School closings coming
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Anonymous
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What do you think the Chancellor was hinting at yesterday? I say there will be a large number of school closings announced this winter. Your take?
"We are not planned well. We have not taken a systemic look back (at DCPS and charters) to see how many schools we need," Henderson says |
Anonymous
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Totally agree with Henderson. The system is out of whack and no one wants to touch it because all you do is piss off people. No one wants their neighborhood school touched. But we need to reprogram funds going to under-enrolled schools into creating stronger programs at more fully enrolled schools. And we need schools to benefit from economies of scale.
But, we shouldn't sell buildings to developers, DCPS should hold onto most of its stock to allow for future adjustments. |
Anonymous
| Wow, I wonder who/which ones will be next? |
Anonymous
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Where did you hear/read Henderson's quote?
And definitely think school closings are coming - especially in light of the report that's going to be issued in October/November re: communities and available schools, etc. |
Anonymous
| i imagine the charter schools make it really hard for DCPS to plan. a charter can pop up at any time and move or close at any time. this has to wreak havoc for the planning process. |
Anonymous
It was in the hearing testimony before the City Council.
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Anonymous
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Mom and pop charter schools are on this list too. They are not exempt from a round of closing. I am just flabber-gasted that OSSE has chosen this outside group to come in and have the last say-so.
We have created 13 k thru 8 schools and I guess we are about to close them or return them to traditional middle schools. Yet, the most recent survey reveals [hypothetically] that our middle schools should all be located on the campus of St. Elizabeth. As for the high-schools let's see whose on the chopping block e.g., Elllington, Roosevelt, Spingarn, Coolidge and Banneker. These schools are not on the get rid off but a retooling or relocation of the student populaton is on the horizon. Case in point Banneker students could definitely be merged into McKinley. Banneker property alone is worth about zillion dollars for Howard University. |
Anonymous
Henderson raised this last March. Schools with less than 300 students need to be looked at. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/05/AR2011030503483.html |
Anonymous
Merge the highest performing school in DC into Wilson, and thereby dilute or dissolve the identify of this amazing majority-minority H.S.? No way in hell that's going to happen. |
Anonymous
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Stranger things can happen and everyone has their price. Who said merge it into Wilson (they would just love that) but McKinley is the most likely choice? The unused square footage that's available at McKinley could suck up Bannker and Ellington and still have room for more.
If all schools are about academics then sharing the wealth of merging Banneker will be seen anecdotal instead of anti-education. C'mon Banneker will become the death of the neighborhood movement, if the data are showing that the majority of their students reside in the northeast quadrant. Then McKinley, Phelps, Eastern and Woodson should welcome their students back with open arms and opportunities. |
Anonymous
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This is what New York City has done. Many of their school buildings house multiple programs: neighborhood schools, magnet schools.and charter schools sometimes all in the same building. It's actually really smart. They can share resources like front office staff, janitor staff, PE, sports, even music and transportation. Parents get choice, students get relief from "one size fits all mentality" and school.system gets cost savings.
DC is so far behind on this. Maybe this study coming up will suggest something like it. |
Anonymous
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I know fenty spoke of moving ellington, probably to free up that super $$$$ land for his cronies
but technically, banneker is much closer to the soon to be renovated Cardoza If coolidge and roosevelt are half empty, that is another potential merge... Mckinly is in an up and coming area, but still....part of the success of banneker IS its isolation from typical high school populations... |
Anonymous
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McKinley is an application only high-school and Banneker is an application only high-school. Doesn't the wording birds of a feather, usually flock together, ring a bell?
Banneker is not a neighborhood school, so the proxmity to Cardozo has no relevance at all. Hogwash, McKinley was amongst an up and coming neighborhood when they chose to close it for 5 year and then re-opened it as the school presently. It is still bewilderment to me in how Banneker and Ellington never moved up on the "new" building list. One would think with all of this sprouting about their academic accolades that they would get a new building faster than a school like Woodson who's been failing for almost a decade. Go figure!!! |
Anonymous
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McKinley and Banneker have very different types of students, and Banneker's affiliation with Howard would be downgraded if they were physically relocated. McKinley is half-empty, anyone know why?
The proximity to Cardozo would allow that proximity/access to and use of Howard facilities to continue compared to a move to McKinley; just as SWWS is linked to GWU. Or perhaps weakening Banneker is the motive behind the suggested move across town??? Ellington has had substantial upgrades to their theater etc Banneker has been treated like a poor stepchild by DCPS...same for Coolidge and Roosevelt... |
Anonymous
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