news from Southwest: Amidon-Bowen and Jefferson

[Anonymous]

I agree that some families will be open to giving Jefferson a shot a few years down the road (I assume we can acknowledge that this is principally about Brent families with rising Third Graders). I also agree that SW could be a vibrant and desirable place to live as the neighborhood continues to change and more amenities become available to residents. Amidon is a safe bet for improvement, although the bar is set pretty low, but what happens to the enthusiasm for Jefferson if and when Principal Gordon leaves? And what do you do when sh*t gets real and your 10 year old is actually accepted at Basis or Latin, or possibly even Washington Global? Finally, I am left wondering why there doesn't seem to be much thought put toward enriching the Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade experiences at Brent when the jump to Jefferson won't take place until Sixth Grade? There seems to be too much short-term focus on the long game.

[Anonymous]

I was just at Brent yesterday but I am not a Brent parent. Based on the projects and writing I saw on the third floor ( where the upper grades are ). There is quite a robust and enriched program going on.

If Brent parents don't find THAT enriching enough there is no way in this galaxy that the stuff going on at Jefferson will meet their standards this year, next year, or ten years from now.

[Anonymous]

Is Wilson really that much of a draw? Most of the parents I knew when I lived in SW planned on private or one of the admission high schools even when zoned for Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Wilson really that much of a draw? Most of the parents I knew when I lived in SW planned on private or one of the admission high schools even when zoned for Wilson.

You were able to assess Brent's academic program on a one hour visit during the "Learning Showcase?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was just at Brent yesterday but I am not a Brent parent. Based on the projects and writing I saw on the third floor ( where the upper grades are ). There is quite a robust and enriched program going on.

If Brent parents don't find THAT enriching enough there is no way in this galaxy that the stuff going on at Jefferson will meet their standards this year, next year, or ten years from now.

You were able to assess Brent's academic program on a one hour visit during the "Learning Showcase?"

[Anonymous]

I might be willing to give serious consideration to Jefferson if it still fed to Wilson, even if it Wilson wouldn't necessarily be at the top of my list. Eastern is a nonstarter so there doesn't seem to be any reason to jump on the Jefferson bandwagon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just at Brent yesterday but I am not a Brent parent. Based on the projects and writing I saw on the third floor ( where the upper grades are ). There is quite a robust and enriched program going on.

If Brent parents don't find THAT enriching enough there is no way in this galaxy that the stuff going on at Jefferson will meet their standards this year, next year, or ten years from now.

You were able to assess Brent's academic program on a one hour visit during the "Learning Showcase?"

Aren't vehicles propelled by magnets and balloons indicative of a highly rigorous curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just at Brent yesterday but I am not a Brent parent. Based on the projects and writing I saw on the third floor ( where the upper grades are ). There is quite a robust and enriched program going on.

If Brent parents don't find THAT enriching enough there is no way in this galaxy that the stuff going on at Jefferson will meet their standards this year, next year, or ten years from now.

You were able to assess Brent's academic program on a one hour visit during the "Learning Showcase?"

Aren't vehicles propelled by magnets and balloons indicative of a highly rigorous curriculum?

As a Brent parent with a kid that made a balloon powered vehicle, I can say that there are deep systematic issues that need to be addressed before deeming Brent's academics top shelf. It's a good school, and an absolutely wonderful place to be a part of (kids and parents alike), but it is not yet "there" academic-wise in the upper grades.

[Anonymous]

^^^ this is what I am saying. If parents fuss when their kids are in 3rd 4th grade about yearning for a "top shelf" education. No way will Jefferson be an option for them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ this is what I am saying. If parents fuss when their kids are in 3rd 4th grade about yearning for a "top shelf" education. No way will Jefferson be an option for them

I agree with your larger point. I do quibble with the word "fuss," I would use instead the word "concerned."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CHPSPO PR

I don't think so - they have no footprint, that I can tell, in SW. As near as I can tell, Capitol Hill and their organizations have no interest, connection or presence in SW and, generally, seem pretty self absorbed. Southwest itself, however, has a pretty strong and cohesive sense of neighborhood and, now, more young residents than in the past and I think people are excited about the trajectory Amidon's taken since restructuring a couple years back. I've got to say, between the Brent threads and Van Ness threads, my neighbors in SW seem a lot nicer and more chill than than the adjacent neighborhoods...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that some families will be open to giving Jefferson a shot a few years down the road (I assume we can acknowledge that this is principally about Brent families with rising Third Graders). I also agree that SW could be a vibrant and desirable place to live as the neighborhood continues to change and more amenities become available to residents. Amidon is a safe bet for improvement, although the bar is set pretty low, but what happens to the enthusiasm for Jefferson if and when Principal Gordon leaves? And what do you do when sh*t gets real and your 10 year old is actually accepted at Basis or Latin, or possibly even Washington Global? Finally, I am left wondering why there doesn't seem to be much thought put toward enriching the Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade experiences at Brent when the jump to Jefferson won't take place until Sixth Grade? There seems to be too much short-term focus on the long game.

Are you kidding? I'd been a nice, quiet and peaceful place to live for a heck of a lot longer than most of Capitol Hill. I remember going to Arena and Folger in the '80s and '90s and one I was very comfortable parking my car and walking to late and one I was very careful, once I got a block or two away.

That said, it seems like SW has been a neighborhood of older residents for a long time and it's nice to see a bigger mix of ages out and about when we go down there.

[Anonymous]

bumping this because the Southwester again has a story about an Amidon-Bowen family, plus an article by a 6th grader about a visit to Jefferson by Wharf developers, and one about Jefferson students getting involved in a podcast book club. http://thesouthwester.com/july2015.pdf

Jefferson's top pitcher will also be throwing out the first pitch at Nationals Park on July 8th for SW/Near SE Neighborhood Night at the ballpark.

[Anonymous]

Will someone please open up an all-white or a high-SES public school component within DC. I know that there's someone out there who can do this...I beg of you. Supply and demand is seemingly prevalent on this forum. Rally and unite...just do it. Matter of fact let that be your motto "just do it" get Nike to sponsor the next recruitment. Again, demographics don't mean a darn thing and until you figure that out...stop counting your white eggs before your brown eggs hatch.

[Anonymous]

Oh shut up, reverse racism-minded troll. Some of us will have to move if the Hill MS situation doesn't get sorted out within the next five years or so if there isn't room at BASIS, Latin and possibly DC Global (there won't be, not for all comers). I don't know anybody at Brent who's planning to send a child to Jefferson Academy. Even the K and 1st grade families seem to think that the school is a bridge too far in under a decade. And these are parents who're paying attention. I went to a Jefferson open house with some lower grades Brent parents last year and we left shaking our heads. The academics seemed several hundreds miles away from what would work for us, and not because the leadership or teaching were weak. The housing projects, multigenerational urban poverty and the absence of a test-in program are the problems of course.