Question for Supporters of New WotP High School

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
All of these children at the other schools if transferred to Roosevelt would make it over-whelmingly a majority AA comprehensive high-school for northwest area with the second largest capacity to Wilson that is also overwhelmingly AA too. If you think that DCPS is going to make another application only high-school you're crazy!!! Therefore to count on those students who are already enrolled in an application school the likelihood of them transferring is far and few. Also, for Roosevelt to work successfully it would have to phase out or phase in and again that's another lab-experiment that has not worked entirely well (ask Eastern). Many thought that Eastern would attract whites to the campus and thus far there's only white student but the programs at Eastern are phenomenal and the AA students at the school are to quite well. So once again build it and they will come is just foolishness for many to believe. Moreso, build it and they will keep my property value at a level of excellent for resaling purposes. Projected enrollment for Eastern next year will have them being the second largest high-school to Wilson being the first and this is without any increased white student body. Thus with Eastern offering everything and more than Wilson...why would you need to revamp Roosevelt to make it more attractive? Too many cooks spoil the soup.

I appreciate the Eastern advocacy and DCUM could probably use a lot more of it (whatever happened to our resident Eastern booster?). But, I think it is just too far away for many of us who might consider a revitalized Roosevelt.

I must agree with Jeff, but then I suggested Cardozo because I think it has a desirable location. Eastern is just too far away for many families. More specifically, it's just too far away for many families whom DCPS would like to entice out of Wilson.

[Anonymous]

There is a group of Ward Four Parents who have begun organizing around an effort to improve educational options in the Ward beyond elementary school. The group is called "For Ward 4" and you can sign up to receive updates about their meetings: forward4 at gmail.com. So far, the conversation has focused on getting a stand-alone middle school with high quality programming in the Ward. Obviously, having a high school to feed into would be the next step.
I am very excited about the plans to modernize Roosevelt. The new facility has some pretty spectacular attributes, including science labs, a greenhouse, school garden, gorgeous atrium, athletic facilities, and an amazing outdoor classroom that will allow students to observe how the building recycles grey water. I hope that there will be strong interest in quality programming at Roosevelt. The best way to persuade DCPS to do this is for parents to organize and start pushing now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About the idea of a test-in academy plus a general program: that's what worked for Wilson, no?

I do think it would be essential to rename/rebrand this proposed HS. It's not just the alumni who are a barrier to change; it's the reputation. General perceptions about existing schools are slow to change.

Really? Rename a school? This is Elitist BS!

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About the idea of a test-in academy plus a general program: that's what worked for Wilson, no?

I do think it would be essential to rename/rebrand this proposed HS. It's not just the alumni who are a barrier to change; it's the reputation. General perceptions about existing schools are slow to change.

Really? Rename a school? This is Elitist BS!

It's just one person's suggestion. That's what brainstorming is all about. What are your suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Interesting reaction from people I've talked to offline about this: Three people have asked me, "How do I sign up for this?"

[Anonymous]

There needs to be a other viable High school, get on it jeff!

[Anonymous]

I think the dual-school approach mentioned several pages back could have the most legs: a city-wide academically specialized academy co-located with a traditional neighborhood program. I like the idea of the specialized program having an admissions floor that is at a predictable, medium level (e.g., proficient on the DC CAS or its equivalent on the PARCC tests), but also think there needs to be a particular academic focus to provide a thematic, differentiating anchor for the program.

Here are some thematic ideas for a specialized academy:

Health Sciences Academy (seemingly a perfect fit for Roosevelt):
-- All students complete a rigorous series of pre-AP and AP coursework including AP Biology and AP Chemistry
-- Real-world medical/health shadow experiences throughout high school
-- Capstone clinical experience either over summer before senior year or senior fall
-- Potential school partners: Washington Hospital Center, National Rehabilitation Hospital, George Washington Hospital

