The Real Problem With D.C. Public Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is a segregated city with the worst schools trapped in poor communities that perpetuate cultures of poverty.

What is your definition of worst?

[Anonymous]

I think the real problem with DCPS is that there are not enough magnet schools. Those application HS are not really magnet schools, perhaps except Banneker and Walls. What does a magnet school mean? It is supposed to collect high achieving students, right? DCPS should start the magnet schools system starting from middle schools. The high achieving students can be in an environment where their peers are at a similar level. That way teachers have more time to concentrate on a group of similar math and reading level. At traditional schools, teachers do spend their time with low performing students naturally so high achieving students are actually receiving less attention from the teachers. Sure, the priority is to bring everyone up to speed so we don't have illiterate students sitting in the same classroom with no clue to what is going on in the class. But high achieving students are certainly not receiving the special attention to go higher. So create magnet middle schools to accommodate the high achievers.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]I think the real problem with DCPS is that there are not enough magnet schools. Those application HS are not really magnet schools, perhaps except Banneker and Walls. What does a magnet school mean? It is supposed to collect high achieving students, right? DCPS should start the magnet schools system starting from middle schools. The high achieving students can be in an environment where their peers are at a similar level. That way teachers have more time to concentrate on a group of similar math and reading level. At traditional schools, teachers do spend their time with low performing students naturally so high achieving students are actually receiving less attention from the teachers. Sure, the priority is to bring everyone up to speed so we don't have illiterate students sitting in the same classroom with no clue to what is going on in the class. But high achieving students are certainly not receiving the special attention to go higher. So create magnet middle schools to accommodate the high achievers. [/quote]

What if, instead of concentrating high achieving students and providing them with wonderful educational opportunities, we instead provided terrific educational opportunities to all students in all neighborhoods. It can be done. We just have to muster the will to do it. And we have to get beyond the absurd idea that all children achieve at the same level at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Have you taught in a 4th tier school in DC? The poor schools in Ward 7/8 will NEVER outperform Janney for a few simple reasons.

1) Janney parents start having children at 30-35. Ward 7/8 parents start having children at half that age. And parents that delay having children tend to be better off financially and better able to parent, rather than cohabitate with, their children.

2) Middle/Upper class children enter school YEARS ahead of students at poor schools. At my 4th tier Ward 7 school, 5th graders read books like Junie B. Jones. Those books are kindergarten books at Janney.

3) most Ward 7/8 parents care NOTHING about improving their schools. Sorry if this is not politically correct, but it is true. Some, maybe 40%, give a shit about whether their one child is learning, but truly less than 5% care anything about volunteering at the school, joining a PTA, advocating for positive school change, etc. (This is most disgusting because the vast majority of parents at the school I worked at did not have jobs, so they had plenty of time to help their children/school. They chose not to.)

Simply put, you do not know what you are talking about. Do not generalize especially if you do not know the facts. How do you pair "maybe" with "40%"? Get your facts straight before spewing stereotypes and what you may hear on TV. I always love to see the faces of people like you by chance meet me or one of my neighbors from the "poor," "lazy" and "ignorant" ward 7/8 and are generally red with surprise when you sneak in questions about our professional, schools, cars, background and etc and are genuinely suprised that we are not welfare moms or crack heads, raising our crack babies. Have you been to the wards that you seem to have a database of data to develop your statistics? How long have you been in DC? Do you know the history? How many ward 7/8 parents do you know?

[Anonymous]

I have to disagree because if you throw out the test scores blaring marquee. Then many of our schools are doing a fantastic job. I am a parent who sent his child to a school who did not have fantastic test scores by any means. Yet, my child is finishing his first year at Harvard with no remedial classes needed. The lunacy of, if a parent dosen't have a job then they must have the time to volunteer at a school. Really???? When people say Ward 7/8 parents don't care about their schools, then how is it that new schools are being built in those Wards. How is it that school populations at many of those schools are seeing significant increases? I can say this that Woodson High school has some work-horses in the volunteer arena but by far, we are not at the double-digits in regards to parent participation. Our goals are attainable and our satisfaction quotas is satisfying.

