Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are all those 3rd graders really IB Janney??? I wonder what the classes sizes are like in the other Deal feeders? Because, if it's similar, Deal is going to be even more outrageous in 3 years. At what point is someone Downtown going to actually tackle this? There may be no political appetite to removed feeder rights, or remove some schools from the feeder system, or cut whole swaths of WOTP areas out of Deal, but something has to be done. At some point someone is going to have to stop ignoring the problem and actually face pissing of some people and deal with it. Because this is just nuts. And DCPS is no MoCo, so making that comparison is silly.

They did cut some nearby WOTP schools out of Deal, including John Eaton which had fed to Deal for 80 years or so. A lot of unhappy parents there.

[Anonymous]

Yep - feeder rights. If you attend a feeder school, you go, even if you enter in the 5th grade. So, yes, Mann kids would get Deal this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are all those 3rd graders really IB Janney??? I wonder what the classes sizes are like in the other Deal feeders? Because, if it's similar, Deal is going to be even more outrageous in 3 years. At what point is someone Downtown going to actually tackle this? There may be no political appetite to removed feeder rights, or remove some schools from the feeder system, or cut whole swaths of WOTP areas out of Deal, but something has to be done. At some point someone is going to have to stop ignoring the problem and actually face pissing of some people and deal with it. Because this is just nuts. And DCPS is no MoCo, so making that comparison is silly.

They did cut some nearby WOTP schools out of Deal, including John Eaton which had fed to Deal for 80 years or so. A lot of unhappy parents there.

You are right, yes they did. I should have said "more" WOTP areas. And, considering how many OOB kids were tucked into Deal feeders right after that, it's a wonder Eaton parents weren't even more angry. It's a mess.

[Anonymous]

What are the reasons an OOB student can be asked to leave a school? I recall it was for days absent and grades. Has it ever been implemented at any school? Those seem high bar except in high school where gpa matters

[Anonymous]

why not make Janney the lower school, then all kids feed to Hardy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why not make Janney the lower school, then all kids feed to Hardy?

I'm a Janney parent with a PK and 1st grader.

Part of me thinks this might be a great idea - the Janney parents are SO motivated and SO involved and I think that if we were going to Hardy along with Key, Mann, Stoddert... that maybe Hardy would become an "acceptable" school in the eyes of the WOTP people. I grew up in CCDC, and have seen the schools evolve. Eventually, this will happen to Hardy. Is it sooner, or is it later?

On the other hand, much of the Janney zone is so close to Deal that this might happen to another school. Maybe Layfayette to Unicorn Middle School (see DCUM lore) or Hearst?

Either way, I think something has got to give. You can't keep cramming more and more kids into "desirable" elementary and middle schools. It wasn't so long ago that these schools were not so desirable. It's not out of the question that there is more positive change on the horizon. I think Hearst is a great example of that.

And before you get on me, positive change doesn't mean EOTP vs WOTP, it means families who are really involved in the school and who are dedicated to their kid's educations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why not make Janney the lower school, then all kids feed to Hardy?

I'm a Janney parent with a PK and 1st grader.

Part of me thinks this might be a great idea - the Janney parents are SO motivated and SO involved and I think that if we were going to Hardy along with Key, Mann, Stoddert... that maybe Hardy would become an "acceptable" school in the eyes of the WOTP people. I grew up in CCDC, and have seen the schools evolve. Eventually, this will happen to Hardy. Is it sooner, or is it later?

On the other hand, much of the Janney zone is so close to Deal that this might happen to another school. Maybe Layfayette to Unicorn Middle School (see DCUM lore) or Hearst?

Either way, I think something has got to give. You can't keep cramming more and more kids into "desirable" elementary and middle schools. It wasn't so long ago that these schools were not so desirable. It's not out of the question that there is more positive change on the horizon. I think Hearst is a great example of that.

And before you get on me, positive change doesn't mean EOTP vs WOTP, it means families who are really involved in the school and who are dedicated to their kid's educations.

EOTP
A tempting thought, but read the Hardy threads sometime. It's complicated. DCPS wants more IB kids there, but there are other views that are wary of IB newcomers wanting to change Hardy too much, or changing Hardy more to attract more Ward 3 kids. Hardy has been a safety valve for kids EOTP whose regular middle school options are not great. Not only do parents of these kids (who view Hardy as being a quite "good enough" school) get annoyed at Ward 3 parents who discount Hardy as being unequal to Deal's quality, but they fear that if too many IB kids enroll, it will effectively cut off access to Hardy for families like them. This tension makes me skeptical that change at Hardy will be anything other than very incremental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why not make Janney the lower school, then all kids feed to Hardy?

I'm a Janney parent with a PK and 1st grader.