Government Academy (seemingly a perfect fit for Cardozo)
-- All students complete a rigorous series of pre-AP and AP coursework including AP US History and AP World History
-- Students complete History Day projects each fall and research papers each spring through junior year
-- Additional required curricular components include a Modern Legal Theory Seminar co-taught by Georgetown Law faculty and students, and a Contemporary American Politics seminar that includes guest speakers who are elected officials, leaders of government agencies, and community activists
-- Regular "field study" trips across the DC area - including visits to the White House, Capitol Hill, Supreme Court, and more
-- Students encouraged to complete an internship or semester-long volunteer opportunity with the school's partner organizations
-- Electives in: Rhetoric & Debate, Journalism, plus active Model UN club
-- Potential school partners: Georgetown Law, C-SPAN, American Bar Association

Open questions:
-- Could both of these be done concurrently (at Roosevelt and Cardozo), or would these need to happen one at a time? If one at a time, which one should come first?
-- What other schools might be good candidates for school-within-school city-wide academies -- eventually, could every school have one? I could also see a Computer Science Academy, National Security Academy, Environmental Science Academy, Business & Marketing Academy, etc. to fit various interests and needs.
-- What's the ideal size for the academies? My thinking would be to follow the charter model and start small and grow as demand increases: Start with 40-60 students in 9th grade, and then accept new students in 9th grade each year and potentially a few transfers in later grades after the academy "grows" to those grades. Admittedly, this has gotten mixed reviews at Eastern.
-- How can we message this as to reiterate that this is meant to grow the pie, and avoid the perception that this is meant to take away from low-SES families and disadvantaged students? There is enough building capacity at both Roosevelt and Cardozo to add enrollment without limiting the offerings for existing students. These academies need to be perceived as rigorous and prestigious, but also of benefit to the existing neighborhood student bodies. How can we accomplish that?

Full disclosure: I work for the DC government, but not at DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Why medium-level academies? How rigorous could you really expect classes aimed at DC CAS proficient students to be?

Really, by high school, advanced students require more differentiation. It doesn't sound like this plan offers much at all for middle income families with advanced students about to lose access to the only matter-of-right high school in the city that can hope to support advanced learners in at least some of their classes. This proposal may offer an olive branch to low-SES families, but it still leaves families who cannot afford private school with less than we had before, in spite of our very carefully chosen real estate investments.

[Anonymous]

You need a competitive top notch program people. Don't aim for mediocre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About the idea of a test-in academy plus a general program: that's what worked for Wilson, no?

I do think it would be essential to rename/rebrand this proposed HS. It's not just the alumni who are a barrier to change; it's the reputation. General perceptions about existing schools are slow to change.

Really? Rename a school? This is Elitist BS!

Ronald Reagan HIgh School, anyone?

Well, maybe it has less appeal in NW than in VA....

[Anonymous]

Why medium-level academies? How rigorous could you really expect classes aimed at DC CAS proficient students to be?

DC already has six selective specialized public high schools -- not sure it's politically possible to make the case that we need more.

Everybody seems to want to have their neighborhood school be test-in -- see also the proposals for test-in schools at Dunbar and Ward 7. This proposal has to be something different. If DC adds another fully test-in school, it's likely to be in a part of the city without a specialized program, e.g. east of the river.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the dual-school approach mentioned several pages back could have the most legs: a city-wide academically specialized academy co-located with a traditional neighborhood program. I like the idea of the specialized program having an admissions floor that is at a predictable, medium level (e.g., proficient on the DC CAS or its equivalent on the PARCC tests), but also think there needs to be a particular academic focus to provide a thematic, differentiating anchor for the program.

Here are some thematic ideas for a specialized academy:

Health Sciences Academy (seemingly a perfect fit for Roosevelt):
-- All students complete a rigorous series of pre-AP and AP coursework including AP Biology and AP Chemistry
-- Real-world medical/health shadow experiences throughout high school
-- Capstone clinical experience either over summer before senior year or senior fall
-- Potential school partners: Washington Hospital Center, National Rehabilitation Hospital, George Washington Hospital

Government Academy (seemingly a perfect fit for Cardozo)
-- All students complete a rigorous series of pre-AP and AP coursework including AP US History and AP World History
-- Students complete History Day projects each fall and research papers each spring through junior year
-- Additional required curricular components include a Modern Legal Theory Seminar co-taught by Georgetown Law faculty and students, and a Contemporary American Politics seminar that includes guest speakers who are elected officials, leaders of government agencies, and community activists
-- Regular "field study" trips across the DC area - including visits to the White House, Capitol Hill, Supreme Court, and more
-- Students encouraged to complete an internship or semester-long volunteer opportunity with the school's partner organizations
-- Electives in: Rhetoric & Debate, Journalism, plus active Model UN club
-- Potential school partners: Georgetown Law, C-SPAN, American Bar Association

