Shaw Middle School Community Meeting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few points to consider here:

-Co-locating a middle and high school shouldn't be a deal-breaker. While they do share a building, the students are kept apart from each other in a variety of ways (e.g., schedules, classrooms on different floors, uniforms, etc.). DC already has combined MS/HS at CHEC and some charters. Others have said they are willing to consider a combined Banneker middle/high school, so why not for Cardozo? Many middle schools are already right next to high schools anyway, so it's not like you can ever completely separate kids anyway (e.g., Eastern/Eliot-Hine, Wilson/Deal, Woodson/Kelly Miller).

-Cardozo middle school is not the same as Cardozo high school. It's hard to tell from much of the data that's reported, but the middle school grades are the best performing in the school. Already. Without strong feeders from the neighborhood elementary schools. As previous posters have pointed out, providing more economic and racial integration to the school will be likely to positively influence outcomes for all students, while creating the kind of school that many profess to want and value about schools like Seaton (i.e., diverse). Since funding is based on number of students, increasing the enrollment would lead to more economies of scale there to improve the programming.

-If AP turnover at the Cardozo middle school is a problem, then use this energy to lobby DCPS to hire a full principal for the middle school that already exists. There is precedent for two schools in the same building with each having their own principal (e.g., Ballou and Ballou STAY, Roosevelt and Roosevelt STAY), so it wouldn't be unprecedented. It would also be a hell of a lot cheaper than renovating a new building and it wouldn't anger all the people who are excited about expanding Banneker to more students (e.g., the Mayor, the DCPS Chancellor, etc.).

It just seems like going up against the juggernaut that is an already approved plan to move forward with renovating Banneker is such an uphill battle when there's an easier solution that would work just fine as well.

Combining middle and high in one building works okay if both schools are adequately performing. But both Cardozo and Cardozo Middle have such an uphill climb ahead of them, I think they would be better off apart.
Keeping the kids physically separate is itself a struggle and does not work very well.

[Anonymous]

Curious how people feel now that the Bannekar site is almost complete? I personally think it's beautiful and adds a lot to the neighborhood, but interested to hear what neighbors think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious how people feel now that the Bannekar site is almost complete? I personally think it's beautiful and adds a lot to the neighborhood, but interested to hear what neighbors think.

It looks lovely. That was never the issue.

[Anonymous]

PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

Why not? They have an incredible principal who is building out a great staff and the students are smart, hardworking and multilingual. Not to mention, have you been in that building? Gorgeous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

same. it's so beautiful. we go to Seaton and see it every day, and my son already asked if he can go there for high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

Why not? They have an incredible principal who is building out a great staff and the students are smart, hardworking and multilingual. Not to mention, have you been in that building? Gorgeous!

Good luck to you! No, I lived next to Cardozo for years. Won’t be sending my kid there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

same. it's so beautiful. we go to Seaton and see it every day, and my son already asked if he can go there for high school.

Just because a school is beautiful doesn’t mean it’s going to be rigorous and get buy in from families.

Prime example Dunbar. Gorgeous as hell, sleek, modern. Still under-enrolled and poor performing with absolutely no buy in from any middle class families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

Why not? They have an incredible principal who is building out a great staff and the students are smart, hardworking and multilingual. Not to mention, have you been in that building? Gorgeous!

Boy are you in denial if you think students at Cardozo are smart. On or above grade level 16% in ELA and 7% in math. And PARCC isn’t even hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

Why not? They have an incredible principal who is building out a great staff and the students are smart, hardworking and multilingual. Not to mention, have you been in that building? Gorgeous!

Boy are you in denial if you think students at Cardozo are smart. On or above grade level 16% in ELA and 7% in math. And PARCC isn’t even hard.

Further breakdown 2% above grade level ELA, <1% math. Hard no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

Why not? They have an incredible principal who is building out a great staff and the students are smart, hardworking and multilingual. Not to mention, have you been in that building? Gorgeous!

The building is gorgeous. I don’t agree with anything else you said. Principal is mediocre. Kids may be smart but are distracted in school because many of them are dealing with a lot of adversity. Lot of ESOL kids which is fine but it is an added challenge for AP teachers, etc. Staff is a mixed bag. I know folks who work there and they are not happy at many levels

[Anonymous]

Banneker looks great! So glad this will be a vibrant school instead of a vacant eyesore. We live in the neighborhood and my middle schooler (at a charter now) will be looking to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. We've been ready to move for a while, but seeing it going up and filling a void in that space, it's actually giving me new hope that we'll stay. Our kids can walk to a great school. We can all benefit from the beautiful campus.

But where will your kid go to MS? Cardozo?

Why not? They have an incredible principal who is building out a great staff and the students are smart, hardworking and multilingual. Not to mention, have you been in that building? Gorgeous!

Are you kidding me? Cardozo MS is the worst performing MS in DCPS according to the most recent PARCC scores. It is so bad that that not even in-boundary students attend. They make up less than 10% of the student population. Very few students, if any, attend from the local ES such as Ross, Thomson, Cleveland, Seaton, or Garrison. As a parent my children could but will not be going to Cardozo MS, no matter how gorgeous the building is or how incredible the principal is or how hard working the staff might be.

[Anonymous]

Banneker should have renovated its old building, renegotiated use of the green space, and done what was actually best of its community and Center City kids and families. Sure, lovely new building, that will completely ruin any future for strong feeder patterns in the middle of the city. I will not get over what Bowser, with the help of the local ANC, did here.