Part of me thinks this might be a great idea - the Janney parents are SO motivated and SO involved and I think that if we were going to Hardy along with Key, Mann, Stoddert... that maybe Hardy would become an "acceptable" school in the eyes of the WOTP people. I grew up in CCDC, and have seen the schools evolve. Eventually, this will happen to Hardy. Is it sooner, or is it later?

On the other hand, much of the Janney zone is so close to Deal that this might happen to another school. Maybe Layfayette to Unicorn Middle School (see DCUM lore) or Hearst?

Either way, I think something has got to give. You can't keep cramming more and more kids into "desirable" elementary and middle schools. It wasn't so long ago that these schools were not so desirable. It's not out of the question that there is more positive change on the horizon. I think Hearst is a great example of that.

And before you get on me, positive change doesn't mean EOTP vs WOTP, it means families who are really involved in the school and who are dedicated to their kid's educations.

EOTP
A tempting thought, but read the Hardy threads sometime. It's complicated. DCPS wants more IB kids there, but there are other views that are wary of IB newcomers wanting to change Hardy too much, or changing Hardy more to attract more Ward 3 kids. Hardy has been a safety valve for kids EOTP whose regular middle school options are not great. Not only do parents of these kids (who view Hardy as being a quite "good enough" school) get annoyed at Ward 3 parents who discount Hardy as being unequal to Deal's quality, but they fear that if too many IB kids enroll, it will effectively cut off access to Hardy for families like them. This tension makes me skeptical that change at Hardy will be anything other than very incremental.

PP here - I see what you are saying - so then, what is your solution? End feeder rights? I'm not sure that would be well received, and also I think ultimately that is a short term solution. So what....? Not trying to be snarky at all... seriously wondering how to fix this. As someone who is IB for Janney, Deal, Wilson, but is worried about the sizes of the school and can't afford private.

[Anonymous]

Janney will be more overcrowded each year unless they make a real change.

What do people suggest?

[Anonymous]

Wow never thought I'd see the day where WOTP parents choose EOTP schools due to overcrowding and not test scores.

[Anonymous]

Janney is just a few blocks from Deal moving Janney to Hardy seems like a very unrealistic commute.

I really like the idea of Hearst being turned back into an Early Childhood Development Center for pre-k 4 - 2nd.

In my opinion the expectation of pre-k is what is causing enrollments to rise at several of the stronger schools. A grade has essentially been added to the schools with little planning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Janney is just a few blocks from Deal moving Janney to Hardy seems like a very unrealistic commute.

I really like the idea of Hearst being turned back into an Early Childhood Development Center for pre-k 4 - 2nd.

In my opinion the expectation of pre-k is what is causing enrollments to rise at several of the stronger schools. A grade has essentially been added to the schools with little planning.

Where would Hearst students go for 3rd-5th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow never thought I'd see the day where WOTP parents choose EOTP schools due to overcrowding and not test scores.

You are not seeing that day. Don't be ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are all those 3rd graders really IB Janney??? I wonder what the classes sizes are like in the other Deal feeders? Because, if it's similar, Deal is going to be even more outrageous in 3 years. At what point is someone Downtown going to actually tackle this? There may be no political appetite to removed feeder rights, or remove some schools from the feeder system, or cut whole swaths of WOTP areas out of Deal, but something has to be done. At some point someone is going to have to stop ignoring the problem and actually face pissing of some people and deal with it. Because this is just nuts. And DCPS is no MoCo, so making that comparison is silly.

They did cut some nearby WOTP schools out of Deal, including John Eaton which had fed to Deal for 80 years or so. A lot of unhappy parents there.

You are right, yes they did. I should have said "more" WOTP areas. And, considering how many OOB kids were tucked into Deal feeders right after that, it's a wonder Eaton parents weren't even more angry. It's a mess.

Yes. It was politics over substance. There had to be at least some boundary changes in Ward 3 -- otherwise other wards would scream -- so J. Eaton was the sacrificial lamb (but will have little impact on Deal because its 5th grade is relatively small). Meanwhile Bowser moved to protect access to Deal for certain of her "base" neighborhoods EOTP, either directly or through Deal feeders. So there was basically no impact on Deal overcrowding, or perhaps the net/net was to make it worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Janney is just a few blocks from Deal moving Janney to Hardy seems like a very unrealistic commute.

I really like the idea of Hearst being turned back into an Early Childhood Development Center for pre-k 4 - 2nd.

In my opinion the expectation of pre-k is what is causing enrollments to rise at several of the stronger schools. A grade has essentially been added to the schools with little planning.

Those PK4 kids whether attending now or by K doesn't solve the problem either, unless you free up the classes that housed them.