It was stated best when an expert said that wealthy parents and kids don't determines a school self-worth.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend Kavitha Cardoza's series on WAMU about the drop-out crisis in DC and low-performing schools. I love her voice, and I think that her stories are very insightful:

http://dcentric.wamu.org/tag/kavitha-cardoza/

[Anonymous]

8:56, you actually think DC is segregated? Who is afraid of integrating with whom? Be honest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to disagree because if you throw out the test scores blaring marquee. Then many of our schools are doing a fantastic job. I am a parent who sent his child to a school who did not have fantastic test scores by any means. Yet, my child is finishing his first year at Harvard with no remedial classes needed. The lunacy of, if a parent dosen't have a job then they must have the time to volunteer at a school. Really???? When people say Ward 7/8 parents don't care about their schools, then how is it that new schools are being built in those Wards. How is it that school populations at many of those schools are seeing significant increases? I can say this that Woodson High school has some work-horses in the volunteer arena but by far, we are not at the double-digits in regards to parent participation. Our goals are attainable and our satisfaction quotas is satisfying.

It was stated best when an expert said that wealthy parents and kids don't determines a school self-worth.

I despise bragging thinly veiled bragging anecdotes that don't provide data. Woodson is a severely under-performing school:

http://www.greatschools.org/modperl/achievement/dc/43#from..HeaderLink

13% Proficiency in Reading
14% Proficiency in Math

Kudos to your child and your exemplary child-rearing, but please don't sugar coat the fact that the VAST MAJORITY of children at Woodson are NOT going to be able to cut it at Harvard.

[Anonymous]

So what? Harvard is not the only or even a guaranteed route to a successful life. BTY: Ted Kazinsky (the Unibomber) is a Harvard grad.

[Anonymous]

9:47 before you start laying into the poster you are quoting, who compares ward 7/8 schools with janney please re-read the post. that person DOES have experience with a ward 7 school, as he/she notes.

"At my 4th tier Ward 7 school, 5th graders read books like Junie B. Jones. Those books are kindergarten books at Janney."

what, 9:47, is YOUR experience with a Ward 7 school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:56, you actually think DC is segregated? Who is afraid of integrating with whom? Be honest?

'

It is a fact that DC is racially segregated. I highly recommend that you look at these maps by race, if you don't believe me:

http://www.radicalcartography.net/index.html?chicagodots

Please don't confuse "is" with "ought." Should DC be as racially segregated as it currently is? No, but it is fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to disagree because if you throw out the test scores blaring marquee. Then many of our schools are doing a fantastic job. I am a parent who sent his child to a school who did not have fantastic test scores by any means. Yet, my child is finishing his first year at Harvard with no remedial classes needed. The lunacy of, if a parent dosen't have a job then they must have the time to volunteer at a school. Really???? When people say Ward 7/8 parents don't care about their schools, then how is it that new schools are being built in those Wards. How is it that school populations at many of those schools are seeing significant increases? I can say this that Woodson High school has some work-horses in the volunteer arena but by far, we are not at the double-digits in regards to parent participation. Our goals are attainable and our satisfaction quotas is satisfying.

It was stated best when an expert said that wealthy parents and kids don't determines a school self-worth.

I despise bragging thinly veiled bragging anecdotes that don't provide data. Woodson is a severely under-performing school:

http://www.greatschools.org/modperl/achievement/dc/43#from..HeaderLink

13% Proficiency in Reading
14% Proficiency in Math

Kudos to your child and your exemplary child-rearing, but please don't sugar coat the fact that the VAST MAJORITY of children at Woodson are NOT going to be able to cut it at Harvard.

If your only data is testscores, then you could be right. But if your data was employed productive taxpaying citizens, you may be wrong.

[Anonymous]

How about we let the private sectors bid on it and the winner runs DCPS for a year or two. If they can produce a convincing result, we extend their contract. If not, another bid. This "good enough for a government work" philosophy has to go out the window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about we let the private sectors bid on it and the winner runs DCPS for a year or two. If they can produce a convincing result, we extend their contract. If not, another bid.

Actually, what you just advocate is part of the problem. This in-a-year/out-a-year philosophy, private or public, is an amazing drag on the system. None of the well-intended experiments have a smidgen of a chance to succeed. It even heavily looks like someone devised performance-driven government and contracting to do just that. And don't forget that Congress likes to foist new policy and management pet experiments on DC. Try the book "Wrecking Crew", for example, if you want a glimpse at what that does to the system.

[Anonymous]

You mean to tell me that we are segregated city? We have poor neighborhoods that are breeding a culture that is damaging our public schools? C'mon when did you realize this? What made you come to that conclusion?