Middle and high school on Capitol Hill

[Anonymous]

It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

[Anonymous]

We have a good idea of how it would work from what has happened at SH in the last 6 or 7 years. The Hobson experience teaches that if you attract at least a dozen high-performing students to a DCPS 6th grade, the school starts providing English, math classes and possibly science and social studies classes pitched at grade level. The parents organize after school foreign language. Electives like art, music and PE are not going to be ability tracked.

Make no mistake, housing project MS kids can be rough. When you're at a school like Brent, when there are few, you don't get a good feel for how tough their homes lives really are. My neighbors pulled out of SH after 6th grade, because their shy daughter was coming home in tears on a regular basis (after being called vulgar names, mildly threatened, shoved, tripped, pushed etc. by small groups of kids outside the building). Schools with lots of project kids generally foster a book camp type atmosphere inside the building to keep kids in line. What happens on the playground and on sidewalks around the school is another matter. Admins advised the family to suck it up. They didn't- they bailed for Deal by moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Fine, if you believe it's impossible, you don't believe your child can be educated at DCPS. Then stop complaining about DCPS and just do what you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a good idea of how it would work from what has happened at SH in the last 6 or 7 years. The Hobson experience teaches that if you attract at least a dozen high-performing students to a DCPS 6th grade, the school starts providing English, math classes and possibly science and social studies classes pitched at grade level. The parents organize after school foreign language. Electives like art, music and PE are not going to be ability tracked.

Make no mistake, housing project MS kids can be rough. When you're at a school like Brent, when there are few, you don't get a good feel for how tough their homes lives really are. My neighbors pulled out of SH after 6th grade, because their shy daughter was coming home in tears on a regular basis (after being called vulgar names, mildly threatened, shoved, tripped, pushed etc. by small groups of kids outside the building). Schools with lots of project kids generally foster a book camp type atmosphere inside the building to keep kids in line. What happens on the playground and on sidewalks around the school is another matter. Admins advised the family to suck it up. They didn't- they bailed for Deal by moving.

Thank you for provided a clear eyed take on SH. This is consistent with my read on the school. Lots of famiilies weigh the rougher edges against some of the more obvious benefits. The Cluster retains some and also loses students to Latin/Basis/independent like other Hill ES.

I would clarify one point -- there is more economic diversity at SH among AA students and it's unfair to imply that all are "housing project MS kids", and not that it's even fair to further stigmatize children living in public housing. 56% of SH are economically disadvantaged according to OSSE. That's 3x the rate of Deal but comparable to Hardy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a good idea of how it would work from what has happened at SH in the last 6 or 7 years. The Hobson experience teaches that if you attract at least a dozen high-performing students to a DCPS 6th grade, the school starts providing English, math classes and possibly science and social studies classes pitched at grade level. The parents organize after school foreign language. Electives like art, music and PE are not going to be ability tracked.

Make no mistake, housing project MS kids can be rough. When you're at a school like Brent, when there are few, you don't get a good feel for how tough their homes lives really are. My neighbors pulled out of SH after 6th grade, because their shy daughter was coming home in tears on a regular basis (after being called vulgar names, mildly threatened, shoved, tripped, pushed etc. by small groups of kids outside the building). Schools with lots of project kids generally foster a book camp type atmosphere inside the building to keep kids in line. What happens on the playground and on sidewalks around the school is another matter. Admins advised the family to suck it up. They didn't- they bailed for Deal by moving.

Thank you for provided a clear eyed take on SH. This is consistent with my read on the school. Lots of famiilies weigh the rougher edges against some of the more obvious benefits. The Cluster retains some and also loses students to Latin/Basis/independent like other Hill ES.

I would clarify one point -- there is more economic diversity at SH among AA students and it's unfair to imply that all are "housing project MS kids", and not that it's even fair to further stigmatize children living in public housing. 56% of SH are economically disadvantaged according to OSSE. That's 3x the rate of Deal but comparable to Hardy.

The suspension rate is about equal between SH and Hardy - 13%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson aside, if you're planning to return to Brent for 5th, it behooves you to let the school know ASAP. The school needs to know whether to lobby for another 5th grade teacher and figure out what to do for another classroom. That is the major impetus for the pestering. Jefferson is very secondary.

The major impetus for the pestering is the Jefferson situation. The boosters are claiming that most of the 4th grade families aren't even applying to Latin and BASIS this year. They're planning to return for 5th to make the jump to Jefferson en mass the following year. Many of us have doubts, but we're keeping this to ourselves to avoid tangling with the boosters. It doesn't behoove you to let the school know anything until after the Latin and BASIS lottery results are in.

I agree that there's no need to let the school know before lottery results are in (and you've made a decision), but the school will really need to know if a large cohort of 5th graders is returning.

