Deal Expansion

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Is Hardy in Ward 3?

Hardy was in Ward 3, but then moved to Ward 2. However, it still serves part of Ward 3. Deal is in Ward 3, but serves part of Ward 4. The school zones don't align with Ward boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that this is not really an OOB issue. Unless we have a huge economic turnaround or Ward 3 schools get very bad I am guessing that in 5 years the JKLMM schools will have a very tiny OOB population and Deal will still be overcrowded. I know that some people disagree (name rhymes with "reel") but I think that Ward 3 needs another middle school (public or public charter). Deal is already too big, expanding it is not the right way to go.

Except it's not JKLMM -- K and M (Key and Mann) don't feed Deal. This is bad news for the Ward 3 schools that don't feed Deal -- Key, Mann, Stoddert and Eaton. They would be the big beneficiaries of a new middle school, and this means that probably isn't going to happen. In the short term it will probably make it easier to get into Deal OOB, which will sap any efforts to make Hardy a neighborhood school.

Not sure I'm following but are you saying that the expansion of Deal decreases the chances of another middle school in Ward 3? And I don't think it will be easy to get an OOB spot at Deal in the short-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deal wouldn't be overcrowded if DCPS did away with the feeder-school-of-right policy for OOB kids. I hope day is coming.

And it would lose any and all minimal diversity that Deal has

And I suspect that is exactly what the poster is hoping for...that type of person uses the term OOB to mean black, poor and any other type of person she wants to insulate herself from. You suck PP.

[Anonymous]

Eaton feeds Deal.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deal wouldn't be overcrowded if DCPS did away with the feeder-school-of-right policy for OOB kids. I hope day is coming.

And it would lose any and all minimal diversity that Deal has

And I suspect that is exactly what the poster is hoping for...that type of person uses the term OOB to mean black, poor and any other type of person she wants to insulate herself from. You suck PP.

During the last school year, Deal was 39% white and 37% black. Last year, Ward 3 was 78% white and 5.6% black. So, limiting Deal to Ward 3 students would result in a loss of the school's diversity. However, Deal currently covers parts of Ward 4. Those neighborhoods are very mixed and could help keep the student body diverse (though probably not as diverse as it is today) even without OOB students. But, I think the real threat to Deal's diversity is redistricting. The Palisades and Spring Valley families that don't like Hardy and probably won't get their own shiny new school will try to get redistricted into Deal. Someone else will have to get redistricted out and that will probably be Ward 4. Without Ward 4 and without OOB, Deal really will be lilly white. But, if Deal really does go from 37% black to 6% black, there will either be a lawsuit or a riot (or maybe both).

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deal wouldn't be overcrowded if DCPS did away with the feeder-school-of-right policy for OOB kids. I hope day is coming.

And it would lose any and all minimal diversity that Deal has

And I suspect that is exactly what the poster is hoping for...that type of person uses the term OOB to mean black, poor and any other type of person she wants to insulate herself from. You suck PP.

During the last school year, Deal was 39% white and 37% black. Last year, Ward 3 was 78% white and 5.6% black. So, limiting Deal to Ward 3 students would result in a loss of the school's diversity. However, Deal currently covers parts of Ward 4. Those neighborhoods are very mixed and could help keep the student body diverse (though probably not as diverse as it is today) even without OOB students. But, I think the real threat to Deal's diversity is redistricting. The Palisades and Spring Valley families that don't like Hardy and probably won't get their own shiny new school will try to get redistricted into Deal. Someone else will have to get redistricted out and that will probably be Ward 4. Without Ward 4 and without OOB, Deal really will be lilly white. But, if Deal really does go from 37% black to 6% black, there will either be a lawsuit or a riot (or maybe both).

I agree with Jeff. Plus, there are plenty of white families who can't afford to live in Chevy Chase who are making decisions to invest in and live in-bounds for Shepherd and Bancroft in order to secure access to Deal. Redistricting will be a real bait and switch resulting in pushback beyond lawsuits based on the diminishing of diversity at Deal. And I'm admittedly not looped in too well on the school planning stuff, but why isn't the Walter Reed campus being looked to as a site for a new Middle School? I realize Cheh's argument for that ballsy Palisades plan of hers is economies of scale based on the renovation of the red center...well, wouldnt there also be economies of scale at Walter Reed baed on the planning going on there (LAMB, etc.)

