Coffee in Lincoln Park with David Catania

[Anonymous]

I think SH should become a magnet middle school of some kind. It's just had a renovation, it's got a good group of educators and it's near Union Station.

[Anonymous]

EH becomes the default feeder middle school for all the elementary schools with the International Baccalaureate Program that dovetails with Eastern High School.

Stuart Hobson becomes a city-wide museum magnet middle school that partners with the Smithsonian Institute

Jefferson becomes a city-wide fine arts/performing arts magnet middle school capitalizing on its proximity to the National Mall, Arena Stage and river access to the Kennedy Center

There, solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:EH becomes the default feeder middle school for all the elementary schools with the International Baccalaureate Program that dovetails with Eastern High School.

Stuart Hobson becomes a city-wide museum magnet middle school that partners with the Smithsonian Institute

Jefferson becomes a city-wide fine arts/performing arts magnet middle school capitalizing on its proximity to the National Mall, Arena Stage and river access to the Kennedy Center

There, solved.

Except without closing a school, and eliminating excess capacity, all you have done is add costs and disrupted the city's third best middle school for the promise of a brighter future - which DCPS or most other urban school systems have yet to demonstrate is a likely outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, no neighborhood school no neighborhood buy in - Good Bye. Leave the feeder patterns the way they are, because it doesn't matter. No one from the neighborhood will attend. Net result = no change.

1) please define "neighborhood school"

2) is Deal a neighborhood school? For how long has it been one?

3) how come there is major buy-in by these very same people to charter schools and private schools when they are pretty much the antithesis of neighborhood schools?

A neighborhood school caters to the neighborhood and comprises IB students. The neighborhood rejects SH and Watkins for charters and privates because those schools aren't neighborhood schools.

As far as Deale goes, check for yourself what its IB percentage is, and compare that to SH and Watkins.

PP, do you live on the Hill?

[Anonymous]

My question remains. If Hill parents are rejecting SH because it isn't a neighborhood school, why do they turn to charters or privates that aren't neighborhood schools either. Far from it. There is something else going on that doesn't have to do with neighborhood alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EH becomes the default feeder middle school for all the elementary schools with the International Baccalaureate Program that dovetails with Eastern High School.

Stuart Hobson becomes a city-wide museum magnet middle school that partners with the Smithsonian Institute

Jefferson becomes a city-wide fine arts/performing arts magnet middle school capitalizing on its proximity to the National Mall, Arena Stage and river access to the Kennedy Center

There, solved.

Except without closing a school, and eliminating excess capacity, all you have done is add costs and disrupted the city's third best middle school for the promise of a brighter future - which DCPS or most other urban school systems have yet to demonstrate is a likely outcome.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of out city's middle-school students have gone to charter schools: KIPP, DC PREP, 2 Rivers, Howard Math and Science, Cap City, EL Haynes etc. and if attractive, well-run magnet programs in DCPS could bring some back and fill that capacity.

For sure disrupting Stuart Hobson which is a godsend for many students and families should not be taken lightly. perhaps they would continue to use SH as a magnet school even if it wasn't part of the cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My question remains. If Hill parents are rejecting SH because it isn't a neighborhood school, why do they turn to charters or privates that aren't neighborhood schools either. Far from it. There is something else going on that doesn't have to do with neighborhood alone.

Brent, Maury, SWS, Tyler, Payne and Miner are not rejecting SH. the capacity of SH is about 140 in sixth grade and it has the ability to be the neighborhood school for less than 50% of neighborhood kids.

[Anonymous]

conrinuing.Especially if Eastern as its destination high school was desirable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My question remains. If Hill parents are rejecting SH because it isn't a neighborhood school, why do they turn to charters or privates that aren't neighborhood schools either. Far from it. There is something else going on that doesn't have to do with neighborhood alone.

As you probably know, that's because "not neighborhood" is code for "black".
So now you have it, the discussion is where you wanted it to be. Too bad, would have been interesting otherwise.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that is true. The public options that people are using as alternatives: BASIS, Washington Latin and to some extent Hardy have students of all races.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My question remains. If Hill parents are rejecting SH because it isn't a neighborhood school, why do they turn to charters or privates that aren't neighborhood schools either. Far from it. There is something else going on that doesn't have to do with neighborhood alone.