[Anonymous]

In case anyone is interested, the Jefferson principal said the current 6th grade class is about 120 kids from 28 different elementary schools. Amidon-Bowen is the biggest feeder, and I believe someone else has said that that is about 25 students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson aside, if you're planning to return to Brent for 5th, it behooves you to let the school know ASAP. The school needs to know whether to lobby for another 5th grade teacher and figure out what to do for another classroom. That is the major impetus for the pestering. Jefferson is very secondary.

The major impetus for the pestering is the Jefferson situation. The boosters are claiming that most of the 4th grade families aren't even applying to Latin and BASIS this year. They're planning to return for 5th to make the jump to Jefferson en mass the following year. Many of us have doubts, but we're keeping this to ourselves to avoid tangling with the boosters. It doesn't behoove you to let the school know anything until after the Latin and BASIS lottery results are in.

I agree that there's no need to let the school know before lottery results are in (and you've made a decision), but the school will really need to know if a large cohort of 5th graders is returning.

And they will by May 2 -- private school contracts will be signed and the enrollment paperwork for people matched in the lottery is due 5/1. Plenty of time to recruit a new teacher if they need to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a good idea of how it would work from what has happened at SH in the last 6 or 7 years. The Hobson experience teaches that if you attract at least a dozen high-performing students to a DCPS 6th grade, the school starts providing English, math classes and possibly science and social studies classes pitched at grade level. The parents organize after school foreign language. Electives like art, music and PE are not going to be ability tracked.

Make no mistake, housing project MS kids can be rough. When you're at a school like Brent, when there are few, you don't get a good feel for how tough their homes lives really are. My neighbors pulled out of SH after 6th grade, because their shy daughter was coming home in tears on a regular basis (after being called vulgar names, mildly threatened, shoved, tripped, pushed etc. by small groups of kids outside the building). Schools with lots of project kids generally foster a book camp type atmosphere inside the building to keep kids in line. What happens on the playground and on sidewalks around the school is another matter. Admins advised the family to suck it up. They didn't- they bailed for Deal by moving.

Has anyone observed a bootcamp like atmosphere inside Jefferson? Everything I've heard is that it is quite the opposite. I haven't hear much about the playground and around the school though. I imagine that could be rougher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

Actually we don't know. DCPS doesn't release school-by-school median growth percentiles. It would show whether that child who comes into 6th at a 3rd grade level is making up ground or not. The principal talks about it, and says they are and I don't have any reason not to believe her. But it would help if this data were released publicly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jefferson aside, if you're planning to return to Brent for 5th, it behooves you to let the school know ASAP. The school needs to know whether to lobby for another 5th grade teacher and figure out what to do for another classroom. That is the major impetus for the pestering. Jefferson is very secondary.

The major impetus for the pestering is the Jefferson situation. The boosters are claiming that most of the 4th grade families aren't even applying to Latin and BASIS this year. They're planning to return for 5th to make the jump to Jefferson en mass the following year. Many of us have doubts, but we're keeping this to ourselves to avoid tangling with the boosters. It doesn't behoove you to let the school know anything until after the Latin and BASIS lottery results are in.

I agree that there's no need to let the school know before lottery results are in (and you've made a decision), but the school will really need to know if a large cohort of 5th graders is returning.

And they will by May 2 -- private school contracts will be signed and the enrollment paperwork for people matched in the lottery is due 5/1. Plenty of time to recruit a new teacher if they need to.

Yes, agree. I was the poster who wrote ASAP earlier. I guess that's ASAP in my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't a question of segregation. How is a teacher suppose to teach kids who are above grade level alongside those who are below when kids reach MS age. Does the teacher assign 2-3 different books for students to read? Do the students who are at or above grade level review long division with the kids who haven't mastered the basics? Practically speaking, I would love to know how having kids performing at so man different levels would work. 11:56, please share your ideas instead of just accusing parents of supporting segregation. I wonder if you even have an older ES age kid because I can't think of one parent who would risk the education of their kid just to prove they don't believe in segregation.

Ask Jefferson -- they currently do this and they're making progress.

Too much in this post to break down, but as a practical matter this is not how the classrooms function. The curriculum is on grade level. They don't teach a 4th grade curriculum to 7th graders just because a majority are not 7th grade proficient. The students who struggle likely get additional supports to help them make up the difference. The classroom is not dialed back to make accomodations -- the benchmark is 7th grade learning objectives.

and yes -- students can and do read different levels books for independent reading (ie approved books rated for appropriate level of proficiency). That's how the schools address the range of proficiency levels common throughout the system.

in theory but practice no. If the slow kids were truly getting the support they need they would not be in the 6th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. DC just keeps passing them along. Jefferson teachers are attempting the impossible but they are not serving the advanced kids.

if a student starts at 2nd grade level and move to 4th in one year that's a big leap even if they still test well below grade level. DC does hold back students in some grades, but that often reflects lack of progress in addition to lack of proficiency.

Again -- there are at least 5 students who scored 5 on PARCC in math and ELA (not necessarily the same 5 students on each). If Jefferson is such academic suicide how do these students manage to score highly?