A Note from a Public School Mom of Three & a Candidate's Wife
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Anonymous
| Pp - didn't she say his mom is sick. Maybe that's why OR maybe she is just campaigning for him. Is that not ok? I've seen him out at many community meetings -- campaigning and also engaging as a parent/concerned citizen. The snark is unbelievable on here. Maybe you should ask yourself why no other politicians (or their wives) have even thought about engaging this crowd!! |
Anonymous
+1 Jeez! |
jsteele
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I'm sure that John is out shaking hands and/or door-knocking. He is not in front of a computer right now. |
Anonymous
@11:57 He is campaigning for himself (I've been on single mom duty for the last 5 months  ) . He would have responded to these questions directly, but as I noted, his mom--who lives with us and had a major stroke 3 years ago--went to the emergency room late last night and is in the hospital. So, I'm answering your questions (the ones I am sure of the answers to) in the interim.
With regards to special needs, I can tell you that he is EXTREMELY aware of the special needs nightmare in DC. Our niece is deaf and his sister, who is a lawyer and warrior mom, had major difficulty navigating the system. It is completely broken. This is an issue that has touched our family so I know that he would work hard to push forward solutions. -jacqui settles |
Anonymous
+2. Voted for Settles. |
Anonymous
You are far from being a single mom. Being aware and having a plan/enacting that plan are two different issues. There are great services in DC, including at Gallaudet for hearing impaired children. It is many of the others who are left out and parents are forced to pay $40-60,000 for private schools and that doesn't include the extra services. If his sister is a lawyer, she can afford a nanny to help and the private schools. I can't work as there is not affordable special needs child care that will provide what my child needs. What about child care for young children? What is his plan to beef us services for children, especially those who do not get medicaid, parents insurance does not cover it and their income, while they can comfortable provide, cannot support $100 speech, OT and PT services? I wish our issue was just being hearing impaired as many of those kids can function as healthy adults with successful lives. I am talking about the ones where it is unknown if the children will ever talk, walk, or be able to care for themselves. |
Anonymous
| What are views on Winter weather and what is he doing to make it stop? |
Anonymous
Jeff, I am a single issue voter now - NO neighborhood preference for charter schools. 20-25%? Can you imagine what that will do to Latin, BASIS, and Yu Ying? Actually BASIS is the only one who ultimately will be able to cope by flunking anyone out who does not pass comps/classes, but if they took a 5th grade spot instead of a kid who could have been in LEAP math, in Algebra I, that would enrage me anyway. Who has the smallest quota and who might change their mind? It flies in the face of the purpose of charter schools and many have buses anyway so this 'I cannot get my kid...." my kid takes two metrobuses as will my 5th grader next year... Could you please tell me of the at large candidates, and candidates for Chair of DC council and anyone else we are all allowed to choose from (I am ward 3) who a) is actually against this stupid policy which will destroy the charter schools (25% of Washington Latin which is so small are you kidding me?) or 25% of Yu Ying where none of them care about or speak Chinese...... b) has the smallest quota proposal and c) who if anyone might change their mind? d) besides Mary Cheh, is there anyone else who is willing to yank DC promise if DC TAG gets pulled? e) Is there anyone else who wants to have G&T programs in MS like Hardy If, despite DC promise, I want Catania to win, should I vote for Gray in the primary not Bowser? TIA Sorry Mrs. Settles, and I am sorry about your MIL but I don't believe in street cred for public school kids unless you have kids at an exclusive private school instead and more importantly if your husband really cared about charter schools he would not be talking neighborhood preference at all, and absolutely would not go up to 25% given that Yu Ying does not admit after a very early grade, language immersion schools need more native speakers, Latin is tiny and 9th grade spaces are slim and Basis, the only one with no social promotion, does not admit after high attrition due to comps in 6th grade and already has a pyramid model and that precalculus is a prerequisite for graduation.... |
jsteele
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There is a lot being asked here and I don't have the knowledge to answer it all. There is no significant opposition to Cheh for Ward 3 Council Member or Mendleson for Chair. So, I'm not sure it matters what their position on neighborhood preference is and, in any case, I don't know in either case. Among the Mayoral candidates, Evans, Bowser, and Wells all support preference. Among the Democratic At-Large candidates, all support it. I see validity in the argument that voting for Gray is the best strategy for electing Catania. However, I don't accept that strategy myself and have not adhered to it. My advice -- not very widely accepted, but nevertheless -- is to vote for the candidate that best represents your priorities and leaving picking a winner to lottery tickets. I will say this about neighborhood preference for charters. I am surprised at the importance that has been suddenly attached to this issue. I have not seen such interest in the topic until recently. I've been a charter school parent for nearly 10 