DCPS students shafted again - sign petition to keep Jelleff field public

[Anonymous]

This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

[Anonymous]

Don't think Maret cares at all as long as students keep applying. Looks like doing the right thing will need to be done by applying constant pressure. The Mayor and Maret are happy with this cozy deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

I’d say the blowback is on Hardy as well. The school looks like it puts students second, by using scarce on-site play space for a staff parking lot. This reflects an “old DC” government mentality - that DC government employees come first, and services to customers and stakeholders is ancillary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a backroom sham that they will get away with and now Maret people are mad that the public is can see their shady dealings and are calling it for what it is.

This seems like it's right. But also, it's going to be completely forgotten in a year.

DP: It’s not going to be forgotten this time around. Every parent at a Hardy feeder who’s child might play at field sport at Hardy or SWW during the next 9 years is aware of it and will acutely remember this as they fight afternoon traffic to get to a field across town in coming years.

Or as they walk 4 blocks to Ellington field after it is redone, as long as neighbors there don't fight to keep it an enormous dog park.

Well, that’s what Maret and Bowser are counting on — wearing people down...
- by saying “It’s a done deal.”
- with time
- with vague promises about Ellington, which wouldn’t be for years and doesn’t change that the Maret deal is BS.

Muriel Bowser is the worst DC mayor since the other “MB” - Marion Barry. It is so time for her to go already!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a backroom sham that they will get away with and now Maret people are mad that the public is can see their shady dealings and are calling it for what it is.

This seems like it's right. But also, it's going to be completely forgotten in a year.

DP: It’s not going to be forgotten this time around. Every parent at a Hardy feeder who’s child might play at field sport at Hardy or SWW during the next 9 years is aware of it and will acutely remember this as they fight afternoon traffic to get to a field across town in coming years.

For years the Hardy administration put little emphasis and resources behind athletics - except hoops, of course. They share the blame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

I’d say the blowback is on Hardy as well. The school looks like it puts students second, by using scarce on-site play space for a staff parking lot. This reflects an “old DC” government mentality - that DC government employees come first, and services to customers and stakeholders is ancillary.

The private school posters just don't seem to understand how different public schools are. The relationship between parents, school and administration is much more complex at public schools. Families aren't stakeholders at public schools the way they are at private schools. And there is a layer of administration -- downtown -- that just doesn't exist in private schools.

Most of the facilities decisions are made downtown, the in-building administration may be no happier about it than the parents. And the parents don't have nearly the voice they have at a private, where money for facilities comes from fundraising from the parent community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

I’d say the blowback is on Hardy as well. The school looks like it puts students second, by using scarce on-site play space for a staff parking lot. This reflects an “old DC” government mentality - that DC government employees come first, and services to customers and stakeholders is ancillary.

Maret is really reaching on quite a few arguments, but I’d say this is a runner-up to “Our kids need to get home for dinner.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

I’d say the blowback is on Hardy as well. The school looks like it puts students second, by using scarce on-site play space for a staff parking lot. This reflects an “old DC” government mentality - that DC government employees come first, and services to customers and stakeholders is ancillary.

Lmao. FOH with that. Hardy seems fine to me and I think of this as an after school program issue anyway.

Nice try though. The McKenna story will be there for anyone t see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Muriel Bowser is the worst DC mayor since the other “MB” - Marion Barry. It is so time for her to go already!

What's clear is that this was all about power for her. When people started making noise about the Jelleff renewal -- which started about two years ago -- the reaction of her and her administration wasn't, "you have a point, let's try to work it out." No, it was, "how dare you question my authority!" The more blowback they got, the more determined they were to ram this through, just to show who's boss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

I’d say the blowback is on Hardy as well. The school looks like it puts students second, by using scarce on-site play space for a staff parking lot. This reflects an “old DC” government mentality - that DC government employees come first, and services to customers and stakeholders is ancillary.

The private school posters just don't seem to understand how different public schools are. The relationship between parents, school and administration is much more complex at public schools. Families aren't stakeholders at public schools the way they are at private schools. And there is a layer of administration -- downtown -- that just doesn't exist in private schools.

