Deal is tremendously overcrowded - something is to give

[Anonymous]

Jeebus H Christ this is inane. It's like you don't even want to try and find a solution.

High achieving African, Asian, Hispanic, Multiracial and White families won't be any more likely than high achieving Black families to want to send their kids to those schools. That's just the reality of the situation. Nobody wants to send their kids to those schools and they will leave for MD and VA if they can. Those that stay will go to private or charter schools and deprive DCPS of more funds. It will become a self-reinforcing downward spiral that hollows out the core of the tax base.


But beyond that, clearly there is a pressing need for retaining the new Asian, African, Hispanic and Multiracial families, that are now calling our fair city home, if for no other reason than to move us beyond the bullshit racial politics of the past

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something centered around swapping part of Howard Law for old Banneker might work, although I would hope to save that site for another magnet school.

Finding real estate is the easy part! Have you met the groups of people this satisfies?

What about moving UDC, which hardly has any students in Ward 3? That large parcel could be a great site for several schools, recreational facilities and redevelopment along Conn. Ave. Mayor Williams proposed moving UDC to the St. Elizabeths campus to be closer to the population that UDC serves.

UDC is a mile from both Wilson and Deal. What are you proposing this for? Just put all the middle and high schools in a little pocket in upper NW?

JFC.

No one wants to put all the schools in upper NW. Do you think that residents there want to host commuter schools and put up with all of the crosstown traffic several times a day? How is that environmentally friendly? The reality is that upper NW elementaries and Deal and Wilson are overcapacity. So there are two alternatives: either limit access to these schools further by ending OOB feeder rights and managing current OOB enrollment down aggressively or adding more capacity particularly at the secondary level. Because I’m a cheapskate I know which option I woukd Choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I do. Doesn’t make your contribution any more useful than the PP to propose the same thing. Be better.

Convincing.

Again, very useful contribution.

[Anonymous]

A proposal: all the staff of Wilson High School move to Roosevelt and all of the staff of Roosevelt move to Wilson.

Explain to me what changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A proposal: all the staff of Wilson High School move to Roosevelt and all of the staff of Roosevelt move to Wilson.

Explain to me what changes.

Will the people currently refusing to go there start going there then? Will the people who demanded to be (and got) added into the Wilson boundary be ok with going there then? If the answers to both of those questions is yes then by all means do it.

[Anonymous]

Almost all of this would have been greatly addressed if the Mayor had made practical yet politically unpopular decisions during the last boundary review. Crestwood and neighborhoods around 16th street would have been cut out from Deal and Wilson, and today there would be a lot more support and resources dedicated to MacFarland middle and Rooselvelt high...NOT in upper NW, btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A proposal: all the staff of Wilson High School move to Roosevelt and all of the staff of Roosevelt move to Wilson.

Explain to me what changes.

Nothing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Almost all of this would have been greatly addressed if the Mayor had made practical yet politically unpopular decisions during the last boundary review. Crestwood and neighborhoods around 16th street would have been cut out from Deal and Wilson, and today there would be a lot more support and resources dedicated to MacFarland middle and Rooselvelt high...NOT in upper NW, btw.

Except the Mayor planned on adopting and moving IB for Shepherd. So, never gonna happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Almost all of this would have been greatly addressed if the Mayor had made practical yet politically unpopular decisions during the last boundary review. Crestwood and neighborhoods around 16th street would have been cut out from Deal and Wilson, and today there would be a lot more support and resources dedicated to MacFarland middle and Rooselvelt high...NOT in upper NW, btw.

It’s all politics. Areas around 16th St still go to Deal but after 80 years, Cleveland Park was kicked out of Deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you been to Hoawrd Law lately? But more importantly do you know where the Banneker site sits in relation to Howard University?

There's nothing racist in wondering whether Howard U might covet land directly across the street from it more than land in the backwaters of Van Ness. Did you even think your rant through before you jumped to your conclusions?


But yes, UDC can't be moved for a whole host of political and perception reasons - but there's nicer ways to tell people that, because if you haven't noticed, a lot of people here are relatively new to the city and don't know the local history.

