Upper elementary at a Title 1 school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what people on the Hill did was try to engage in improving their middle school. It's a long, long, long, long story. And the history of Deal and Hardy goes way back too. But really, that's the path forward. Feeder elementary parents trying to support their middle school and advocate for better support from DCPS. Have you thought about getting involved? You might find it really rewarding.

OP again. Oh I know, I have friends that went to Deal 20+ years ago and can tell you how it's changed. Our family is moving out of the area in about 5 years, but I totally agree and hear a lot of parent talk about this at our school. It's tricky because Wells and MacFarland dual language program are both new and a lot of parents of younger kids speak very optimistically about the on-paper offerings. I'm not green enough to think that these parents will send their kids to those schools en masse, but it will be interesting to see whether a cohort do. We won't be here to see it, but I don't think it's impossible and would end up even being good for those charter families' property values!

Do you mean those DCPS parents' property values?

No! I mean everyone's property values. Even those parents that sent their kids to charters and stayed in the neighborhood while the rest of us put in the work to make neighborhood schools better/more popular. And not even "us" since I know we won't actually be around when push comes to shove (meaning middle school).

Then why are you posting about this??? You are literally part of the problem you purport to care about. And I don't know what your reason is for leaving DC in 5 years, but it's obnoxious to accuse parents who are NOT leaving in 5 years of racism because they are not staying at an IB school or feeder pattern that you yourself have no intention of staying for.

I think if you have one kid in PK or K in DCPS (or a charter) you need to learn to make your choices and then STFU about everyone else's. I just don't think you have the perspective necessary to understand that there is a lot of diversity of situations. Yes, there are definitely some white people who go to charters because they just don't want their kids around a bunch of black kids. Of course that happens. There are also people with kids with IEPs who choose DCPS specifically because they are skeptical charters will serve them well. There are people who choose charters because of language immersion, and sometimes it's just a desire for their kid to be dual lingual, and sometimes it's trying to ensure your child speaks the language your parents speak. There are people who choose charters because they are actually more convenient to their commutes than their IB school. There are people who succumb to peer pressure to leave their IB because family or peers keep telling them it isn't good enough. And there are other people who leave because of actual bad experiences after several years in the school, who simply decide to give it a go somewhere else.

It is so, so easy when you've done one or two lotteries and have experienced nothing but the (generally pretty universal solid) PK program at a DCPS to think you have the whole school system sorted out and you know what everyone needs and you understand everyone's motivations. You don't. And it's particularly annoying to do this when you don't even have a long term investment in the district, when the question of middle school and high school (which is CENTRAL to this entire conversation, as should be clear by now) and are just idly speculating.

This is a 13 page thread and OP said they weren't interested in middle school on page 1.

[Anonymous]

I started this thread a million pages ago specifically because I was concerned about having to switch my DC mid-elementary then again when we move. I wanted a school we could stay in for all of elementary and not have to school hop after second grade (like people assume every higher SES kid does in Title 1 schools). Whether an elementary school is viable in upper elementary is absolutely relevant even if you're not continuing in the feeder, but frankly we'd be panned for taking a charter seat if we did that instead, so oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started this thread a million pages ago specifically because I was concerned about having to switch my DC mid-elementary then again when we move. I wanted a school we could stay in for all of elementary and not have to school hop after second grade (like people assume every higher SES kid does in Title 1 schools). Whether an elementary school is viable in upper elementary is absolutely relevant even if you're not continuing in the feeder, but frankly we'd be panned for taking a charter seat if we did that instead, so oh well.

See, OP, without knowing the school, it's really hard to say how things will go. You're having a good experience until suddenly you aren't. Your grade level cohort can happen to have bright kids or not, well-prepared kids or not, it's really pretty random who joins the class each year. One disruptive new kid can really detract from other kids' learning time and it will take a while for the school to get an IEP figured out and staffed. IB rights mean that classrooms can be overcrowded-- we had 29 in K one year at our Title I. Teachers come and go, you can have a great one or a dud at any school. Each year, you just don't know. But there will be attrition due to lack of a desirable middle school, and the kids coming in to the upper grades likely won't be as academically prepared, so the average level of the class will likely drift downwards over time. A school with a strong reputation and a strong middle school will have more well-prepared students coming in, so this problem won't be as much of a thing.

And as a Kindergarten parent, you don't really know what kind of kid you have. Early readers seem super smart but often the other kids catch up. Some kids get really into a particular subject or sport and you might move schools for that reason. Kids get diagnosed with dyslexia, ASD, all kinds of things in lower and middle elementary, and special needs services really just depend on the quality of the staff you happen to have. And if you have two kids, you might move them both because of the needs of one or the other.

