DCPS upper NW elementary vs Title 1 elementary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an aide in NW elementary school. There was no such thing as doing less in K classrooms. Almost all kids were grade level in or above in our classroom. Two children needed more help in small groups and received the help daily.
Kids were absolutely challenged, but it wasn't hard for them.They came to school prepared to do well. The challenge also came from other kids.
They were fighting for their right to be kids and play as much as possible every free second. One kid even said it on day one or two that he wanted to play. It cut deep.
This was hard watch, because it was 2021-22 and kids really needed to play after a year in isolation.
K is extremely hard in DCPS if you asked me. K is when childhood ends in DC.

Sadly it is becoming pre-k 4. With the math curriculum that doesn’t even produce results. You do not need a curriculum in pre-k.

If you look at all the ‘rich’ parents their young children are playing, they know that’s what is going to get their child ahead in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you've moved from a title 1 elementary in DC to an upper NW elementary in DC, how did the type of instruction change? At our current title 1 school, there are many kids below grade level, but also a good number on or above grade level. At upper NW schools, it seems most of the kids are at or above grade level. Does this result in the students being challenged more in the classroom?

The difference has everything to do with the household that the child comes from. Children from households with college-educated parents begin school already ahead. This is not to take away from parents in Title 1 schools, but it has less to do with teacher skill and more to do with the child's exposure and ability to practice what is learned in school each day.
I have actually seen teachers in NW do LESS than teachers in Title 1 school simply because their students are going to achieve at high rates regardless. Teachers in Title 1 schools really have to work hard to move the needle.

There is no doubt that Title 1 teachers have a much harder job (we've been at both kinds of DCPS schools). I was always deeply, deeply impressed with our Title 1 teachers.

I don't see a huge difference in teacher quality at the non Title 1 DCPS. Seems like the same pool, and they do have slightly different jobs.

The parents are the non-title 1 are much more demanding, so I think there are more boundaries in place separating the teachers and the parents. I felt much closer to the Title 1 teachers, they texted me all the time and chatted at pick up and the relationship was just warmer. The non Title 1 teachers are more distant and we definitely are not supposed to text them -- the communication is more structured.

All that said, the teachers all seem good and there is no doubt my kid is learning more in a more peaceful environment at the non-Title 1.

I think this is very school dependent. My kids are a W6 non-T1 (although it was T1 in recent memory, so maybe that changes the culture) and the teachers all hand out their phone numbers to parents. I’ve had teachers my kids have had in previous years reach out to share a cute picture or share personal news/react to news of ours they’ve heard.

[Anonymous]

Broadly? Probably. If you have kids with more stability and resources at home, they come in more prepared to learn, parents have more ability and time be partners when a kid has a learning disability or issue, and teachers can move through curriculum more smoothly. We left a Title 1 that had hardworking and capable teachers, but they faced so many barriers to success (measured by tests and grades anyway - they absolutely succeeded in being a safer place for a lot of the kids). There was turnover like crazy (including principals) because of the burnout and lack of resources.

At our new school teachers stay for years, and they have time for things like project based learning and longer time for recess and fun things. The adults are visibly less stressed and that creates less stressed kids.

For an individual school and individual kids, things can be good, neutral, or bad. We have a kid with some mental health needs and the Title 1 environment was not helpful to their growth and happiness. They left behind good, smart friends who flourished at the same school, but those kids are just naturally calmer and less affected by their environment. For most kids, their academic success is not 100% the result of a school or teachers(s), but a mix of their personality, abilities, the school, the teachers, the other kids, physical environment, resources, and most of all, their home lives. If you’re considering moving, make sure you’re factoring all that.

[Anonymous]

My kid has been at both a Title I school and a non-Title I school.

I think Title I status is only one factor to look at when picking a school.

I would say you want to look first at whether a school has strong leadership, high quality teachers who stick around, a calm, joyful well-run environment, high expectations for behavior, and a vibrant parent community. Both our schools had all those things and my kid thrived.

By contrast, a friend's kid was at a sought-after non-Title I where kids were literally throwing chairs in class with no consequences and multiple teachers quit in the middle of the year out of frustration, and were not replaced. Her smart, capable kid was below grade level until they switched schools because learning wasn't happening in their classrooms.

