Petition to Change Sela Leadership

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

This feels like the kind of mom for whom the definition of equity is “my kid gets to be bad, and you don’t get to say anything, ever”

The petition has some… tells

[Anonymous]

What they've got is a very small upper elementary program relative to the preschool and K. Not a good look-- indicates high attrition starting in lower elementary, and makes it hard to operate cost-effectively.

Looking at the minutes (kudos to Sela for having informative minutes posted timely) it seems like the playground issue is related to permitting, and that enrollment is slightly below targets. The September minutes mention a budget shortfall necessitating cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

Star ratings aren't a thing anymore. Now we have DC School Report Card Accountability Scores, on which Sela scores in the 26th percentile. Their Tier 1 ranking by the PCSB is based on 2018-19 data, and it looks like Sela would score considerably worse now than it did in that year.

Their enrollment may be growing, I'm not sure, but it's still below their own targets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

Why don't you fill us in on the academic data here.
https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/174/school/197/report

There's some very weird data in this report card. More than 50% of ECE students and nearly a third of other students were chronically absent? There is a bizarre gap in male/female ELA achievement which is not at all representative of DC wide data. The growth data is awful (3.5 points out of 50?!?).

It's only weird if you don't look at the overall data for DC : https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/state/report#measure-102

46.7% of Pre-K students were chronically absent, meaning they were absent for more than 10 percent of school days.
39.9% of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10 percent of school days.

[Anonymous]

And the gender gap is 10 points in one subject at a school where the number of students taking the DC CAPE is not that big. Random variation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

Why don't you fill us in on the academic data here.
https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/174/school/197/report

There's some very weird data in this report card. More than 50% of ECE students and nearly a third of other students were chronically absent? There is a bizarre gap in male/female ELA achievement which is not at all representative of DC wide data. The growth data is awful (3.5 points out of 50?!?).

It's only weird if you don't look at the overall data for DC : https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/state/report#measure-102

46.7% of Pre-K students were chronically absent, meaning they were absent for more than 10 percent of school days.
39.9% of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10 percent of school days.

Right but it's weird in light of Sela's at-risk percentage which is well below the city average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

Why don't you fill us in on the academic data here.
https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/174/school/197/report

There's some very weird data in this report card. More than 50% of ECE students and nearly a third of other students were chronically absent? There is a bizarre gap in male/female ELA achievement which is not at all representative of DC wide data. The growth data is awful (3.5 points out of 50?!?).

The growth stats are the most egregious. And poor growth compounds over time as kids fall further and further behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

Why don't you fill us in on the academic data here.
https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/174/school/197/report

There's some very weird data in this report card. More than 50% of ECE students and nearly a third of other students were chronically absent? There is a bizarre gap in male/female ELA achievement which is not at all representative of DC wide data. The growth data is awful (3.5 points out of 50?!?).

It's only weird if you don't look at the overall data for DC : https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/state/report#measure-102

46.7% of Pre-K students were chronically absent, meaning they were absent for more than 10 percent of school days.
39.9% of students were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10 percent of school days.

But this is a school that wouldn't qualify as T1. And an ES. For that kind of school, these numbers are awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This doesn't seem like a serious or thoughtful effort. If the school is in big financial trouble, say that. If you're talking about data points that are available for other schools, tell me how it compares to similar schools, because I suspect some of these are just difficult, widespread problems, but some may not be. If there are things you think the school can do better to retain teachers or improve performance or fix the playground, say that and tell us what the leadership has said in response to you, don't just tell me you want someone else in charge.

It reads like they don't totally grasp the financial situation underlying a lot of the trouble.

But of course finances are downstream from enrollment and leadership changes can impact enrollment.

I'm open to the argument that there are serious financial challenges and there are things leadership could do to improve enrollment that they've been resistant to. But this is not that argument.

It's not an argument, it's right there in the FAR.

The most recent FAR for SELA states “In FY 2023, the LEA continued to demonstrate robust financial health, with all six key financial indicators above target. At FYE 2023, the LEA reflected 136 days of cash on hand and a 15.4 current ratio, significantly above the 45-days and 1.0 targets, respectively.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This doesn't seem like a serious or thoughtful effort. If the school is in big financial trouble, say that. If you're talking about data points that are available for other schools, tell me how it compares to similar schools, because I suspect some of these are just difficult, widespread problems, but some may not be. If there are things you think the school can do better to retain teachers or improve performance or fix the playground, say that and tell us what the leadership has said in response to you, don't just tell me you want someone else in charge.

It reads like they don't totally grasp the financial situation underlying a lot of the trouble.

But of course finances are downstream from enrollment and leadership changes can impact enrollment.

I'm open to the argument that there are serious financial challenges and there are things leadership could do to improve enrollment that they've been resistant to. But this is not that argument.

It's not an argument, it's right there in the FAR.

