WaPo takes deep dive into DCPS residency fraud

[Anonymous]

A lot of the posts on this thread are engaged in marveling or looking slack-jawed at the ongoing incompetence of DCPS. There's only so much you can say about the fact that residency fraud has been going on for a long time.

But looking at Grosso's latest response to the reporting of the issue, it is clear that he doesn't care to address these facts. Doesn't this mean that what we're looking at is NOT incompetence? Having one investigator on staff to manage the entire issue is just not incompetence. It's tolerance. I think the most interesting question is WHY DCPS managers and leadership are tolerant. And, the DC Council seem to be tolerant, combined with something like fear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grosso has weighed in. Don't expect anything resembling a crackdown anytime soon.

https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/986340225440940037

Ugh.

Translation:
We know there is fraud, but it's hard and takes work to ferret out and honestly, we don't really care very much.

More like, if we ferret out the fraud we'd have to admit that

a) DC school population is NOT growing
b) we'd have to close schools
c) charter operators would be able to lease the schools and siphon more students away from DCPS

What makes you think some of the residency fraud committed is not occurring as much if not MORE at charters? OSSE covers both. This isn't a DCPS issue, it's a public education issue.

I do think it happens at charters. But it would be harder to do. For a neighborhood school all you need is an address that convinces the registrar. For a charter, you would need that AND a good lottery number or someone willing to sneak you in. That's harder to do.

My guess is that the majority of residency fraud (not boundary cheating) is at charters that do not have much, if any, of a wait list. This shouldn't stop investigations into Ellington and elsewhere from happening, but that's where the numbers come from.

You are wrong - people are not cheating to get into crappy schools.

Actually, they are. Free PK and beforecare and aftercare on your commute into the city for work are worth a ton.

That's what my neighbors do, then their grandparents take them to school! They have paperwork to show they live at the address but don't really and all the children work for the Feds!

Wow I just realized that's probably what my neighbors do too. I live around a lot of grandparents. Happen to know one of them sends grandkids to a DL HRCS; but they don't live in the home with them. How would you root out such cases though?

This is why we should switch to taxes. The kid is either a dependent or not. You'd need to have serious, generous alternatives for children in housing situations that are not stable, but for the kinds of fraud they have identified -- DC employees -- it would probably identify a lot more. Tax fraud is a lot bigger deal to ask a relative to undertake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the posts on this thread are engaged in marveling or looking slack-jawed at the ongoing incompetence of DCPS. There's only so much you can say about the fact that residency fraud has been going on for a long time.

But looking at Grosso's latest response to the reporting of the issue, it is clear that he doesn't care to address these facts. Doesn't this mean that what we're looking at is NOT incompetence? Having one investigator on staff to manage the entire issue is just not incompetence. It's tolerance. I think the most interesting question is WHY DCPS managers and leadership are tolerant. And, the DC Council seem to be tolerant, combined with something like fear?

because too many dc officials are abusing the system? maybe it's a quick way of alienating much of dc officialdom.

[Anonymous]

Wapo reporter on kojo nnamdi site on wamu radio right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the OSSE enrollment audit last fall, these schools (DCPS and charters) had nonresident students who were not on a tuition plan (and yes, I know the Post says they aren't all paying, but that's a diff issue).

I've left off the private placement schools, which had nonresident students placed by a DC school, because those are likely to be the most complicated situations. Most of those are from DCPS, but not all.

Bolded schools have > 1

Academy of Hope PCS 1
Basis DC PCS 1
Breakthroughugh PCS 6
Aiton 1
Ballou STAY 1
Brent 1
Ellington 19
HD Cooke 1
Woodson HS 4
Houston 2
Janney 1
Jefferson 2
King Elementary 1
Langdon 3
La Salle Backus 1
Malcom X @ Green 4
Mann Elem 1
Miner 5
Moten 1
Plummer Elem 1
Randle Highlands 1
Roosevelt HS 8
SWW @ FS 1
Shepherd 11
Smothers 4
Sousa 2
Washington Metropolitan HS 5
Wilson 4
Eagle Academy Riverfront PCS 1
Excel PCS 1
Friendship Collegiate PCS 1
Goodwill Excel 2
Ideal Academy 10
Kingsman Academy PCS 3
KIPP Will PCS 1
LAYC Career Acad PCS 1
Bethune PCS 1
National Collegiate Prep PCS 1
Richard Wright PCS 13
Shining Stars PCS 2
Sustainable Futures PCS 1

Ha ha only one at Bethune, sure. Where is the imagine hope charter school? We are traffic blocked by all the MD license plates there daily, including one black SUV who comes wearing his DC agency uniform.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the posts on this thread are engaged in marveling or looking slack-jawed at the ongoing incompetence of DCPS. There's only so much you can say about the fact that residency fraud has been going on for a long time.