Those things would never happen at either school we went to - both the non-Title I and the Title I.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has been at both a Title I school and a non-Title I school.

I think Title I status is only one factor to look at when picking a school.

I would say you want to look first at whether a school has strong leadership, high quality teachers who stick around, a calm, joyful well-run environment, high expectations for behavior, and a vibrant parent community. Both our schools had all those things and my kid thrived.

By contrast, a friend's kid was at a sought-after non-Title I where kids were literally throwing chairs in class with no consequences and multiple teachers quit in the middle of the year out of frustration, and were not replaced. Her smart, capable kid was below grade level until they switched schools because learning wasn't happening in their classrooms.

Those things would never happen at either school we went to - both the non-Title I and the Title I.

I agree that "high expectations for behavior" is important, but how do you assess that prior to enrolling?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has been at both a Title I school and a non-Title I school.

I think Title I status is only one factor to look at when picking a school.

I would say you want to look first at whether a school has strong leadership, high quality teachers who stick around, a calm, joyful well-run environment, high expectations for behavior, and a vibrant parent community. Both our schools had all those things and my kid thrived.

By contrast, a friend's kid was at a sought-after non-Title I where kids were literally throwing chairs in class with no consequences and multiple teachers quit in the middle of the year out of frustration, and were not replaced. Her smart, capable kid was below grade level until they switched schools because learning wasn't happening in their classrooms.

Those things would never happen at either school we went to - both the non-Title I and the Title I.

I agree that "high expectations for behavior" is important, but how do you assess that prior to enrolling?

Ask around. Different schools have different cultures. We've never had a single issue (knock on wood) with bullying or disruptive behavior in the classroom or anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Broadly? Probably. If you have kids with more stability and resources at home, they come in more prepared to learn, parents have more ability and time be partners when a kid has a learning disability or issue, and teachers can move through curriculum more smoothly. We left a Title 1 that had hardworking and capable teachers, but they faced so many barriers to success (measured by tests and grades anyway - they absolutely succeeded in being a safer place for a lot of the kids). There was turnover like crazy (including principals) because of the burnout and lack of resources.

At our new school teachers stay for years, and they have time for things like project based learning and longer time for recess and fun things. The adults are visibly less stressed and that creates less stressed kids.

For an individual school and individual kids, things can be good, neutral, or bad. We have a kid with some mental health needs and the Title 1 environment was not helpful to their growth and happiness. They left behind good, smart friends who flourished at the same school, but those kids are just naturally calmer and less affected by their environment. For most kids, their academic success is not 100% the result of a school or teachers(s), but a mix of their personality, abilities, the school, the teachers, the other kids, physical environment, resources, and most of all, their home lives. If you’re considering moving, make sure you’re factoring all that.

Can you share the name of the school with project based learning, please?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has been at both a Title I school and a non-Title I school.

I think Title I status is only one factor to look at when picking a school.

I would say you want to look first at whether a school has strong leadership, high quality teachers who stick around, a calm, joyful well-run environment, high expectations for behavior, and a vibrant parent community. Both our schools had all those things and my kid thrived.

By contrast, a friend's kid was at a sought-after non-Title I where kids were literally throwing chairs in class with no consequences and multiple teachers quit in the middle of the year out of frustration, and were not replaced. Her smart, capable kid was below grade level until they switched schools because learning wasn't happening in their classrooms.

Those things would never happen at either school we went to - both the non-Title I and the Title I.

I agree that "high expectations for behavior" is important, but how do you assess that prior to enrolling?

In the case of the Title I, I asked around. But I also did the open house and they took us through almost every classroom. All were calm, learning was happening. I liked that the school seemed to have nothing to hide.

In the case of the non-Title I, I spoke extensively to school leaders and parents and also visited. I wasn't allowed to go through every room - I don't think they were hiding anything either, that's just the principal's policy - but that school also seemed calm and kids were on task as far as I could tell.

I do think these schools are among DCPS' strongest, so not sure how typical our experience is. The point though, is to visit and talk to parents, don't just look at whether a school gets Title I money or not. That's one data point, not the whole picture.