Brent to Watkins to Hobson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brent parent here. I am curiois abot the pitch to attemd SH. Nothing I have learned about the school, including test scores evidencing 40 percent non-proficiency and 6 out of 10 students being FARMs eligible, would entice me to jump through the hoop of sending DC to Watkins for 5th Grade and then onto SH. So long as BASIS and Latin can effectively accommodate the Brent cohort, this play by the Cluster will be DOA.

Sounds like you're a little out of the loop. Not a problem, as I'm sure others will cherish the spot you're not going to take up through that shady scheme. Still, and not to talk you out of it but rather for those who are taking a closer look, Stuart-Hobson has a number of things going for it that neither Basis nor Latin can match: location, robust honors program in all cores subjects, individualized schedules with numerous electives that allow for specializations in fine arts, liberal arts, and STEM, free extended school until 4 or 6, versatile sports program, lasting (and newly expanding) museum partnerships, and, last but not least, the highest rate of kids getting into application high schools.

That's always been Clemens selling point but I'd like to see more evidence. It also demonstrates the absurd inequality that a small slice of students can succeed when there is such high tolerance for failure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The general tone here re: SH pretty much sums up why we can't seem to get together a proper feed from Brent to SH. And it goes back YEARS.

SH PTA gives the signal that Brent students aren't welcome ( I.e we are already full, you all are too white, you are playing shady games and are nasty )

Then, Brent parents say "that's ok, SH isn't good enough yet anyway. Or cool...but we have some other options that could be good."

And then SH PTA screams in full indignation "what??? You don't want SH? We ARE good enough. Aren't we good enough for you snobs?"

It's not an easy relationship. And in a way, no wonder DCPS doesn't touch it. But really the two groups need some neutral and non-judgemental leadership to work it out. Charles Allen?

Your inaccuracies are staggering. There is no SH PTA, only a Cluster PTA. Anyway, what you assert the PTA saying is specious. I never heard anything of the sort on the Cluster PTA and LSAT. The PTA has encouraged Clemens on these neighborhood outreach missions. There is plenty of blame historically to dole out to both Brent and Cluster advocates on feeder patterns. The Cluster chose to advocate LT and JOW as feeds at a time when their scores were higher than Brent and Maury. A former Brent PTA president was trying to encourage the feed to Jefferson academies. It all goes into the mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The hard truth is that JEfferson IS a bridge too far. At least in its current configuration that envisions a small cohort of Brent graduates meeting a large cohort of Amidon Bowen students. Until Amidon Bowen makes significant progress in preparing its graduates there will never be Brent graduates going there.

DCPS central office doesn't care. They refuse to budge on a different feeder pattern for Brent. They refuse numerous suggestions that would untie the knot of unproductive middle schools feeder patterns. A small amount of out of the box thinking here would lead to instant buy-in through middle school and Eastern High School by large numbers of families who currently head charter private or suburbs.

Before Rhee and before Brent Neighbors, no Brent students went on to Jefferson either. They went with a wink and a nod to Hardy. Before that, Jefferson had a principal who implemented a rigid form of tracking that recruited tops students from around the city, gave them a separate advanced curriculum and fed them to Wilson High School.

This feeder pattern Brent to Jefferson has never worked and probably never will. In not surprised principals are looking for a work-around.

PP can be outraged but the "message" pp worries is being sent is inconsequential in reality.

Last year, 42% of Jefferson students tested proficient in math and 13% scored advanced. The numbers at Stuart-Hobson were 43% and 11%, respectively. Not sure how much better Jefferson needs to get than S-H before Brent families start considering it.

There is certainly a difference in reading (the numbers for Jefferson were 38% proficient, 7% advanced, for a total of 45%; at S-H they were 46/15/61). If you look at the breakdowns by subgroup http://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/Compare.aspx?tab=1&school=433,428 the difference is almost entirely based on the difference in demographics. If Jefferson had 57% FARMS like S-H instead of the current 99%, the kids might have more advantages that help them test high--though most of them are performing on par with S-H already.

