Question for Supporters of New WotP High School

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing I'd love to see is a health specialty program where Ballou teams with United Medical Center (it's a 1.5 mile walk, but it could be shorter if they put a path to the back parking lot of UMC and there could be a shuttle). The hospital does not need all its space and it does need a lot more money. It could involve kids at various academic levels, from vocational training on medical coding, phlebotomy, CNA, etc. to AP math and science classes and biomedical/psych research. Electives could include psychology, anatomy, health policy, etc. Ballou is recently renovated, under capacity, and already has a strong evening adult ed program, so this would be a natural fit.

It is frankly going to take something amazing to get middle-class families to try Ballou, but I could see this working. They'd have to really work on it though--partnerships with a university, great lab equipment, perhaps recruiting teachers from TJ, Montgomery Blair, Bronx Science, or other places that have really good science research programs, etc.

I've mentioned the idea to BB Otero (Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services) and really need to email David Catania, as education is his focus now but he's been very involved with United Medical Center.

This is great. I've heard CM Barry (I know, I know) talk about the city producing nurses like the Philippines. This would be a good place to start.

I also remember Barry talking about that. I'll tweet a link to the the original post about Ballou to Barry (if you don't know, Barry has a great Twitter feed). Also, I am co-hosting a meet and greet for David Catania a week from tomorrow. I'll mention this idea to him then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

Yes, that William F. Buckley is completely in the right, here (no pun intended). The runaway train of the DME proposals do in fact need to be stopped. Before you get everyone on to a new plan, how about some more research, involvement of all stakeholders, etc. Don't make the same mistake the current proposals do.

Also the idea of "re-branding" the schools and changing their names is insulting in the extreme. Might as well go all the way and call it Cortes Senior High and the new mascot can be the Conquistadors. I'm sure we'll be welcomed as Gods.

+1. We should start by questioning the legitimacy of the current exercise, then support a real process by the incoming mayor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There were only 1243 proficient and advanced students in all the DCPS HS that are 1) not Wilson, 2) non-application, and 3) not Phelps.

How many students will it take to turn Roosevelt or Cardozo or other EoTP school into a successful "magnet" HS. How many proficient students will a new HS program need to attract to move the program into the "Quality" program. And where will these students come from?

Eastern HS has the next best proficient and advanced scores after Wilson of the Comp HS and is Metro accessible. You might put some energies into continuing the vision of turning Eastern into the "next Wilson".

The breakdown of proficient students: Wilson 1028 students (of 1696), application HS 2000 (of 2,230), all other Comp. HS 1243 (of 5154)

School audited enrollment %proficient #proficient
Comprehensive High Schools
Wilson HS 1,696 61% 1028

Cardozo EC 681 26% 178
Coolidge HS 433 31% 135
Roosevelt HS at MacFarland 438 20% 89
Dunbar HS 628 17% 109
Woodson H D HS 762 20% 150
Anacostia HS 751 19% 143
Ballou HS 678 16% 109
Eastern HS 783 42% 330

Application Only and Specialty Programs
Benjamin Banneker HS (Application Only) 430 98% 422
Ellington School of the Arts (Application Only) 541 78% 421
School Without Walls HS (Application Only) 585 98% 575
McKinley Technology HS (Application Only) 674 86% 582
Phelps Architecture Construction and Engineering HS 319 45% 145

[Anonymous]

This whole Roosevelt idea is classic bait and switch. First the DME report recommends that Hardy (and the existing and new schools that would feed to Hardy) no longer feed to Wilson, as they have. At the same time, the DME report states that the Hardy cluster would feed to a new high school to be built west of Rock Creek Park (the "bait"). Now that DME has people getting their heads around no longer going to Wilson, comes a new suggestion -- a nigh school east of the park whose reputation is so questionable that advocates talk (or write) with a straight face about the need to "rebrand" it to make it more palatable (the "switch").

In that case, let's just make it easy folks: the middle schools that feed to Wilson today should continue to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There were only 1243 proficient and advanced students in all the DCPS HS that are 1) not Wilson, 2) non-application, and 3) not Phelps.

How many students will it take to turn Roosevelt or Cardozo or other EoTP school into a successful "magnet" HS. How many proficient students will a new HS program need to attract to move the program into the "Quality" program. And where will these students come from?

Eastern HS has the next best proficient and advanced scores after Wilson of the Comp HS and is Metro accessible. You might put some energies into continuing the vision of turning Eastern into the "next Wilson".

