other 5th grade classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of hyperbole and drama in this thread.

Why don't you tell us what happened to the other 5th grade classroom.

This year? Which campus? What happened?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This school is under extremely toxic management. Look at the teacher turnover rate. Do NOT send your child there, they provide FAPE even less than a typical DCPS school.

Are current parents not concerned? Or does it not matter?

Like most things involving DC schools it isn't that simple. Parents start at TR because they do ECE well and because it is a better option than otherwise available. No one is choosing TR over Brent or Maurey. They are unlikely to choose it over LT. TR is great in ECE because the school skews (more so in before times) high SES. They focus on kindness and other laudable goals. Kids come from households that read to them and supplementation in ECE is really just living a privileged life. Then in 2nd or so kids start leaving. Some for privates, some get lucky in the lottery and move on to LT and other schools. The culture gets lost right when teaching and learning gets real. TR has always struggled with how to balance "equity" (whatever the F that means) with book learning. That was true before COVID and before the current group think. Remember, those parents were there because their were no better options. That doesn't change in 2nd or 3rd or even fourth. But the bar for how "better" or even good TR is starts to drop dramatically. It goes from a good option, to a barely acceptable one, to "OMG we need to move if we don't get lucky in 5th grade lottery!" 5th grade is when everyone runs for the doors (Latin, BASIS, Latin 2, privates) because TR MS isn't a good option. Has never been a good option even in the before times.

Nailed it. We ran from TRY doors before 5th grade; we should have left sooner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of hyperbole and drama in this thread.

Why don't you tell us what happened to the other 5th grade classroom.

This year? Which campus? What happened?

Apparently they lost so many rising 5th graders they have only one classroom for 5th when they used to have two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of hyperbole and drama in this thread.

Why don't you tell us what happened to the other 5th grade classroom.

This year? Which campus? What happened?

Apparently they lost so many rising 5th graders they have only one classroom for 5th when they used to have two.

Neither 5th grade at TRY had a permanent lead teacher by mid year, but had quit.

[Anonymous]

We are muddling through and it makes sense for us to stay (@4th St) thru 4th grade, but I’d advise against if you have other options.

Will definitely need to supplement but that’s what most serious parents do anyway (at least in the burbs). Test scores aren’t everything but my kid tests as well if not better most kids at the LT’s and Maurys (and I think that’s the same for the UMC folks at TR). Of course that prob has almost nothing to do with the instruction at TR.

My impression that that other schools are strongly academically in ways that don’t necessarily reflect on test scores and that more marginal (but not necessary failing) students might get more support/attention at LT, Maury, etc.

If you luck out in lottery or go private for middle, you’ll probably be fine. But the middle school is a complete mess.

I’m perfectly happy with our OVERALL situation, but I couldn’t in good faith recommend TR going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TR is basically a feeder school for Inspired Teaching at this point.

Which is baffling, because ITDS is just as bad from a management and academics perspective. They hire TR's leftovers and peddle the same crunchy BS that makes rich people swoon, but ultimately it's only the students from high SES families who are doing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TR is basically a feeder school for Inspired Teaching at this point.

Which is baffling, because ITDS is just as bad from a management and academics perspective. They hire TR's leftovers and peddle the same crunchy BS that makes rich people swoon, but ultimately it's only the students from high SES families who are doing well.

Maybe it's baffling, but it's happening.

[Anonymous]

Weird to read this thread. It has been several years, but back when we were looking into schools for the PK lottery, TR got a ton of hype, including from people we knew on the Hill. I even toured it, though after doing so, I put it very low on the lottery list. Not because of concerns about academics or leadership but because I thought that the playground area at TR4 was very sad. I couldn't imagine having to play in that small little space right off Florida Ave. Didn't seem healthy to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird to read this thread. It has been several years, but back when we were looking into schools for the PK lottery, TR got a ton of hype, including from people we knew on the Hill. I even toured it, though after doing so, I put it very low on the lottery list. Not because of concerns about academics or leadership but because I thought that the playground area at TR4 was very sad. I couldn't imagine having to play in that small little space right off Florida Ave. Didn't seem healthy to me.

PK3 parents are adorable.