Looking at the Median Growth Percentiles on LearnDC is also instructive--S-H's are 35 in math and 54 in reading (DC median is 50 on each). Jefferson's are 61 and 53, respectively. Compared to peers at other schools, kids at Jefferson are making basically an equal amount of progress in reading and substantially more progress in math.

So you might prefer the demographics at Stuart-Hobson (more white, fewer Asian kids than Jefferson), or the commute might be better, but the schools are not as different as one might think. With Jefferson's renovation in a couple years and a very good principal, I think it's a school to watch. Not every kid is going to move in-bounds for Deal or get into BASIS, Latin, or DCI, or Hardy OOB.

[Anonymous]

And Jefferson has full sized ball fields, not a patch of AstroTurf.

[Anonymous]

How did the lotery work at Watkins and Hobson last year? How many people applied for how many slots?

[Anonymous]

Jefferson has great potential. That part of town will look totally different in 2 - 4 years.

[Anonymous]

It's not just about SH, which is mediocre at best. It's about Watkins. It's also about having 10, 11 and 12 year olds adjust to new school cultures and social dynamics twice over a two-year period. Also, the proposition that Ludlow-Taylor and JO Wilson were perceived by the Cluster as a better fit than Brent because of academics is laughable.

Rhee and Henderson wanted to use Brent families as a pawn to jump start the rebranding of Jefferson as an "academy." Sending a bunch of white, high-SES Brent kids to SH with a bunch of white, high-SES kids from the Cluster is not politically palatable, particularly if it would mean displacing lower-SES kids from Wards 7 and 8 who attend Watkins and Ludlow-Taylor. Tommy Wells didn't have the muscle or cojones to do anything to advance the ball and DCPS didn't deliver on its promises to the Brent community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson has great potential. That part of town will look totally different in 2 - 4 years.

Yes, a bunch of swanky hotels and commercial development undoubtedly will drastically change the appearance Waterfront, but pricey one and two bedroom apartments aren't going to overcome the issues arising from endemic poverty in which many students IB for Amidon and Jefferson find themselves. The public housing in SW isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Jefferson will always have unrealized potential despite the best efforts of parents and school leaders given the limitations on fundraising within the Amidon-Thomson-Tyler feeders. Jefferson is ZERO percent white and the reality is that this isn't going to change anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And Jefferson has full sized ball fields, not a patch of AstroTurf.

I'm pretty sure that most Brent parents, many of whom have daughters, are far more focused on academic rigor and pedagogy than the respective sizes of fields with real vs. synthetic turf.

[Anonymous]

I am actually impressed that Clemens is doing this, considering her minimal interest in keeping High SES parents in Peabody or Watkins. I guess you don't have to when there is another well.
In any event, I highly encourage any parent who is considering this shuffle to take a LONG HARD look at Watkins and SH. Do a tour. Talk to the teachers. Watch lunch and aftercare. 50% of the teachers at Watkins are new this year. Every 5th grade teacher is new to 5th grade. Aftercare is widely known to be chaotic and violent. And, the whole leadership if the cluster is about to change - again. Not the most heartening of indicators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson has great potential. That part of town will look totally different in 2 - 4 years.

Yes, a bunch of swanky hotels and commercial development undoubtedly will drastically change the appearance Waterfront, but pricey one and two bedroom apartments aren't going to overcome the issues arising from endemic poverty in which many students IB for Amidon and Jefferson find themselves. The public housing in SW isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Jefferson will always have unrealized potential despite the best efforts of parents and school leaders given the limitations on fundraising within the Amidon-Thomson-Tyler feeders. Jefferson is ZERO percent white and the reality is that this isn't going to change anytime soon.

Quibble - that is not 100% true. Some it is in tax credit buildings, for which the tax credits are about to expire, so those units will become market rate units (not sure there are many kids in those buildings though) And Greenleaf will likely go through a conversion to mixed income at some point.

