Never though I would be a charter and voucher supporter ...

[Anonymous]

After watching my inbounds school for a while, it was never a competition between my inbounds and a charter. It was charter v. private v. moving. There was no way I would send my child to inbounds and be at the hands of DCPS's every changing experimentation.

The scenario that you discuss does occur in a few select schools, but not very many actually. Someone insinuated that the charter proponents should look outside thier ward, but I actually think that it is the opposite. The charters have kids from all wards, at least I know that ours does. The people who have these sorts of siphoning off problems are mostly from Ward 1 or 4 and have decent, but not perfect options. Have you considered the options of Ward 7 or Ward 8 students? Without charters, there would be none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After watching my inbounds school for a while, it was never a competition between my inbounds and a charter. It was charter v. private v. moving. There was no way I would send my child to inbounds and be at the hands of DCPS's every changing experimentation.

The scenario that you discuss does occur in a few select schools, but not very many actually. Someone insinuated that the charter proponents should look outside thier ward, but I actually think that it is the opposite. The charters have kids from all wards, at least I know that ours does. The people who have these sorts of siphoning off problems are mostly from Ward 1 or 4 and have decent, but not perfect options. Have you considered the options of Ward 7 or Ward 8 students? Without charters, there would be none.

It is also true that people who want a progressive education choose charters over perfectly good schools and/or that people who choose charters would have left Dc and bought in the suburbs rather than go public, so the charter is what keeps them in dc not what takes them from their neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching my inbounds school for a while, it was never a competition between my inbounds and a charter. It was charter v. private v. moving. There was no way I would send my child to inbounds and be at the hands of DCPS's every changing experimentation.

The scenario that you discuss does occur in a few select schools, but not very many actually. Someone insinuated that the charter proponents should look outside thier ward, but I actually think that it is the opposite. The charters have kids from all wards, at least I know that ours does. The people who have these sorts of siphoning off problems are mostly from Ward 1 or 4 and have decent, but not perfect options. Have you considered the options of Ward 7 or Ward 8 students? Without charters, there would be none.

It is also true that people who want a progressive education choose charters over perfectly good schools and/or that people who choose charters would have left Dc and bought in the suburbs rather than go public, so the charter is what keeps them in dc not what takes them from their neighborhood school.

So bring on more charters! I really think that this is what this boundary study is all about -- to make parents crave more "choice" and feel lucky when more charters open -- in their gentrifying or established neighborhoods, which I predict will be happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching my inbounds school for a while, it was never a competition between my inbounds and a charter. It was charter v. private v. moving. There was no way I would send my child to inbounds and be at the hands of DCPS's every changing experimentation.

The scenario that you discuss does occur in a few select schools, but not very many actually. Someone insinuated that the charter proponents should look outside thier ward, but I actually think that it is the opposite. The charters have kids from all wards, at least I know that ours does. The people who have these sorts of siphoning off problems are mostly from Ward 1 or 4 and have decent, but not perfect options. Have you considered the options of Ward 7 or Ward 8 students? Without charters, there would be none.

It is also true that people who want a progressive education choose charters over perfectly good schools and/or that people who choose charters would have left Dc and bought in the suburbs rather than go public, so the charter is what keeps them in dc not what takes them from their neighborhood school.

Hmmm. Did you notice that most districts that have "perfectly good schools" are not full of charter schools? Within DC did you notice Ward 3 has zero yet 43% of DCPS plus charter school attend charters? How many transport their child from Ward 3 to a charter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course the existence of charters has had an effect on the success or lack thereof of neighborhood schools. And we are not just talking about a couple of charters. Over forty percent of DC public school kids go to charters. We all know (or actually are) people who really, really wanted to stay at their neighborhood school, send their kids to the school down the street with other kids nearby, bring that school up with donations of time and resources, etc. but the. One family peels off to a charter and then another and another until only a few were left. And they didn't feel they could bring up that school by themselves. So they went charter - if they were lucky - or moved out or went OOB - again if they got lucky. They did not stay at their neighborhood school. So that school didn't benefit from the energy and resources of those parents - the charters or privates or a school in a new neighborhood got that.

Yes, DCPS must, must improve the quality of under-performing neighborhood schools. But it is disingenuous at best to pretend that the rise of charters schools in DC is not part of the overall education picture in this city. The availability of charters has affected the neighborhood schools.

Chicken - egg. The question is, what comes next for DCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching my inbounds school for a while, it was never a competition between my inbounds and a charter. It was charter v. private v. moving. There was no way I would send my child to inbounds and be at the hands of DCPS's every changing experimentation.

The scenario that you discuss does occur in a few select schools, but not very many actually. Someone insinuated that the charter proponents should look outside thier ward, but I actually think that it is the opposite. The charters have kids from all wards, at least I know that ours does. The people who have these sorts of siphoning off problems are mostly from Ward 1 or 4 and have decent, but not perfect options. Have you considered the options of Ward 7 or Ward 8 students? Without charters, there would be none.

It is also true that people who want a progressive education choose charters over perfectly good schools and/or that people who choose charters would have left Dc and bought in the suburbs rather than go public, so the charter is what keeps them in dc not what takes them from their neighborhood school.

Hmmm. Did you notice that most districts that have "perfectly good schools" are not full of charter schools? Within DC did you notice Ward 3 has zero yet 43% of DCPS plus charter school attend charters? How many transport their child from Ward 3 to a charter?

I think there are no charters in Ward 3 because there are good schools.

Ward 4 has EL Haynes and Bridges, at least one campus of Lamb. It also has some up and coming or pretty good options like Powell, West and Shepard Park.