As you probably know, that's because "not neighborhood" is code for "black".
So now you have it, the discussion is where you wanted it to be. Too bad, would have been interesting otherwise.

BASIS, the most popular non-SH middle school destination for Hill kids, is 50% African American and is a Title 1 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh for goodness sake. Who mentioned SES? Trying to find a way to concentrate well -prepared students in one middle school is not offensive. It is smart. Hopefully Ludlow Taylor, Payne, JO Wilson and Tyler would also be feeding there. Think outside your box please

So by "concentrat(ing) well prepared students in one middle school" you are doing what then? Leaving all the rest of the kids to languish in their crappy schools? Is that the point?

And you don't need to mention SES. I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here.

Just to add if it's just about "well prepared" students, then why add SWS? What measure is she using to be so sure they are "well prepared"? Are the kids there even old enough to have been taking the DC CAS yet?

So please, give me a break.

SWS demographics are virtually identical to Brent and its been sucessful while only entering mandatory test grade 3 this year. If we based success solely on DC CAS then Ludlow Taylor is among the best elementary on the Hill. That's a separate debate, but many others would disagree with that conclusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh for goodness sake. Who mentioned SES? Trying to find a way to concentrate well -prepared students in one middle school is not offensive. It is smart. Hopefully Ludlow Taylor, Payne, JO Wilson and Tyler would also be feeding there. Think outside your box please

So by "concentrat(ing) well prepared students in one middle school" you are doing what then? Leaving all the rest of the kids to languish in their crappy schools? Is that the point?

And you don't need to mention SES. I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here.

Just to add if it's just about "well prepared" students, then why add SWS? What measure is she using to be so sure they are "well prepared"? Are the kids there even old enough to have been taking the DC CAS yet?

So please, give me a break.

SWS demographics are virtually identical to Brent and its been sucessful while only entering mandatory test grade 3 this year. If we based success solely on DC CAS then Ludlow Taylor is among the best elementary on the Hill. That's a separate debate, but many others would disagree with that conclusion.

So on what are you basing your assertion that SWS is a successful school? On what you basing your assertion that LT is not a successful school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh for goodness sake. Who mentioned SES? Trying to find a way to concentrate well -prepared students in one middle school is not offensive. It is smart. Hopefully Ludlow Taylor, Payne, JO Wilson and Tyler would also be feeding there. Think outside your box please

So by "concentrat(ing) well prepared students in one middle school" you are doing what then? Leaving all the rest of the kids to languish in their crappy schools? Is that the point?

And you don't need to mention SES. I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here.

Just to add if it's just about "well prepared" students, then why add SWS? What measure is she using to be so sure they are "well prepared"? Are the kids there even old enough to have been taking the DC CAS yet?

So please, give me a break.

SWS demographics are virtually identical to Brent and its been sucessful while only entering mandatory test grade 3 this year. If we based success solely on DC CAS then Ludlow Taylor is among the best elementary on the Hill. That's a separate debate, but many others would disagree with that conclusion.

So on what are you basing your assertion that SWS is a successful school? On what you basing your assertion that LT is not a successful school?

if you go by DC CAS scores alone you are missing most of the picture. The fact that SWS hasn't taken thetest doesn't validate or disprove anything. If you knew the faculty, staff, students and school community well you'd understand why it's lumped with the other successful Hill ES. I'm not biting on your weak bait, but if I was making the proposal Elissa Silverman did I would have included LT along with the others. I also don't think her proposal will ever go anywhere even if she gains office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I won't be able to make it to the coffee. However, can someone please ask Catania if supports test-in middle schools whereby high-SES white students can learn unencumbered by classroom disruptions that are caused by the less affluent minority type? (and report back?)

Do you feel the same way about the test-in middle school opening in ward 7?

And what about the families at Banneker, do you cut them slack because the school is mostly Black, but then denigrate them for being elitist? How does that judgement from on high work?

As a matter of fact, Banneker isn't a test-in high school. The only DCPS high schoo that is test-in is......SWW. Banneker does, however, use the 7th grade DC-CAS scores (proficient and/or advanced) as one requirement for admission. Of course, according to some on DCUM, the CAS isn't rigorous enough for high-SES students and therefore is an marginal assessment of student achievement-especially beyond middle school.

I'd agree with that but that still counts as test-in by DC standards (sez white mom considering Banneker as possible option for high achieving kid who is not even in middle school yet..)