years and only came to understand the issue within the past year myself. The way neighborhood preference was first presented to me -- as a solution for neighborhoods in which no good DCPS schools existed -- it seems like a positive solution. For quite a while I was ambivalent about the issue. Over the past few months, I posted a number of posts expressing opposition to neighborhood preference that frequently resulted in responses questioning my position. So, I think this is a new topic to many. All of that is to say that I think many of the candidates who support neighborhood preference may simply need to understand the issue better. It is likely that they have only heard about neighborhood preference from those who support it and have not been exposed to counter arguments. Moreover, in the press of a campaign, candidates are asked to respond to a large number of questionnaires listing a broad range of topics. Answers can sometimes be provided on the spur of the moment and not given as much thought as required. Serious candidates will try to stick to a position once it is taken rather than providing whatever answer best suits them at the moment. Finally, while opposing neighborhood preferences, I concede that it could be possible to implement such preferences in a very specific manner in which preference can actually be a good thing. However, I don't have much hope in such methods being chosen for DC. |
Anonymous
| Thanks. I just looked at the ballot recently and saw all these shadow candidates for senator etc that I have never seen on a ballot before and got scared there was a lot more I needed to know....... |
jsteele
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The shadow candidates are basically lobbyists. You will also be able to vote for Democratic State Committee members -- a whole bunch of them. I support "The Rent is Too Darn High" slate. |
Anonymous
First, I think it's great that you're willing to come out from behind anonymity to address this tough crowd. You sound pretty earnest and your support speaks to me as a mother with education issues top of mind. I can also appreciate an at-large candidate speaking to the needs of low and middle class families on getting access to schools. But I think the position above really underscores a need to bolster the neighborhood offering of DCPS. We live in Petworth and have proximity to so many great charters that it's painful to be shut out of all of them. But when it gets right down to it, few of them are what I would choose if we simply had a very strong neighborhood school. I understand the trend toward language immersion, but it's not as much a priority in our family as solid reading and math ability at the elementary level. Montessori is also pretty hot right now, but it's not ideal for every kid. We like the expeditonary learning model and it's frustrating to be competing for seats with people who don't know or care what that is. But the reality is that it's so hard to get into these schools past PK4, and the DCPS options are so suboptimal that it feels irresponsible not to go for every possible shot at every school that's at least decent--which is what diminishes the chances for everyone. It's also what creates the high anxiety at lottery time and the high anguish at results. Many of us can't or won't consider driving across town, making charters an all or nothing proposition. That's crazy, untenable, and puts undue pressure on charters to change what they're all about in order to accomodate. So I don't want a preference for my neighbors at a nearby charter. i want my neighbors to have a preference for the nearby DCPS. And I want that DCPS to offer a very solid, non-specialized program that's still a responsible choice for those who don't want or need specialized programs. Maybe John Settles is the one who can start talking about that as a priority that would benefit all wards. Whatever his final position on neighborhood choice, I wish your team all the best. He's a refreshing candidate in a town that's increasingly tough to please, and it seems well on the way to election. |
Anonymous
Totally agreed with everything you wrote, except, sadly, the last part quoted above. Settles reminds me a lot of Sekou Biddle- a refreshing, education-centric candidate who should be able to garner a lot of support across racial and economic lines, but is swamped by the name recognition of the old school DC politicians. In the case of Settles and Sekou Biddle, it's the same person, Anita Bonds. The City Paper poll had her up by over 30 points. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/03/27/anita-bonds-crushes-opponents-in-poll/ I wish that there was room for more people like Settles and Biddle on the Council. Grossso and McDuffie are a great start. But the reality is that a majority of the actual voters in the Democratic primary is a very small minority of the voters in the District, and they are disproportionately representative of the old school crowd, both literally (age) and figuratively (in outlook). But, that's how our system works. Those people get out and vote consistently, and therefore they get the attention and the politicians they want. |
Anonymous
This isn't a competition of who has the most disabled child. The PP asked a general question about special ed. Special ed covers all children with disabilities, not just what you think are disabled. In addition you are apparently under the assumption that all lawyers make gobs of money. They don't. You really have a chip on your shoulder. Why not open your mind a bit and realize that parents are all trying to do their best and navigate the system? |
Anonymous
| Yes, the best we can do at this point is get the word out, show up at the polls, and vote for John. Keeping my fingers crossed. |