The breakdown of proficient students: Wilson 1028 students (of 1696), application HS 2000 (of 2,230), all other Comp. HS 1243 (of 5154)

School audited enrollment %proficient #proficient
Comprehensive High Schools
Wilson HS 1,696 61% 1028

Cardozo EC 681 26% 178
Coolidge HS 433 31% 135
Roosevelt HS at MacFarland 438 20% 89
Dunbar HS 628 17% 109
Woodson H D HS 762 20% 150
Anacostia HS 751 19% 143
Ballou HS 678 16% 109
Eastern HS 783 42% 330

Application Only and Specialty Programs
Benjamin Banneker HS (Application Only) 430 98% 422
Ellington School of the Arts (Application Only) 541 78% 421
School Without Walls HS (Application Only) 585 98% 575
McKinley Technology HS (Application Only) 674 86% 582
Phelps Architecture Construction and Engineering HS 319 45% 145

Great post, I like numbers.

Presumably, this whole exercise is about Wilson being overcrowded, so some of the students would come from there. We know from upthread that 201 Wilson students already live in the Roosevelt boundary. If the program were good enough, maybe DCPS could win some students back from the charters.

How many students are needed? 500? Enough to fill the new building when added to the current enrollment.

Eastern is good but it is a ways away. I did that commute for three years and it is a BEAST.

[Anonymous]

There were only 1243 proficient and advanced students in all the DCPS HS that are 1) not Wilson, 2) non-application, and 3) not Phelps.

How many students will it take to turn Roosevelt or Cardozo or other EoTP school into a successful "magnet" HS. How many proficient students will a new HS program need to attract to move the program into the "Quality" program. And where will these students come from?

There are a lot of families EOTP who would otherwise go to Wilson, charters or private. There are a lot more in the pipeline.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:This whole Roosevelt idea is classic bait and switch. First the DME report recommends that Hardy (and the existing and new schools that would feed to Hardy) no longer feed to Wilson, as they have. At the same time, the DME report states that the Hardy cluster would feed to a new high school to be built west of Rock Creek Park (the "bait"). Now that DME has people getting their heads around no longer going to Wilson, comes a new suggestion -- a nigh school east of the park whose reputation is so questionable that advocates talk (or write) with a straight face about the need to "rebrand" it to make it more palatable (the "switch").

In that case, let's just make it easy folks: the middle schools that feed to Wilson today should continue to do so.

Look, I am getting tired of your drunk uncle routine. If you don't have thoughtful, productive, contributions to make to this thread, please stay out of it. I started this thread and I have nothing to do with the DME. The DME's proposals take away my neighborhood's right to attend Wilson. If I had any sense, I would be applauding the DME for removing Hardy and lobbying to get my neighborhood's rights restored. Instead, I started this thread to explore a way that Hardy and Oyster could continue feeding Wilson while my neighborhood went elsewhere. You are so fixated on protecting your own interests that you don't even know when you are attacking those who are trying to help you.

[Anonymous]

I'm excited about Roosevelt, and I want to sketch out a plan. Who's with me? What's the most efficient method for collaboration?
Option 1: I could just post something here. But that seems to lead to tangents and is hard for others to contribute.
Option 2: Create a simple GoogleDoc and give contributor rights to those who are interested in brainstorming.
Option 3: Something else? It seems like we need a wiki of some sort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm excited about Roosevelt, and I want to sketch out a plan. Who's with me? What's the most efficient method for collaboration?
Option 1: I could just post something here. But that seems to lead to tangents and is hard for others to contribute.
Option 2: Create a simple GoogleDoc and give contributor rights to those who are interested in brainstorming.
Option 3: Something else? It seems like we need a wiki of some sort.

Googledocs is probably the easiest bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm excited about Roosevelt, and I want to sketch out a plan. Who's with me? What's the most efficient method for collaboration?
Option 1: I could just post something here. But that seems to lead to tangents and is hard for others to contribute.
Option 2: Create a simple GoogleDoc and give contributor rights to those who are interested in brainstorming.
Option 3: Something else? It seems like we need a wiki of some sort.

PS, I can contribute after this weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

There were only 1243 proficient and advanced students in all the DCPS HS that are 1) not Wilson, 2) non-application, and 3) not Phelps.

How many students will it take to turn Roosevelt or Cardozo or other EoTP school into a successful "magnet" HS. How many proficient students will a new HS program need to attract to move the program into the "Quality" program. And where will these students come from?

Eastern HS has the next best proficient and advanced scores after Wilson of the Comp HS and is Metro accessible. You might put some energies into continuing the vision of turning Eastern into the "next Wilson".

