Murch- Getting screwed again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS should look to Mann for land. They need to make Mann bigger and shift the whole NW population further west. But lets not get off topic.

Anonymous wrote:

They don't need to buy real estate, they need to repurpose real estate they already have.

There is currently one DCPS-owned parcel WOTP that is not being used for a public school: the old Hardy Elementary at Foxhall and Q.

[Anonymous]

We can't ignore Duke Ellington. While today it is Murch with a construction budget shortfall, it will be another school next. We have to demand accountability

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to determine how many seats are available per grade for OOB kids in the upcoming lottery? Can't seem to find it on My School DC. Thanks.

We did this math last time too- kicking out all oob would only remove 80 kids or so, spread across all the grades. It doesn't move the needle enough. It's also a much worse solution than just properly funding this project.

Its not a worse solution when you consider the fact that those 80 OOB kids will follow you to Deal and then on to Wilson. So there is value in addressing this issue early on in order to improve your child's education experience for years to come. The pro-OOB lobby will mock you and say "oh sure, those few extra kids are ruining your child's education." But you know what, 80 kids here, 15, kids there, 10 kids there, and pretty soon you have solved the problem.

It seems Hearst is at the same inflection point where Murch was 5 to 8 years ago. Hopefully, they don't fall into the same trap. This year's K class at Hearst was almost 25% bigger than last year. If that continues then Hearst will have lost a big part of who they were, a rare small DC elementary school. And, down the road Deal and Wilson will be flooded with even more students who should attend their under enrolled neighborhood MS/HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to determine how many seats are available per grade for OOB kids in the upcoming lottery? Can't seem to find it on My School DC. Thanks.

We did this math last time too- kicking out all oob would only remove 80 kids or so, spread across all the grades. It doesn't move the needle enough. It's also a much worse solution than just properly funding this project.

Its not a worse solution when you consider the fact that those 80 OOB kids will follow you to Deal and then on to Wilson. So there is value in addressing this issue early on in order to improve your child's education experience for years to come. The pro-OOB lobby will mock you and say "oh sure, those few extra kids are ruining your child's education." But you know what, 80 kids here, 15, kids there, 10 kids there, and pretty soon you have solved the problem.

It seems Hearst is at the same inflection point where Murch was 5 to 8 years ago. Hopefully, they don't fall into the same trap. This year's K class at Hearst was almost 25% bigger than last year. If that continues then Hearst will have lost a big part of who they were, a rare small DC elementary school. And, down the road Deal and Wilson will be flooded with even more students who should attend their under enrolled neighborhood MS/HS.

RE OOB - these decisions are not being really made at the school level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Murch should look to Mann for guidance. Mann doesn't have a separate gym and cafeteria; it is one small space. Mann's parking lot is also very, very small. They ask neighbors -- annually -- to donate parking spaces. It works quite well.

I know Murch is more than twice the size of Mann. I know this. I'm just saying that instead of playing the reactionary Chicken Little, think seriously about how to navigate around DC's roadblocks. Everything is constrained optimization; this is no different.

DCPS should look to Mann for land. They need to make Mann bigger and shift the whole NW population further west. But lets not get off topic.

Yeah, like losing your precious Deal feeder rights would fly with Murch parents. They wouldn't even consider Hearst, which does feed to Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to determine how many seats are available per grade for OOB kids in the upcoming lottery? Can't seem to find it on My School DC. Thanks.

We did this math last time too- kicking out all oob would only remove 80 kids or so, spread across all the grades. It doesn't move the needle enough. It's also a much worse solution than just properly funding this project.

Its not a worse solution when you consider the fact that those 80 OOB kids will follow you to Deal and then on to Wilson. So there is value in addressing this issue early on in order to improve your child's education experience for years to come. The pro-OOB lobby will mock you and say "oh sure, those few extra kids are ruining your child's education." But you know what, 80 kids here, 15, kids there, 10 kids there, and pretty soon you have solved the problem.

It seems Hearst is at the same inflection point where Murch was 5 to 8 years ago. Hopefully, they don't fall into the same trap. This year's K class at Hearst was almost 25% bigger than last year. If that continues then Hearst will have lost a big part of who they were, a rare small DC elementary school. And, down the road Deal and Wilson will be flooded with even more students who should attend their under enrolled neighborhood MS/HS.

