Brent and SWS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^You haven't got the full picture The parents asked DCPS to deny Young a waiver to run with Latin for grades 2-5 from the fall. What they asked for was a year in a holding pattern on Chinese, with the DCPS World Languages/Global Education and Brent's leadership waiting to make a decision on the language(s) to be taught. They asked for a process affording significant community input, perhaps including a parent survey relating to language instruction, a new parent committee to consider the matter, and/or a series of community meetings.

Some of the parents, including me, wanted time to do research on how the JKLM schools have been meeting the ambiguous new World Languages requirement (e.g. Janney, which uses PTA funds to teach several languages before and after school in a more serious way than 45 minutes a week of one language, Spanish, at Brent; the Janney kids can get at least 2 hours per week of instruction).

The "renegade" parents didn't ask to jettison or adopt a specific language at all.

All this hoopla and intense feeling about a once a week for 45 minutes (maybe 35 times a year) program that most school districts would not include the parents in at all.

[Anonymous]

Jeez. So much hoopla, in general. Glad I'm in the Cluster. Love the community, feel great about the incoming leadership, and look forward to the renovations at Watkin. Even optimistic about SH.

Signed, somebody who's gotten over her SWS and Brent envy, realizing we have it just as good if not better....

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty new to Brent and don't get it, why does making a suggestion about how the school runs, or voicing concern, prompt the pro-Young camp to suggest that an IB family seeks greener pastures? It's not a great sign that the most inclusive school community conversations seem to happen at meetings in private homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. So much hoopla, in general. Glad I'm in the Cluster. Love the community, feel great about the incoming leadership, and look forward to the renovations at Watkin. Even optimistic about SH.

Signed, somebody who's gotten over her SWS and Brent envy, realizing we have it just as good if not better....

You are delusional.

Signed, another cluster parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. So much hoopla, in general. Glad I'm in the Cluster. Love the community, feel great about the incoming leadership, and look forward to the renovations at Watkin. Even optimistic about SH.

Signed, somebody who's gotten over her SWS and Brent envy, realizing we have it just as good if not better....

You are delusional.

Signed, another cluster parent.

Nice try, second PP pretending to be a cluster parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are OOB going into 2nd grade, and our neighbors just got in for 1st (after 4 years of putting it in as number 1 in the lottery, and making the best of a less popular DCPS school).

I wonder if in a few short years Brent will start looking like the Cluster-- IB in pk3 and pk4, but majority OOB from K on up. Glad I didn't buy within the Brent boundary.

[Anonymous]

Not sure why there is so much Brent hate. Most people are very happy there. It honestly sounds like a lot of sour grapes from people who are priced out of the Brent district.

- Maury parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are OOB going into 2nd grade, and our neighbors just got in for 1st (after 4 years of putting it in as number 1 in the lottery, and making the best of a less popular DCPS school).

I wonder if in a few short years Brent will start looking like the Cluster-- IB in pk3 and pk4, but majority OOB from K on up. Glad I didn't buy within the Brent boundary.

I doubt it. It was probably 80-90% IB for first last grade and half the OOB have older siblings at the school. We love Brent. Its probably the best decision I have ever made for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. So much hoopla, in general. Glad I'm in the Cluster. Love the community, feel great about the incoming leadership, and look forward to the renovations at Watkin. Even optimistic about SH.

Signed, somebody who's gotten over her SWS and Brent envy, realizing we have it just as good if not better....

You are delusional.

Signed, another cluster parent.

We are at Brent, and I have never wished we were in the Cluster. I am optimistic about Watkins' future, but the size and student behavior at both Watkins higher grades and throughout Stuart Hobson and incredibly distracting for students who want to learn. The OOB kids at Brent are diverse but mainly from the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. So much hoopla, in general. Glad I'm in the Cluster. Love the community, feel great about the incoming leadership, and look forward to the renovations at Watkin. Even optimistic about SH.

Signed, somebody who's gotten over her SWS and Brent envy, realizing we have it just as good if not better....

You are delusional.

Signed, another cluster parent.

We are at Brent, and I have never wished we were in the Cluster. I am optimistic about Watkins' future, but the size and student behavior at both Watkins higher grades and throughout Stuart Hobson and incredibly distracting for students who want to learn. The OOB kids at Brent are diverse but mainly from the Hill.

And everyone knows that kids from the Hill are superior. It's like Lake Wobegon.

[Anonymous]

Art, PE and library are all great at Brent. Music is wonderful. I have had three kids (14 classroom teachers) at Brent, and I've never heard about one of their teachers crying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jeez. So much hoopla, in general. Glad I'm in the Cluster. Love the community, feel great about the incoming leadership, and look forward to the renovations at Watkin. Even optimistic about SH.

Signed, somebody who's gotten over her SWS and Brent envy, realizing we have it just as good if not better....

You are delusional.

Signed, another cluster parent.

We are at Brent, and I have never wished we were in the Cluster. I am optimistic about Watkins' future, but the size and student behavior at both Watkins higher grades and throughout Stuart Hobson and incredibly distracting for students who want to learn. The OOB kids at Brent are diverse but mainly from the Hill.

And everyone knows that kids from the Hill are superior. It's like Lake Wobegon.

c'mon -- they're at least average!

[Anonymous]

Demographics within the Cluster are rapidly changing. For elementary age kids there surely is a difference between SWS and Brent, but at the preschool level I'm sure there's none. Plus families are increasingly opting to stay. So Watkins will be differenT before we know it. Those changes have already begun...