The breakdown of proficient students: Wilson 1028 students (of 1696), application HS 2000 (of 2,230), all other Comp. HS 1243 (of 5154)

School audited enrollment %proficient #proficient
Comprehensive High Schools
Wilson HS 1,696 61% 1028

Cardozo EC 681 26% 178
Coolidge HS 433 31% 135
Roosevelt HS at MacFarland 438 20% 89
Dunbar HS 628 17% 109
Woodson H D HS 762 20% 150
Anacostia HS 751 19% 143
Ballou HS 678 16% 109
Eastern HS 783 42% 330

Application Only and Specialty Programs
Benjamin Banneker HS (Application Only) 430 98% 422
Ellington School of the Arts (Application Only) 541 78% 421
School Without Walls HS (Application Only) 585 98% 575
McKinley Technology HS (Application Only) 674 86% 582
Phelps Architecture Construction and Engineering HS 319 45% 145

Great post, I like numbers.

Presumably, this whole exercise is about Wilson being overcrowded, so some of the students would come from there. We know from upthread that 201 Wilson students already live in the Roosevelt boundary. If the program were good enough, maybe DCPS could win some students back from the charters.

How many students are needed? 500? Enough to fill the new building when added to the current enrollment.

Eastern is good but it is a ways away. I did that commute for three years and it is a BEAST.

Yes - winning people back from charters is an important consideration - but don't be surprised if you get blow back from any plan that involves depleting charters -- from the charters -- and from the corporate interests in the city and the country that would like to see the whole city go charter. Consider - right now we have "choice," and being proposed are "controlled choice" and "lottery for all." Nothing seems focused on strengthening neighborhood schools and a lot seems set to weaken them.

[Anonymous]

Yes - winning people back from charters is an important consideration - but don't be surprised if you get blow back from any plan that involves depleting charters -- from the charters -- and from the corporate interests in the city and the country that would like to see the whole city go charter. Consider - right now we have "choice," and being proposed are "controlled choice" and "lottery for all." Nothing seems focused on strengthening neighborhood schools and a lot seems set to weaken them.

Really?

I don't think it's possible for DCPS to deplete charters.

Also, I firmly believe that if everyone has a decent neighborhood school choice, then those who choose charters will be even more dedicated to their decision than the pack of desperate parents who apply now.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:I'm excited about Roosevelt, and I want to sketch out a plan. Who's with me? What's the most efficient method for collaboration?
Option 1: I could just post something here. But that seems to lead to tangents and is hard for others to contribute.
Option 2: Create a simple GoogleDoc and give contributor rights to those who are interested in brainstorming.
Option 3: Something else? It seems like we need a wiki of some sort.

If you want to go another route, that's fine. But, I created a document here:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/Roosevelt

That any logged in user should be able to edit (if not, let me know). Just be sure to logout again if you want to use DCUM anonymously. This document will keep a version history and we can always revert to an earlier version. There is a field for leaving a change note so you can describe what changes you made (very briefly).

[Anonymous]

Looking at those "proficient" statistics for the DC high schools, I would tend to agree that there aren't enough students to support a "new" magnet high school (unless the overall proficiency numbers for middle schools are higher, in which case maybe several years down the line the attendance at a magnet high could fill up).

But, as others have mentioned earlier, perhaps the main focus of a new "magnet" school should be at 6-8th grade and not 9-12th. There ought to be more than enough capacity at the middle school level to fill up a new, application-only middle school. It would take from the pool of students that are currently attending DCPS and the Charters. Graduates of that new school would likely be dispersed throughout the city --

But, if a set of accelerated courses were installed within the new Roosevelt (or another of the rather centrally-located high schools), then I'll bet a number of students graduating from the magnet middle would go there. Over time, it would probably grow into a popular high school program; and would raise the quality of the entire school, too, as you see in Wilson's case.

[Anonymous]

Just want to add I think this is a great movement. As a wotp parent a few years off from deal I think there would be great interest in more high quality MS and HS programs, even from those that are desperate to hang into the wilson track for security/predictability. I would certainly consider sending my child across the park for high quality programs with small class sizes and challenging programs.

It is a difficult chicken/egg nut to crack but I think many schools (Deal, Latin, Basis, the buzz around DCI) demonstrate the demand is there and growing and the trick is reaching the tipping point.

I am am rooting for hardy to hit that tipping point this year, not because I want OOB families displaced but because it is evidence of success and who can be lured into the dcps system with the right administration and programming.