But looking at Grosso's latest response to the reporting of the issue, it is clear that he doesn't care to address these facts. Doesn't this mean that what we're looking at is NOT incompetence? Having one investigator on staff to manage the entire issue is just not incompetence. It's tolerance. I think the most interesting question is WHY DCPS managers and leadership are tolerant. And, the DC Council seem to be tolerant, combined with something like fear?

We already answered this, because it supported the Ed Reformers rhetoric that DCPS schools enrollment increased in fact that is one of the things that Henderson said she was most proud of, even in the Post article the OSSE woman said the same thing! There you have it, couldn't increase test scores, tried that and failed, tried college ready, tried that and failed, so at least we have enrollment - but now find out even that was due to cheating. There is nothing honest about DCPS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From the OSSE enrollment audit last fall, these schools (DCPS and charters) had nonresident students who were not on a tuition plan (and yes, I know the Post says they aren't all paying, but that's a diff issue).

I've left off the private placement schools, which had nonresident students placed by a DC school, because those are likely to be the most complicated situations. Most of those are from DCPS, but not all.

Bolded schools have > 1

Academy of Hope PCS 1
Basis DC PCS 1
Breakthroughugh PCS 6
Aiton 1
Ballou STAY 1
Brent 1
Ellington 19
HD Cooke 1
Woodson HS 4
Houston 2
Janney 1
Jefferson 2
King Elementary 1
Langdon 3
La Salle Backus 1
Malcom X @ Green 4
Mann Elem 1
Miner 5
Moten 1
Plummer Elem 1
Randle Highlands 1
Roosevelt HS 8
SWW @ FS 1
Shepherd 11
Smothers 4
Sousa 2
Washington Metropolitan HS 5
Wilson 4
Eagle Academy Riverfront PCS 1
Excel PCS 1
Friendship Collegiate PCS 1
Goodwill Excel 2
Ideal Academy 10
Kingsman Academy PCS 3
KIPP Will PCS 1
LAYC Career Acad PCS 1
Bethune PCS 1
National Collegiate Prep PCS 1
Richard Wright PCS 13
Shining Stars PCS 2
Sustainable Futures PCS 1

Ha ha only one at Bethune, sure. Where is the imagine hope charter school? We are traffic blocked by all the MD license plates there daily, including one black SUV who comes wearing his DC agency uniform.

Yes! Last year I met a family with 3 children who lived in Silver Spring and attended this school because they had preK3 and Prek4 aged children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grosso has weighed in. Don't expect anything resembling a crackdown anytime soon.

https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/986340225440940037

Ugh.

Translation:
We know there is fraud, but it's hard and takes work to ferret out and honestly, we don't really care very much.

More like, if we ferret out the fraud we'd have to admit that

a) DC school population is NOT growing
b) we'd have to close schools
c) charter operators would be able to lease the schools and siphon more students away from DCPS

What makes you think some of the residency fraud committed is not occurring as much if not MORE at charters? OSSE covers both. This isn't a DCPS issue, it's a public education issue.

I do think it happens at charters. But it would be harder to do. For a neighborhood school all you need is an address that convinces the registrar. For a charter, you would need that AND a good lottery number or someone willing to sneak you in. That's harder to do.

My guess is that the majority of residency fraud (not boundary cheating) is at charters that do not have much, if any, of a wait list. This shouldn't stop investigations into Ellington and elsewhere from happening, but that's where the numbers come from.

You are wrong - people are not cheating to get into crappy schools.

Actually, they are. Free PK and beforecare and aftercare on your commute into the city for work are worth a ton.