[Anonymous]

Quibble Dribble. Those projects aren't going away anytime soon and there are lots. My understanding is DC wantsto build a low-income apt buipding on 4th Street just north of the DCRA building. The Hill would be better off with one MS and that's SH. Right now SH is a shit hole, but it could be an actual neighborhood school if the Hill community fed to it. Hard to create a community here where everyone seems to want to bifurcate things so everyone in his or her right mind says screw it and leaves. Brent feeding to Jefferson is asinine. SH as part of the Cluster is asinine too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brent parent here. I am curiois abot the pitch to attemd SH. Nothing I have learned about the school, including test scores evidencing 40 percent non-proficiency and 6 out of 10 students being FARMs eligible, would entice me to jump through the hoop of sending DC to Watkins for 5th Grade and then onto SH. So long as BASIS and Latin can effectively accommodate the Brent cohort, this play by the Cluster will be DOA.

Sounds like you're a little out of the loop. Not a problem, as I'm sure others will cherish the spot you're not going to take up through that shady scheme. Still, and not to talk you out of it but rather for those who are taking a closer look, Stuart-Hobson has a number of things going for it that neither Basis nor Latin can match: location, robust honors program in all cores subjects, individualized schedules with numerous electives that allow for specializations in fine arts, liberal arts, and STEM, free extended school until 4 or 6, versatile sports program, lasting (and newly expanding) museum partnerships, and, last but not least, the highest rate of kids getting into application high schools.

That's always been Clemens selling point but I'd like to see more evidence. It also demonstrates the absurd inequality that a small slice of students can succeed when there is such high tolerance for failure.

Let's also be honest in saying that only a few middle schools in the whole city even have the courses required to prepare students for these application high schools. It's a very small pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brent parent here. I am curiois abot the pitch to attemd SH. Nothing I have learned about the school, including test scores evidencing 40 percent non-proficiency and 6 out of 10 students being FARMs eligible, would entice me to jump through the hoop of sending DC to Watkins for 5th Grade and then onto SH. So long as BASIS and Latin can effectively accommodate the Brent cohort, this play by the Cluster will be DOA.

Sounds like you're a little out of the loop. Not a problem, as I'm sure others will cherish the spot you're not going to take up through that shady scheme. Still, and not to talk you out of it but rather for those who are taking a closer look, Stuart-Hobson has a number of things going for it that neither Basis nor Latin can match: location, robust honors program in all cores subjects, individualized schedules with numerous electives that allow for specializations in fine arts, liberal arts, and STEM, free extended school until 4 or 6, versatile sports program, lasting (and newly expanding) museum partnerships, and, last but not least, the highest rate of kids getting into application high schools.

That's always been Clemens selling point but I'd like to see more evidence. It also demonstrates the absurd inequality that a small slice of students can succeed when there is such high tolerance for failure.

Let's also be honest in saying that only a few middle schools in the whole city even have the courses required to prepare students for these application high schools. It's a very small pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brent parent here. I am curiois abot the pitch to attemd SH. Nothing I have learned about the school, including test scores evidencing 40 percent non-proficiency and 6 out of 10 students being FARMs eligible, would entice me to jump through the hoop of sending DC to Watkins for 5th Grade and then onto SH. So long as BASIS and Latin can effectively accommodate the Brent cohort, this play by the Cluster will be DOA.

Sounds like you're a little out of the loop. Not a problem, as I'm sure others will cherish the spot you're not going to take up through that shady scheme. Still, and not to talk you out of it but rather for those who are taking a closer look, Stuart-Hobson has a number of things going for it that neither Basis nor Latin can match: location, robust honors program in all cores subjects, individualized schedules with numerous electives that allow for specializations in fine arts, liberal arts, and STEM, free extended school until 4 or 6, versatile sports program, lasting (and newly expanding) museum partnerships, and, last but not least, the highest rate of kids getting into application high schools.

That's always been Clemens selling point but I'd like to see more evidence. It also demonstrates the absurd inequality that a small slice of students can succeed when there is such high tolerance for failure.

Let's also be honest in saying that only a few middle schools in the whole city even have the courses required to prepare students for these application high schools. It's a very small pool.