Shaw Middle School -- what's the plan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a big push to “pause” the process to allow community input and to explore alternatives. The decision making process that led them here was flawed, but even if there is a “pause”, the same conclusion could be ultimately reached.

I think they are a little late in organizing, but it does seem like the boundary process outcome was Shaw MS, and now that is being whisked away with very little parent input at all. Why have a formal process if the outcome can be waved away like that? The boundary documents should mean something.

How many DMEs ago was that? How many Chancellors? How many mayors?

I don't think that should matter. And I think they should be called out for not engaging parents in this decision even if there had been no prior commitment whatsoever. Their parent engagement is a joke.

True - but they DID engage the parents who have children who will be immediately affected by this (Banneker).

There isn't a need for a "Shaw middle" for years; even your Pk3 students will never have an opportunity to attend because the demand is so far off. They are not opening yet another school in the next decade when Cardozo middle grades and HS are so under capacity.

Yes they should have talked to you, but you'd still be mad bc you'd realized that Shaw middle for any child who has already been born isn't happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a big push to “pause” the process to allow community input and to explore alternatives. The decision making process that led them here was flawed, but even if there is a “pause”, the same conclusion could be ultimately reached.

I think they are a little late in organizing, but it does seem like the boundary process outcome was Shaw MS, and now that is being whisked away with very little parent input at all. Why have a formal process if the outcome can be waved away like that? The boundary documents should mean something.

How many DMEs ago was that? How many Chancellors? How many mayors?

I don't think that should matter. And I think they should be called out for not engaging parents in this decision even if there had been no prior commitment whatsoever. Their parent engagement is a joke.

True - but they DID engage the parents who have children who will be immediately affected by this (Banneker).

There isn't a need for a "Shaw middle" for years; even your Pk3 students will never have an opportunity to attend because the demand is so far off. They are not opening yet another school in the next decade when Cardozo middle grades and HS are so under capacity.

Yes they should have talked to you, but you'd still be mad bc you'd realized that Shaw middle for any child who has already been born isn't happening.

They also did not engage current Cardozo parents.

[Anonymous]

Wait, what would they say to Cardozo parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, what would they say to Cardozo parents?

That they were going to get a freestanding school in a renovated building and now they are not?

[Anonymous]

There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

That doesn't mean the city can do whatever it wants with no process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

The idea was that if the middle school was separated from a failing high school and had its own principal rather than short-term APs, it would improve and more people would want to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

The idea was that if the middle school was separated from a failing high school and had its own principal rather than short-term APs, it would improve and more people would want to attend.

That isn't what has happened for McFarland, Brookland, Jefferson, EH ... despite the community saying exactly what the vocal Shaw parents are saying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

The idea was that if the middle school was separated from a failing high school and had its own principal rather than short-term APs, it would improve and more people would want to attend.

That isn't what has happened for McFarland, Brookland, Jefferson, EH ... despite the community saying exactly what the vocal Shaw parents are saying.

I do think Jefferson and EH are improving. Brookland was a fail because they picked the wrong leader at first. But with that lesson learned, maybe Shaw could do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

The idea was that if the middle school was separated from a failing high school and had its own principal rather than short-term APs, it would improve and more people would want to attend.

Ross and Thomson wouldn't like this because now they have Francis-Stevens as their MS option and it's higher performing.
And there are very few parents for whom Shaw MS with a feed to Cardozo HS would be fine, but Cardozo MS with the same feeder is a non-starter. It makes no sense to build an entire middle school in hopes of attracting those few dozen families, when Banneker is in a crumbling building and Cardozo has plenty of room.

[Anonymous]

MacFarland might have started with some joint administrative staff with Roosevelt, but it's its own entity entirely now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

The idea was that if the middle school was separated from a failing high school and had its own principal rather than short-term APs, it would improve and more people would want to attend.

Ross and Thomson wouldn't like this because now they have Francis-Stevens as their MS option and it's higher performing.
And there are very few parents for whom Shaw MS with a feed to Cardozo HS would be fine, but Cardozo MS with the same feeder is a non-starter. It makes no sense to build an entire middle school in hopes of attracting those few dozen families, when Banneker is in a crumbling building and Cardozo has plenty of room.

I don't think Francis Stevens is guaranteed for those schools long term. They are supposed to feed into Shaw Middle. So who knows what the city will do. It's a problem for all of the feeders as far as I can tell but no one is being transparent which is a huge part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are not enough in-boundary kids attending these schools to warrant building a new middle school for 700 kids.

According to the DCPS school profiles:

Cleveland 317 enrolled 28% IB (89)
Garrison 250 enrolled 40% IB (100)
Ross 174 enrolled 74% IB (129)
Seaton 371 enrolled 36% IB (134)
Thomson 308 enrolled 57% IB (176)

So a total of 628 IB kids attend all 5 schools. All the other kids in the neighborhood are going somewhere else already. Even if those students are split evenly across grades (which I doubt), you're talking about maybe 80 IB kids looking to enter 6th grade every year. Minus the Cleveland Spanish track students who I believe have rights to go to a language MS.

The idea was that if the middle school was separated from a failing high school and had its own principal rather than short-term APs, it would improve and more people would want to attend.

Ross and Thomson wouldn't like this because now they have Francis-Stevens as their MS option and it's higher performing.
And there are very few parents for whom Shaw MS with a feed to Cardozo HS would be fine, but Cardozo MS with the same feeder is a non-starter. It makes no sense to build an entire middle school in hopes of attracting those few dozen families, when Banneker is in a crumbling building and Cardozo has plenty of room.

Why are you limiting the calculations to in-bounds kids? Makes no sense. All kids, whether OOB or IB, would feed to Shaw Middle. OOB does not mean we live far away or aren't in the neighborhood. We just were lucky enough to get into one of our preferred options. My IB is not really any closer than the school that my child now attends OOB.

[Anonymous]

Why include OOB kids? They presumably already have a by-right MS to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why include OOB kids? They presumably already have a by-right MS to attend.

Yes, I suppose. But if you are going to argue that it wouldn't work because there are too few interested neighborhood kids to make a strong cohort, that might not be true -it's a more complex issue.