That's what my neighbors do, then their grandparents take them to school! They have paperwork to show they live at the address but don't really and all the children work for the Feds!

Wow I just realized that's probably what my neighbors do too. I live around a lot of grandparents. Happen to know one of them sends grandkids to a DL HRCS; but they don't live in the home with them. How would you root out such cases though?

Impossible the way it is right now as they provide the relevant paper work, with one investigator who is going to do leg work to stalk out someones home! You can make DCPS crappy again and then folks won't want to enroll their kids, mind you some folks just use it for the free daycare aspect coz it's easier when riding into town from Fed Gov jobs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wapo reporter on kojo nnamdi site on wamu radio right now.

...and a caller identifies "gentrification" as a justification for MD residents returning to DC for public school. Implying that they have a right to attend DC public schools because they were born here; and that there's no affordable housing ANYwhere in DC if they do actually want to live here; and of course ignoring that public schools in MD are free, too.

That's what DC politicians are up against.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wapo reporter on kojo nnamdi site on wamu radio right now.

...and a caller identifies "gentrification" as a justification for MD residents returning to DC for public school. Implying that they have a right to attend DC public schools because they were born here; and that there's no affordable housing ANYwhere in DC if they do actually want to live here; and of course ignoring that public schools in MD are free, too.

That's what DC politicians are up against.

Bingo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wapo reporter on kojo nnamdi site on wamu radio right now.

...and a caller identifies "gentrification" as a justification for MD residents returning to DC for public school. Implying that they have a right to attend DC public schools because they were born here; and that there's no affordable housing ANYwhere in DC if they do actually want to live here; and of course ignoring that public schools in MD are free, too.

That's what DC politicians are up against.

I thought that caller had a lot of gall! I don't use the word entitled lightly, but wow, they deserve their kids to get a good education in a city where they don't even live?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wapo reporter on kojo nnamdi site on wamu radio right now.

...and a caller identifies "gentrification" as a justification for MD residents returning to DC for public school. Implying that they have a right to attend DC public schools because they were born here; and that there's no affordable housing ANYwhere in DC if they do actually want to live here; and of course ignoring that public schools in MD are free, too.

That's what DC politicians are up against.

I thought that caller had a lot of gall! I don't use the word entitled lightly, but wow, they deserve their kids to get a good education in a city where they don't even live?!

OSSE / DCPS / Charters can do all the enforcement they want -- but until and unless there is a cultural change in the city this will not stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wapo reporter on kojo nnamdi site on wamu radio right now.

...and a caller identifies "gentrification" as a justification for MD residents returning to DC for public school. Implying that they have a right to attend DC public schools because they were born here; and that there's no affordable housing ANYwhere in DC if they do actually want to live here; and of course ignoring that public schools in MD are free, too.

That's what DC politicians are up against.

I thought that caller had a lot of gall! I don't use the word entitled lightly, but wow, they deserve their kids to get a good education in a city where they don't even live?!

So entitled! At least Kang made clear that her empathy comments were referring to DC residents, but neither she nor Kojo nor anyone responded/got to respond to the caller's absurd assertion.

Because they were born here, they are entitled to DC education in perpetuity even if they prefer a 3,000 sq ft house in PGC. Ridiculous!

[Anonymous]

once again, "the legacy of racism" justifies the problem, the illegality, or the rule-breaking. Rather than being appalled at the rationalization, I think spending time to contemplate that perspective explains a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the posts on this thread are engaged in marveling or looking slack-jawed at the ongoing incompetence of DCPS. There's only so much you can say about the fact that residency fraud has been going on for a long time.

But looking at Grosso's latest response to the reporting of the issue, it is clear that he doesn't care to address these facts. Doesn't this mean that what we're looking at is NOT incompetence? Having one investigator on staff to manage the entire issue is just not incompetence. It's tolerance. I think the most interesting question is WHY DCPS managers and leadership are tolerant. And, the DC Council seem to be tolerant, combined with something like fear?

try to keep up - this is an OSSE issue not limited to DCPS. there is just as much residency fraud in charters as DCPS, if not more. Which is it -- 'the DCPS schools all suck and nobody wants to enroll in them or the schools are overflowing with unchecked non-residents'? SMH