The most recent FAR for SELA states “In FY 2023, the LEA continued to demonstrate robust financial health, with all six key financial indicators above target. At FYE 2023, the LEA reflected 136 days of cash on hand and a 15.4 current ratio, significantly above the 45-days and 1.0 targets, respectively.”

Oh you're right, I was looking at Roots. Sorry!

But I do think of you review Sela's board meeting minutes you'll see financial and enrollment concerns raised.

[Anonymous]

ConcernedCharterParents wrote:
As parents, we chose Sela because of its mission to tackle educational inequity, racial segregation, and cultural isolation. Unfortunately, we believe the current leadership does not uphold this mission, nor do their actions reflect the values we want for our school. Many of us are deeply concerned about the school’s direction and culture, and some are even considering leaving Sela after this school year.

Key Concerns
Here are some of the main issues we’ve identified:

Leadership Culture: There is a troubling pattern of staff and parent concerns being dismissed or ignored. Women, particularly women of color, have often been silenced or disrespected. This culture of disregard is unacceptable in an institution that promises inclusivity and equity.

Declining Performance: Academic growth has stagnated, and the school’s OSSE report card reflects poor accountability scores. Enrollment numbers are declining, and the promised playground remains unbuilt.

So what's interesting about this is that this petition is happening now. Sela has been a sinking ship for years, IMO, but the recently released data (2023-2024) shows an approximately 10% increase in math proficiency for Black and white student subgroups. In ELA, on the other hand, Black students showed a 10% increase in proficiency over last year's scores (which were 17% higher than the previous year...so 27% higher than two years ago) while white student scores dropped by 5%. SELA has had an abysmal performance gap between student subgroups for years, which was a primary reason why I didn't consider sending my kid there a couple years ago, so it's really interesting that "concerned parents" are NOW concerned about SELA's educational inequity and the stagnation of academic growth when things are finally getting a little better in some ways for the kids who are most negatively affected by the performance gap. (I do want to note that there is still a 20-55% proficiency gap between Black and white student subgroups, so I'm not saying things are GOOD, just that they're getting a bit better.)

[Anonymous]

The OP is an idiot to post here. If there are issues with the school handle it internally first through proper channels. Then go to the DCPCSB if still an issue. I happen to know that the petition was already circulated to parents at Sela—I have a friend there. Why the F put it here? Do you want to tank the school or have it improve?? And I’m sorry, but the concerns seem a little juvenile to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

ConcernedCharterParents wrote:
As parents, we chose Sela because of its mission to tackle educational inequity, racial segregation, and cultural isolation. Unfortunately, we believe the current leadership does not uphold this mission, nor do their actions reflect the values we want for our school. Many of us are deeply concerned about the school’s direction and culture, and some are even considering leaving Sela after this school year.

Key Concerns
Here are some of the main issues we’ve identified:

Leadership Culture: There is a troubling pattern of staff and parent concerns being dismissed or ignored. Women, particularly women of color, have often been silenced or disrespected. This culture of disregard is unacceptable in an institution that promises inclusivity and equity.

Declining Performance: Academic growth has stagnated, and the school’s OSSE report card reflects poor accountability scores. Enrollment numbers are declining, and the promised playground remains unbuilt.

So what's interesting about this is that this petition is happening now. Sela has been a sinking ship for years, IMO, but the recently released data (2023-2024) shows an approximately 10% increase in math proficiency for Black and white student subgroups. In ELA, on the other hand, Black students showed a 10% increase in proficiency over last year's scores (which were 17% higher than the previous year...so 27% higher than two years ago) while white student scores dropped by 5%. SELA has had an abysmal performance gap between student subgroups for years, which was a primary reason why I didn't consider sending my kid there a couple years ago, so it's really interesting that "concerned parents" are NOW concerned about SELA's educational inequity and the stagnation of academic growth when things are finally getting a little better in some ways for the kids who are most negatively affected by the performance gap. (I do want to note that there is still a 20-55% proficiency gap between Black and white student subgroups, so I'm not saying things are GOOD, just that they're getting a bit better.)

Pick one:
A. The parents complaining are white and concerned about their own group's success, because it's always the wealthiest and most educated who complain first.
B. It's taken this long for everyone to be unhappy and grumble enough that they've come up with a petition.
C. Both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine being so privileged that among your top concerns is building a new playground??? Out of curiosity I looked at the report card (https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/DC%20Report%20Card_Sela%20PCS.pdf), first of all this is a Ward 4 school that has a lot of upper-middle-class white and (probably???) Jewish families. They are 22% at risk, which is really LOW for a DC Charter School. They have a 4/5 star rating! And their enrollment is actually growing, even if by small amounts. This might as well have been signed as "Concerned Karen's who want to speak to your manager" LOL

This is an old report card. The school used to be higher performing.

[Anonymous]

wow, there are only 9 signatures on the petition.