Most of the facilities decisions are made downtown, the in-building administration may be no happier about it than the parents. And the parents don't have nearly the voice they have at a private, where money for facilities comes from fundraising from the parent community.

DCPS needs to adjust to the 21st century reality that the public schools are more diverse, and parents expect more. When DCPS enrollment was overwhelmingly black and mostly poor, the school bureaucrats just assumed that families would accept whatever they dished out, and they largely did. The fact that school principals are still addressed and referred to as “Principal [Jones] is a throwback to when principals were seen as authority figures whose decisions could not be questioned. Even white patents in upper NW a decade ago were reluctant to speak up, lest they be seen as to demanding or greedy.

That’s changed. The DCPS population is far more diverse and newer families aren’t as willing as their predecessors to put up with the bureaucratic bulkshit. DCPS has to adopt a new service mentality that treats the students and their families as premier stakeholders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will die down of course, but the stink is on Maret forever.

I’d say the blowback is on Hardy as well. The school looks like it puts students second, by using scarce on-site play space for a staff parking lot. This reflects an “old DC” government mentality - that DC government employees come first, and services to customers and stakeholders is ancillary.

The private school posters just don't seem to understand how different public schools are. The relationship between parents, school and administration is much more complex at public schools. Families aren't stakeholders at public schools the way they are at private schools. And there is a layer of administration -- downtown -- that just doesn't exist in private schools.

Most of the facilities decisions are made downtown, the in-building administration may be no happier about it than the parents. And the parents don't have nearly the voice they have at a private, where money for facilities comes from fundraising from the parent community.

DCPS needs to adjust to the 21st century reality that the public schools are more diverse, and parents expect more. When DCPS enrollment was overwhelmingly black and mostly poor, the school bureaucrats just assumed that families would accept whatever they dished out, and they largely did. The fact that school principals are still addressed and referred to as “Principal [Jones] is a throwback to when principals were seen as authority figures whose decisions could not be questioned. Even white patents in upper NW a decade ago were reluctant to speak up, lest they be seen as to demanding or greedy.

That’s changed. The DCPS population is far more diverse and newer families aren’t as willing as their predecessors to put up with the bureaucratic bulkshit. DCPS has to adopt a new service mentality that treats the students and their families as premier stakeholders.

Good luck with that. The Office of Planning is predicting that DC will add something like 20,000 students in the next few years, and every indication is that DCPS is content to let charters and privates take all of them. This Jelleff deal is just a snapshot of a bigger picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Muriel Bowser is the worst DC mayor since the other “MB” - Marion Barry. It is so time for her to go already!

What's clear is that this was all about power for her. When people started making noise about the Jelleff renewal -- which started about two years ago -- the reaction of her and her administration wasn't, "you have a point, let's try to work it out." No, it was, "how dare you question my authority!" The more blowback they got, the more determined they were to ram this through, just to show who's boss.

She knocked on my door for a vote way back when and stormed off when I said something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of the hearing on Monday was the Maret affiliate who claimed it was “offensive” for people to call the extension a “back-room deal”. Speakers after her then asserted the 10 year contract was actually a de facto 19 year agreement. If that 19 year agreement was not documented anywhere and was not subject to any oversight by elected representatives, what in the world would you call it?

+1. The Maret School’s civics curriculum: Privilege means that whatever you do is right by definition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't think Maret cares at all as long as students keep applying. Looks like doing the right thing will need to be done by applying constant pressure. The Mayor and Maret are happy with this cozy deal.

Maret has the Abdo wife lady on their board and she’s a big donor to Bowser. Sleazy politics courtesy of Maret. But now everyone knows Maret can’t even afford a field of its own...

[Anonymous]

This is the most liked comment from the most recent Washington Post story on Maret jelleff.

This whole thing stinks like yesterday’s fish.

If Maret wants a place for its kids to play, they should find a plot of vacant land to buy at market rates. The city property belongs to all District residents and should be available first to public school students, not a privileged few.

The fact that Jack Evans is involved in this sweetheart deal is further guarantee that there’s something sleazy and corrupt going on.