DME Kicks Off DCPS Boundary Review; Changes Expected for 2015-16 School Year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

What you describe will never happen, so don't be such an alarmist. However, those on the opposite side who talk about white flight should check themselves at the door too. There are plenty of wealthy, educated people WITHOUT children who would be happy to move into DC and take up a lot of the vacated real estate. We parents need to not be so headstrong about our supposed value to this city. And I say that as a 20 year DC resident and parent of two young children.

Of course this would happen. DC is unique to many other cities in that it is flanked by two other states/counties with VERY strong school districts that are in close proximity to the city so making the move is relatively easy. If DCPS suddenly decided to upend the system totally, creating a ton of uncertainty about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling, you can bet we'd be back to white flight. And you can bet you'd see a very dramatic change to real estate prices very quickly. (childless adults cannot fill up all the 4-6 bedroom houses in Ward 3, sorry.)

Not the PP, but I bet you believed that the world would end with the Mayan calendar last year, didn't you?

Seriously, this is an alarmist fantasy. It's not on the table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

What you describe will never happen, so don't be such an alarmist. However, those on the opposite side who talk about white flight should check themselves at the door too. There are plenty of wealthy, educated people WITHOUT children who would be happy to move into DC and take up a lot of the vacated real estate. We parents need to not be so headstrong about our supposed value to this city. And I say that as a 20 year DC resident and parent of two young children.

Of course this would happen. DC is unique to many other cities in that it is flanked by two other states/counties with VERY strong school districts that are in close proximity to the city so making the move is relatively easy. If DCPS suddenly decided to upend the system totally, creating a ton of uncertainty about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling, you can bet we'd be back to white flight. And you can bet you'd see a very dramatic change to real estate prices very quickly. (childless adults cannot fill up all the 4-6 bedroom houses in Ward 3, sorry.)

Not the PP, but I bet you believed that the world would end with the Mayan calendar last year, didn't you?

Seriously, this is an alarmist fantasy. It's not on the table.

PP here- I agree that this is a fantasy. It's a fantasy because the fallout would be enormous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

What you describe will never happen, so don't be such an alarmist. However, those on the opposite side who talk about white flight should check themselves at the door too. There are plenty of wealthy, educated people WITHOUT children who would be happy to move into DC and take up a lot of the vacated real estate. We parents need to not be so headstrong about our supposed value to this city. And I say that as a 20 year DC resident and parent of two young children.

Of course this would happen. DC is unique to many other cities in that it is flanked by two other states/counties with VERY strong school districts that are in close proximity to the city so making the move is relatively easy. If DCPS suddenly decided to upend the system totally, creating a ton of uncertainty about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling, you can bet we'd be back to white flight. And you can bet you'd see a very dramatic change to real estate prices very quickly. (childless adults cannot fill up all the 4-6 bedroom houses in Ward 3, sorry.)

Not the PP, but I bet you believed that the world would end with the Mayan calendar last year, didn't you?

Seriously, this is an alarmist fantasy. It's not on the table.

PP here- I agree that this is a fantasy. It's a fantasy because the fallout would be enormous.

That and it's a stupid idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

What you describe will never happen, so don't be such an alarmist. However, those on the opposite side who talk about white flight should check themselves at the door too. There are plenty of wealthy, educated people WITHOUT children who would be happy to move into DC and take up a lot of the vacated real estate. We parents need to not be so headstrong about our supposed value to this city. And I say that as a 20 year DC resident and parent of two young children.

Of course this would happen. DC is unique to many other cities in that it is flanked by two other states/counties with VERY strong school districts that are in close proximity to the city so making the move is relatively easy. If DCPS suddenly decided to upend the system totally, creating a ton of uncertainty about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling, you can bet we'd be back to white flight. And you can bet you'd see a very dramatic change to real estate prices very quickly. (childless adults cannot fill up all the 4-6 bedroom houses in Ward 3, sorry.)

Not the PP, but I bet you believed that the world would end with the Mayan calendar last year, didn't you?

Seriously, this is an alarmist fantasy. It's not on the table.

PP here- I agree that this is a fantasy. It's a fantasy because the fallout would be enormous.

That and it's a stupid idea.

Yes. Yes it is.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting, actually, because when housing values tumble due to lack of school boundaries, I think I would rather have a home to sell in one of those neighborhoods where the childless people like to live, rather than in a cramped 4 bedroom nowhere near public transportation in NW. Guess it's a win-win for those of us who didn't plan ahead for the schooling of unborn children.