So that's why nobody can tell you whether you'll want to stay or not. It's easy to say you believe in your school and intend to stay, but it's a lot harder to do when your kid is struggling or unhappy, doing school refusal or falling behind academically, or when their IEP rights are being ignored or their teacher obviously sucks. Then you ask yourself "what am I staying *for*?" and if the answer is "to make my child suffer for my principles" or "to attend an even worse middle school", it's just kind of hard to do.

[Anonymous]

OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

OP here. I’m not frustrated. There are lots of older kids at our school I’d be happy for my kid to be in class with, so if nothing changes, I’m good with things just as they are. What I am frustrated about is families that automatically write off the solid neighborhood schools around us and say things like “I’m not even worried about middle school, I just wish there was a DCPS we could stay at through fifth.” There is, you walk past it every day and don’t even see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what people on the Hill did was try to engage in improving their middle school. It's a long, long, long, long story. And the history of Deal and Hardy goes way back too. But really, that's the path forward. Feeder elementary parents trying to support their middle school and advocate for better support from DCPS. Have you thought about getting involved? You might find it really rewarding.

OP again. Oh I know, I have friends that went to Deal 20+ years ago and can tell you how it's changed. Our family is moving out of the area in about 5 years, but I totally agree and hear a lot of parent talk about this at our school. It's tricky because Wells and MacFarland dual language program are both new and a lot of parents of younger kids speak very optimistically about the on-paper offerings. I'm not green enough to think that these parents will send their kids to those schools en masse, but it will be interesting to see whether a cohort do. We won't be here to see it, but I don't think it's impossible and would end up even being good for those charter families' property values!

Do you mean those DCPS parents' property values?

No! I mean everyone's property values. Even those parents that sent their kids to charters and stayed in the neighborhood while the rest of us put in the work to make neighborhood schools better/more popular. And not even "us" since I know we won't actually be around when push comes to shove (meaning middle school).

Then why are you posting about this??? You are literally part of the problem you purport to care about. And I don't know what your reason is for leaving DC in 5 years, but it's obnoxious to accuse parents who are NOT leaving in 5 years of racism because they are not staying at an IB school or feeder pattern that you yourself have no intention of staying for.

I think if you have one kid in PK or K in DCPS (or a charter) you need to learn to make your choices and then STFU about everyone else's. I just don't think you have the perspective necessary to understand that there is a lot of diversity of situations. Yes, there are definitely some white people who go to charters because they just don't want their kids around a bunch of black kids. Of course that happens. There are also people with kids with IEPs who choose DCPS specifically because they are skeptical charters will serve them well. There are people who choose charters because of language immersion, and sometimes it's just a desire for their kid to be dual lingual, and sometimes it's trying to ensure your child speaks the language your parents speak. There are people who choose charters because they are actually more convenient to their commutes than their IB school. There are people who succumb to peer pressure to leave their IB because family or peers keep telling them it isn't good enough. And there are other people who leave because of actual bad experiences after several years in the school, who simply decide to give it a go somewhere else.

It is so, so easy when you've done one or two lotteries and have experienced nothing but the (generally pretty universal solid) PK program at a DCPS to think you have the whole school system sorted out and you know what everyone needs and you understand everyone's motivations. You don't. And it's particularly annoying to do this when you don't even have a long term investment in the district, when the question of middle school and high school (which is CENTRAL to this entire conversation, as should be clear by now) and are just idly speculating.

THIS x 100000.

OP proposes her school is good yet doesn’t name it. Why not OP?

OP’s kid is in ECE and she no clue about families experiences with upper grades and yet calls families that leave racist. Even after families have posted multiple lists of reasons.

Then to top it all off, OP isn’t even staying long term in DC yet accuses all families who are staying long term and who leave their title 1 schools as racist.

It’s easy to BS and talk the talk. But STFU if you aren’t walking the walk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

Thank you! This is well put. The actual racist thinking that lurks in those crying “racist” is astounding when laid bare. Low expectations for the education of black and brown children and assumptions about the inherent value of whiteness. Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

Thank you! This is well put. The actual racist thinking that lurks in those crying “racist” is astounding when laid bare. Low expectations for the education of black and brown children and assumptions about the inherent value of whiteness. Yuck.

OP here. Huh? I never said the kids in class are white. You’re assuming that and putting words in my mouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

OP here. I’m not frustrated. There are lots of older kids at our school I’d be happy for my kid to be in class with, so if nothing changes, I’m good with things just as they are. What I am frustrated about is families that automatically write off the solid neighborhood schools around us and say things like “I’m not even worried about middle school, I just wish there was a DCPS we could stay at through fifth.” There is, you walk past it every day and don’t even see it.