[Anonymous]

I agree. Politically, Deal's boundaries will continue to extend east of Rock Creek Park. Far more likely that Hearst and John Eaton will get thrown out of Deal, because "Central" (the DCPS adminstration) knows they have smaller in-bounds populations and therefore will make less political trouble than if, say, Janney was moved out. We saw in the last election when elements of the DC electorate thought there was too much change -- Fenty got thrown out in favor of Gray. I don't know about riots as the PP suggests -- but move Ward 4 out of Deal and next time say hello to Mayor Harry Thomas Jr. or maybe the once-and-future Mayor for Life Barry (again!)

[Anonymous]

I've spoken to several council members and they are appalled by Cheh's proposal for a new middle school in Palisades.

[Anonymous]

"Prof." Cheh's proposal for a new middle school in the Palisades was one of her better ideas, and I am not normally a fan. As for other council members being "appalled," it's too bad that they aren't equally appalled by tax evasion, converstion of government funds for private gain, failure to report a bribe and other conduct that is just another day at the office of the DC Council.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Prof." Cheh's proposal for a new middle school in the Palisades was one of her better ideas, and I am not normally a fan. As for other council members being "appalled," it's too bad that they aren't equally appalled by tax evasion, converstion of government funds for private gain, failure to report a bribe and other conduct that is just another day at the office of the DC Council.

I'll agree that it's not a bad idea perhaps in a vacuum. I have a child at Stoddert and having the rec. center attached to the school is brilliant. Love it. But Cheh's is a reasonable idea at a very wrong time and being driven by political reasons. If the District were flush with money, if all the middle school kids were being served well by their local middle schools then OK! But that's not the reality. The reality is those Key parents will choose to go private rather than go Hardy, thus their kids will not be using those district tax dollars but will be used for kids that need them. I say good. And I don't buy the argument that those Key famlies will move. They live in Palisades and can afford private.

[Anonymous]

"I don't buy the argument that those Key famlies will move. They live in Palisades and can afford private. "

That's a pretty blanket statement. The reality is that private schools are unaffordable for many, including for those who live in pricier neighborhoods. And many residents want to send their children to good public schools and have higher and higher expecations for DC public schooling. The influx of W3 kids into DC public schools in the last 10 years proves both those points. As for trying to save a few District tax dollars, let's ferret out those non-DC residents who sneaking their kids into DC public schools and taking scarce dollars from the DC kids who need them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I don't buy the argument that those Key famlies will move. They live in Palisades and can afford private. "

That's a pretty blanket statement. The reality is that private schools are unaffordable for many, including for those who live in pricier neighborhoods. And many residents want to send their children to good public schools and have higher and higher expecations for DC public schooling. The influx of W3 kids into DC public schools in the last 10 years proves both those points. As for trying to save a few District tax dollars, let's ferret out those non-DC residents who sneaking their kids into DC public schools and taking scarce dollars from the DC kids who need them.

You could essentially make the same point about middle and upper-middle class couples (of any hue) gentrifying previously poor and low-income areas of the city. Their claim and clamor for good schools is no less valid than that of the over-stretched parents in Ward 2. Either way - you bought into your neighborhood, knowing the consequences. Now you know the alternatives. For the Wards 1,4,5 parents there are a lot more attractive charter options within reach, but there's no fundamental difference between the two groups. Optically however, the Palisades/Georgetown parents who need public schools are much more white, less diverse. Ergo, they will not be on the winning side of this argument.

[Anonymous]

The Ward 2/3 parents also have Hardy, a recently renovated in boundary school. That they knew they were zoned for when buying their home.

[Anonymous]

It's really just a question of supply and demand, no?

They're propsing to close nearly-empty schools in certain parts of the city because of the flight to charters. In far NW, Janney, Murch, Hearst, Deal and possibly other schools are enrolled over capacity. Eaton is shown at capacity, but has one of the smallest indoor and outdoor sq.ft. per pupll ratios in the city. Projections show an even bigger enrollment wave coming. It's pretty simple --- you put supply where the demand is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Ward 2/3 parents also have Hardy, a recently renovated in boundary school. That they knew they were zoned for when buying their home.

When we bought are home, we were in-bounds for Deal. Now DCPS is trying to change our elementary school (Eaton) to Hardy. Hardy may be renovated, but Deal (also renovated) is considered to have a superior academic program.