[Anonymous]

Oh, please. DCPS is not going to create a "ton of uncertainty" about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling. MAYBE Eaton will feed to Hardy. MAYBE the OOB elementary kids will lose their Deal feed. Most of the moneybags parents will see "their" schools get whiter and richer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. DCPS is not going to create a "ton of uncertainty" about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling. MAYBE Eaton will feed to Hardy. MAYBE the OOB elementary kids will lose their Deal feed. Most of the moneybags parents will see "their" schools get whiter and richer.

But could they take away the OOB elementary kids feed to Deal and leave it alone elsewhere? I wish they would do this at Stuart; then you would see more Hill kids at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. DCPS is not going to create a "ton of uncertainty" about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling. MAYBE Eaton will feed to Hardy. MAYBE the OOB elementary kids will lose their Deal feed. Most of the moneybags parents will see "their" schools get whiter and richer.

But could they take away the OOB elementary kids feed to Deal and leave it alone elsewhere? I wish they would do this at Stuart; then you would see more Hill kids at the school.

Here's where kids live who attend Hobson:

4 (1%) live in Ward 1
0 live in Ward 2
0 live in Ward 3
11 (3%) live in Ward 4
56 (15%) live in Ward 5
150 (40% live in Ward 6
101 (27%) live in Ward 7
53 (14%) live in Ward 8

These numbers come from David Catania's education committee. They assume the enrollment at Hobson is 375, which seems low for 13-14. But the percentages should remain roughly the same if enrollment is higher.

[Anonymous]

Link for Hobson data:

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/davidcatania/pages/226/attachments/original/1383062738/Stuart_Hobson_Prep_Memo.pdf?1383062738

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

What you describe will never happen, so don't be such an alarmist. However, those on the opposite side who talk about white flight should check themselves at the door too. There are plenty of wealthy, educated people WITHOUT children who would be happy to move into DC and take up a lot of the vacated real estate. We parents need to not be so headstrong about our supposed value to this city. And I say that as a 20 year DC resident and parent of two young children.

Of course this would happen. DC is unique to many other cities in that it is flanked by two other states/counties with VERY strong school districts that are in close proximity to the city so making the move is relatively easy. If DCPS suddenly decided to upend the system totally, creating a ton of uncertainty about upper NW/upper SES kids' schooling, you can bet we'd be back to white flight. And you can bet you'd see a very dramatic change to real estate prices very quickly. (childless adults cannot fill up all the 4-6 bedroom houses in Ward 3, sorry.)

Actually DC isn't unique in having very good schools in surrounding jurisdictions. It is actually a pretty standard way it happens with major cities. You know what other cities have too, good schools and bad schools based on location of higher SES parents. Pretty standard stuff here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

Seriously. This is not going to happen. Please stop perpetuating this myth. To continue to do so is just shi* stirring.

I think it may be more likely than you think. It may start with making no boundaries for high schools and then cheap down into elementary. Kind if like boiling lobsters slowly so they don't freak out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I listened to Dep. Mayor Smith yesterday on Kojo. It did not sound like geography was a particularly important boundary criteria for her (ironic, yes). Diversity, on the other hand, seems to be what the majority of parents are crying out for so that our kids will be able to compete in the 21st Century. Also, Kojo could not get a straight answer about grandfather provision. It sounded like younger siblings could be out of luck though. There was another education expert guest on the show who kept referring to Greek philosophers who advocated for a society where parents did not know the identities of their true children so that all kids would be loved equally. Scary.

It was this guy: Sam Chaltain. I hope he has little influence over the process because however democratic and idealistic his ideas, they will drive the DC public education into the ground, for everyone. However I fear Abigail Smith and the others on that committee may listen to him

http://www.samchaltain.com/blog

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard someone on the radio today who said the fairest proposed system would be to randomly assign students to particular DCPS schools, to assure a mixture of more affluent students and disadvantaged students. So a student in AU Park (and their siblings) might be assigned a spot in Ward 8 and a kid from Barry Farm could go to Janney.

I really, really hope they do it. It is the fairest thing!

And the easiest way to get affluent parents leaving the district in droves, eroding the tax base and making schools worse.

Seriously. This is not going to happen. Please stop perpetuating this myth. To continue to do so is just shi* stirring.

I think it may be more likely than you think. It may start with making no boundaries for high schools and then cheap down into elementary. Kind if like boiling lobsters slowly so they don't freak out.

I repeat. A fantasy (it is a stupid idea that doesn't work). To suggest otherwise is nothing more than shi* stirring.

[Anonymous]

Ok, pp. why so sure? Is DC above stupidity? It happened in San Fransisco.

[Anonymous]

Gotta keep the poor kids away from our "best and brightest." They're gonna contaminate them! Egads!!!