Black schools are not chess pieces for white DC to move around to satisfy our every whim. If Howard or UDC think moves are in their best interests, presumably they’ll pursue them. Don’t insult us by suggesting that you have their best interests at heart.

Why aren’t we speculating on whether, say, Burke might want to relocate? They have a beautiful building that would be great for a DCPS! And what about Maret, so close to the metro, on all of that beautiful land. Perfect for a charter school! Maybe Georgetown Law would want to move out of their space near Union Station to be closer to the main campus....

?

I'll treat your ideas with the respect and consideration any conversation occurs. Don't worry, I assume it's not going to be reciprocated.

1. Burke has no field or parking lot, was just renovated, is accessible solely by a single neighborhood street, and fills up every square inch of land they own. The site itself would not be able to meet the needs of a high school large enough to incorporate underserved areas to the east.

2. Maret - DCPS does not own the fields next to Banneker. As I'm sure you would agree, there is not a chance in hell that DC would give parks and rec space on Georgia Ave to a rich private school. Therefore Maret wouldn't be int rested because doing so would entail a major downgrade of their facilities.

3. I'm sure Georgetown would absolutely love additional land next to it's main campus. Does DC own any land there?

I don't even care where a location would be. Howard Law was suggested because it's theoretically possible since it's a good sized plot of land (including fields), the buildings are in need of major renovations, and DC/DCPS owns (soon to be) unused land that Howard would likely want more.

I don't have any damn group's interest at heart. All I care about is the City. DC needs a second viable by right high school in order to sustain the growth it has recently achieved. That's not going to happen by either magically forcing traditional Wilson feeder students to attend Coolidge and it's not going to happen by forcing the newer feeder students to attend Cardozo or Roosevelt.

But why not? Why is that dismissed as an option? Because white people won’t stand for it—right? So, instead, let’s figure out a plan that displaces black people but pretends like it’s in their best interest. Of course Howard would want the land next to their campus, right? Not necessarily. Just like Georgetown likes having a foothold downtown and is more likely to expand that footprint than contract it, Howard might appreciate having a foothold in a different part of the city.

Your assumptions are very revealing.

DCPS has no ability to force people to go where they're not willing to go. They'll go OOB, charter or move instead. That is amply demonstrated. Any solution that depends on DCPS forcing people to go to a school they don't want to attend isn't going to work.

[Anonymous]

DCPS should have bought the GDS lower campus when it was up for sale last year. Apparently another school bought it and DCPS didn't even express interest.

[Anonymous]

The Howard Law campus is incredibly sleepy, you never see anyone there and there are a couple of mothballed buildings. I wouldn't be at all surprised if AU, GW or Georgetown buys it in the near future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A proposal: all the staff of Wilson High School move to Roosevelt and all of the staff of Roosevelt move to Wilson.

Explain to me what changes.

Nothing

Incorrect. Big changes.
Many former Wilson teachers would leave for MCPS or other districts or change careers. Most would not stay to work in a Title 1 school, otherwise they would already be there.
Duh.
It's the kids, people, not the staff, not the building, the kids and their families. Come on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Almost all of this would have been greatly addressed if the Mayor had made practical yet politically unpopular decisions during the last boundary review. Crestwood and neighborhoods around 16th street would have been cut out from Deal and Wilson, and today there would be a lot more support and resources dedicated to MacFarland middle and Rooselvelt high...NOT in upper NW, btw.

Huh? Crestwood and 16th St. Heights were cut. They have some grandfathering in place for a few years, but they've been rezoned for Roosevelt.

Shepherd Park/Colonial Village and Mt. Pleasant remain zoned for Deal and also now Wilson. Many of these famillies (particularly the AA families) send their kids to Deal, but then elsewhere for high school--private/parochial, Walls, etc. Ask me how I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It's the kids, people, not the staff, not the building, the kids and their families. Come on!

It's all those things, but, beyond that it's about reputation and recent history. Without that, people won't go. If people won't go then the building and staff don't matter. And people definitely won't go somewhere the locals refuse to go to.