Open questions:
-- Could both of these be done concurrently (at Roosevelt and Cardozo), or would these need to happen one at a time? If one at a time, which one should come first?
-- What other schools might be good candidates for school-within-school city-wide academies -- eventually, could every school have one? I could also see a Computer Science Academy, National Security Academy, Environmental Science Academy, Business & Marketing Academy, etc. to fit various interests and needs.
-- What's the ideal size for the academies? My thinking would be to follow the charter model and start small and grow as demand increases: Start with 40-60 students in 9th grade, and then accept new students in 9th grade each year and potentially a few transfers in later grades after the academy "grows" to those grades. Admittedly, this has gotten mixed reviews at Eastern.
-- How can we message this as to reiterate that this is meant to grow the pie, and avoid the perception that this is meant to take away from low-SES families and disadvantaged students? There is enough building capacity at both Roosevelt and Cardozo to add enrollment without limiting the offerings for existing students. These academies need to be perceived as rigorous and prestigious, but also of benefit to the existing neighborhood student bodies. How can we accomplish that?

Full disclosure: I work for the DC government, but not at DCPS.

All high schools have recently been asked to come up with academies going beyond grade-level in 9th to thematic so clearly this is something that DCPS is onboard with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About the idea of a test-in academy plus a general program: that's what worked for Wilson, no?

I do think it would be essential to rename/rebrand this proposed HS. It's not just the alumni who are a barrier to change; it's the reputation. General perceptions about existing schools are slow to change.

Really? Rename a school? This is Elitist BS!

Ronald Reagan HIgh School, anyone?

Well, maybe it has less appeal in NW than in VA....

What is wrong with the current high school names? This is education not MTV-land!!! How about, as Dunbar has done, promoting the strong legacy and history of these schools. Unlike what reformers seem to think, in the past these schools were actually good schools. There has been a book and documentary about the noted alumni of Dunbar, why would someone want to wipe away history based on people's perceptions from recent times. Do new transplants value the legacy and history of this city so little?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About the idea of a test-in academy plus a general program: that's what worked for Wilson, no?

I do think it would be essential to rename/rebrand this proposed HS. It's not just the alumni who are a barrier to change; it's the reputation. General perceptions about existing schools are slow to change.

Really? Rename a school? This is Elitist BS!

Ronald Reagan HIgh School, anyone?

Well, maybe it has less appeal in NW than in VA....

What is wrong with the current high school names? This is education not MTV-land!!! How about, as Dunbar has done, promoting the strong legacy and history of these schools. Unlike what reformers seem to think, in the past these schools were actually good schools. There has been a book and documentary about the noted alumni of Dunbar, why would someone want to wipe away history based on people's perceptions from recent times. Do new transplants value the legacy and history of this city so little?

It's not that. These schools' stakeholders have not done a good job illustrating why we should care about the schools' histories. All that "outsiders" saw was two rat trap buildings and one that looked like a prison, all with jaw-droppingly low test scores. Organizations rebrand all the time because it works, but I'll bet most, if not all, of the "reformers" will move past the notion pretty quickly if the real changes that are needed get implemented.

[Anonymous]

Okay, time for next steps.

I believe we have two important tasks.

1) Write up "The Roosevelt (and/or Cardozo) Proposal" in a one page document. Something that we can PDF and email, tweet, etc to DME, Council, candidates, media, whomever.


2) Get the William F. Buckleys of DC (those standing athwart history yelling, "Stop!") out of their panic and onto this plan as an alternative. "Predictability" is a bad word here. If the current or future DME is willing to keep the boundary discussion open, we can shape it to get the middle school configuration and the plus curriculum that future Roosevelt needs. If DME goes cowering back into its corner, this is dead, maybe forever. This is a priority because both candidate's current positions would actually prevent this plan from coming to fruition.

Any thoughts?