RE OOB - these decisions are not being really made at the school level.

I thought each principal set how many seats per grade could be available in the lottery?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to determine how many seats are available per grade for OOB kids in the upcoming lottery? Can't seem to find it on My School DC. Thanks.

We did this math last time too- kicking out all oob would only remove 80 kids or so, spread across all the grades. It doesn't move the needle enough. It's also a much worse solution than just properly funding this project.

Its not a worse solution when you consider the fact that those 80 OOB kids will follow you to Deal and then on to Wilson. So there is value in addressing this issue early on in order to improve your child's education experience for years to come. The pro-OOB lobby will mock you and say "oh sure, those few extra kids are ruining your child's education." But you know what, 80 kids here, 15, kids there, 10 kids there, and pretty soon you have solved the problem.

It seems Hearst is at the same inflection point where Murch was 5 to 8 years ago. Hopefully, they don't fall into the same trap. This year's K class at Hearst was almost 25% bigger than last year. If that continues then Hearst will have lost a big part of who they were, a rare small DC elementary school. And, down the road Deal and Wilson will be flooded with even more students who should attend their under enrolled neighborhood MS/HS.

RE OOB - these decisions are not being really made at the school level.

I thought each principal set how many seats per grade could be available in the lottery?

They do - but that isn't necessarily the end of it. They have supervisors and there is a strong DCPS interest in ensuring that Deal and Wilson remain diverse. Bancroft and Shepherd help on that score but are not large enough to counterbalance the economic and racial demographics of the rest of the Upper NW feeder schools..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS should look to Mann for land. They need to make Mann bigger and shift the whole NW population further west. But lets not get off topic.

Anonymous wrote:

They don't need to buy real estate, they need to repurpose real estate they already have.

There is currently one DCPS-owned parcel WOTP that is not being used for a public school: the old Hardy Elementary at Foxhall and Q.

Good luck prying that out of Lab schools clutches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DCPS should look to Mann for land. They need to make Mann bigger and shift the whole NW population further west. But lets not get off topic.

Anonymous wrote:

They don't need to buy real estate, they need to repurpose real estate they already have.

There is currently one DCPS-owned parcel WOTP that is not being used for a public school: the old Hardy Elementary at Foxhall and Q.

Good luck prying that out of Lab schools clutches.

AKA a lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Murch should look to Mann for guidance. Mann doesn't have a separate gym and cafeteria; it is one small space. Mann's parking lot is also very, very small. They ask neighbors -- annually -- to donate parking spaces. It works quite well.

I know Murch is more than twice the size of Mann. I know this. I'm just saying that instead of playing the reactionary Chicken Little, think seriously about how to navigate around DC's roadblocks. Everything is constrained optimization; this is no different.

DCPS should look to Mann for land. They need to make Mann bigger and shift the whole NW population further west. But lets not get off topic.

I'm not sure that Murch is even in the worst position on the scale. My nephew goes to John Eaton and 34th and Macomb. Eaton has like 500 students on what must be one of the tiniest school lots in DC. They have a toy-sized field and a modest multipurpose space that is used for meals, gym, plays and other events. When the community votes there, those activities are cancelled or take place in classrooms. The crazy thing is that Eaton is 60% out of boundary students, so you'd think the logical thing for DCPS to do would be to reduce enrollment a bit to take pressure off the limited site space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to determine how many seats are available per grade for OOB kids in the upcoming lottery? Can't seem to find it on My School DC. Thanks.

We did this math last time too- kicking out all oob would only remove 80 kids or so, spread across all the grades. It doesn't move the needle enough. It's also a much worse solution than just properly funding this project.

Its not a worse solution when you consider the fact that those 80 OOB kids will follow you to Deal and then on to Wilson. So there is value in addressing this issue early on in order to improve your child's education experience for years to come. The pro-OOB lobby will mock you and say "oh sure, those few extra kids are ruining your child's education." But you know what, 80 kids here, 15, kids there, 10 kids there, and pretty soon you have solved the problem.