OP. Dude. You met those kids like yesterday. How much time have you spent with them total, ever? You haven't a clue how they actually do academically. Does seeming nice to parents briefly on the playground somehow automatically indicate that they're on grade level in math? You don't even know that these kids attended your school all along, they could be new this year. And somehow this indicates to you that your child's future classmates, whoever they end up being, will be fine academically? Listen to what people are trying to tell you. There is a LOT about DCPS that a kindergarten parent might not see in the first two months of school. I really hope this works out for you. I wish you well. But you're going into this seeing what you want to see. Not what really is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

Bingo. This is why the parents whose kids are in ECE in title 1 DCPS schools are posting and trying to sell the narrative that these schools are better or just as good as all the charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

OP here. I’m not frustrated. There are lots of older kids at our school I’d be happy for my kid to be in class with, so if nothing changes, I’m good with things just as they are. What I am frustrated about is families that automatically write off the solid neighborhood schools around us and say things like “I’m not even worried about middle school, I just wish there was a DCPS we could stay at through fifth.” There is, you walk past it every day and don’t even see it.

OP. Dude. You met those kids like yesterday. How much time have you spent with them total, ever? You haven't a clue how they actually do academically. Does seeming nice to parents briefly on the playground somehow automatically indicate that they're on grade level in math? You don't even know that these kids attended your school all along, they could be new this year. And somehow this indicates to you that your child's future classmates, whoever they end up being, will be fine academically? Listen to what people are trying to tell you. There is a LOT about DCPS that a kindergarten parent might not see in the first two months of school. I really hope this works out for you. I wish you well. But you're going into this seeing what you want to see. Not what really is.

They’re neighbors, we’ve known them since they were little. That’s a plus to an IB school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

OP here. I’m not frustrated. There are lots of older kids at our school I’d be happy for my kid to be in class with, so if nothing changes, I’m good with things just as they are. What I am frustrated about is families that automatically write off the solid neighborhood schools around us and say things like “I’m not even worried about middle school, I just wish there was a DCPS we could stay at through fifth.” There is, you walk past it every day and don’t even see it.

OP. Dude. You met those kids like yesterday. How much time have you spent with them total, ever? You haven't a clue how they actually do academically. Does seeming nice to parents briefly on the playground somehow automatically indicate that they're on grade level in math? You don't even know that these kids attended your school all along, they could be new this year. And somehow this indicates to you that your child's future classmates, whoever they end up being, will be fine academically? Listen to what people are trying to tell you. There is a LOT about DCPS that a kindergarten parent might not see in the first two months of school. I really hope this works out for you. I wish you well. But you're going into this seeing what you want to see. Not what really is.

They’re neighbors, we’ve known them since they were little. That’s a plus to an IB school!

Okay... So, if everything's totally great and your neighbors are awesome and you know for sure that everything's going to be fantastic through 5th, why did you ask the question? Did you just want to complain that other people are racist? Or did you actually want to know other people's experiences at similar schools? Because you sure are ignoring the answers to the question you asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like you are frustrated that families at your IB might make choices based on their long term needs for their children, which will make it harder for you to stay there until you leave town. And then, inexplicably, you e decided this is because THEY are racist.

You are the one mad that other white families wont stay at your IB, making it “good” in your eyes and saving you the trouble of changing to another school so that your child can have more white peers.

Stay, don’t stay, it’s up to you. Don’t expect others to stick around when you don’t intend to. No one owes you a certain demographic balance in your child’s 5th grade class. Good god.

OP here. I’m not frustrated. There are lots of older kids at our school I’d be happy for my kid to be in class with, so if nothing changes, I’m good with things just as they are. What I am frustrated about is families that automatically write off the solid neighborhood schools around us and say things like “I’m not even worried about middle school, I just wish there was a DCPS we could stay at through fifth.” There is, you walk past it every day and don’t even see it.

OP. Dude. You met those kids like yesterday. How much time have you spent with them total, ever? You haven't a clue how they actually do academically. Does seeming nice to parents briefly on the playground somehow automatically indicate that they're on grade level in math? You don't even know that these kids attended your school all along, they could be new this year. And somehow this indicates to you that your child's future classmates, whoever they end up being, will be fine academically? Listen to what people are trying to tell you. There is a LOT about DCPS that a kindergarten parent might not see in the first two months of school. I really hope this works out for you. I wish you well. But you're going into this seeing what you want to see. Not what really is.

They’re neighbors, we’ve known them since they were little. That’s a plus to an IB school!

Okay... So, if everything's totally great and your neighbors are awesome and you know for sure that everything's going to be fantastic through 5th, why did you ask the question? Did you just want to complain that other people are racist? Or did you actually want to know other people's experiences at similar schools? Because you sure are ignoring the answers to the question you asked.

It’s quite amusing how OP’s school is so great from her but she has yet to name it when asked on this board. Very telling.

She has yet to acknowledge any of the multiple problems families have posted but has said multiple times and in multiple posts thst families are racist.

Above pattern is always the same with these DCPS ECE booster parents in title 1 schools.

[Anonymous]

All, just a reminder that there are almost certainly rightwingers who troll the DCPS board and try to make everything about race to divide us.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry, are people really trying to claim white families fleeing to charters in droves ISN’T about race. Lol, DCUM never change.