It seems Hearst is at the same inflection point where Murch was 5 to 8 years ago. Hopefully, they don't fall into the same trap. This year's K class at Hearst was almost 25% bigger than last year. If that continues then Hearst will have lost a big part of who they were, a rare small DC elementary school. And, down the road Deal and Wilson will be flooded with even more students who should attend their under enrolled neighborhood MS/HS.

Throttling back those 80 OOB slots through attrition would reduce the school population by about 12 percent -- not insignificant, when you consider that Murch is stretched to the gills now and the oft-expressed opinion on this threat is that even a renovated, expanded 700 student school building is really pushing the limits of the site. Moreover, the Murch neighborhood has seen a sustained baby or kid boom and there is every indication that this trend will continue. Therefore, if OOB slots are not eliminated, the school will likely grow above 700 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to determine how many seats are available per grade for OOB kids in the upcoming lottery? Can't seem to find it on My School DC. Thanks.

We did this math last time too- kicking out all oob would only remove 80 kids or so, spread across all the grades. It doesn't move the needle enough. It's also a much worse solution than just properly funding this project.

Its not a worse solution when you consider the fact that those 80 OOB kids will follow you to Deal and then on to Wilson. So there is value in addressing this issue early on in order to improve your child's education experience for years to come. The pro-OOB lobby will mock you and say "oh sure, those few extra kids are ruining your child's education." But you know what, 80 kids here, 15, kids there, 10 kids there, and pretty soon you have solved the problem.

It seems Hearst is at the same inflection point where Murch was 5 to 8 years ago. Hopefully, they don't fall into the same trap. This year's K class at Hearst was almost 25% bigger than last year. If that continues then Hearst will have lost a big part of who they were, a rare small DC elementary school. And, down the road Deal and Wilson will be flooded with even more students who should attend their under enrolled neighborhood MS/HS.

Throttling back those 80 OOB slots through attrition would reduce the school population by about 12 percent -- not insignificant, when you consider that Murch is stretched to the gills now and the oft-expressed opinion on this threat is that even a renovated, expanded 700 student school building is really pushing the limits of the site. Moreover, the Murch neighborhood has seen a sustained baby or kid boom and there is every indication that this trend will continue. Therefore, if OOB slots are not eliminated, the school will likely grow above 700 students.

Anyone know how many of the OOB are early stages/special ed students? Those kids are not the same as 'regular' OOB (and should stay IMO).

[jsteele]

Folks, please stop the hijacking of this thread to discuss OOB and similar topics. Decisions about OOB were already made during the boundary process. That horse is out of the barn and, to mix a metaphor, has been beaten to death. You guys have dug up the decomposing body and are now beating that. Murch's renovation is supposed to start very soon. What is important now is obtaining sufficient funding for that project. Everything else can be left to a later date.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Folks, please stop the hijacking of this thread to discuss OOB and similar topics. Decisions about OOB were already made during the boundary process. That horse is out of the barn and, to mix a metaphor, has been beaten to death. You guys have dug up the decomposing body and are now beating that. Murch's renovation is supposed to start very soon. What is important now is obtaining sufficient funding for that project. Everything else can be left to a later date.

Thank you Jeff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Murch should look to Mann for guidance. Mann doesn't have a separate gym and cafeteria; it is one small space. Mann's parking lot is also very, very small. They ask neighbors -- annually -- to donate parking spaces. It works quite well.

I know Murch is more than twice the size of Mann. I know this. I'm just saying that instead of playing the reactionary Chicken Little, think seriously about how to navigate around DC's roadblocks. Everything is constrained optimization; this is no different.

DCPS should look to Mann for land. They need to make Mann bigger and shift the whole NW population further west. But lets not get off topic.

Yeah, like losing your precious Deal feeder rights would fly with Murch parents. They wouldn't even consider Hearst, which does feed to Deal.

No, it wold be Janney parents. Janney abuts Mann and is overcrowded too. Shift some to Mann, enough to allow a shift pf some Murch to Janney. OR maybe Janney and Mann can get on board and make sure they make Murch big enough.