SWS Open House Impressions & Info, 1/31

[Anonymous]

The other SWS thread seems to be bogged down over middle school and IB Ludlow-Taylor issues, so here's a new one.

Anybody else get to the open house this morning? It started in the basement at Ebenezer's Cafe, then moved to the temp facility, where visitors could wander in and out of PreK4, K and 1st grade classrooms freely, really nice. I learned a few things:

*The only preference they're offering for the fall is sibling preference (if you read otherwise on MOTH, incorrect). They will have 30-32 PreS3 spots for the first time, two reserved for special needs kids. Of the 30 remaining, 15-18 will be for siblings. Evil lottery, but not one to be dominated by IB Peabody/Watkins parents at any rate.

*They aren't going to change the name, too much hassle starting a new non-profit to do it and they don't want to hurt their "brand."

*They aren't planning to renovate extensively at the Prospect Learning Center (9th-10th and F St.) location for the fall, but are going to knock down walls to create larger classrooms, taking 3 classrooms and getting two out of them on both the ground and second floors.

*They principal and the teachers have been fighting DCPS tooth and nail to offer neighborhood preference for some part of Capitol Hill, not clear which part yet. Neighborhood preference is their compromise position - they're resigned to the fact that they won't be given an IB population. They told DCPS that one of their conditions for continuing the program at the new location was neighborhood preference, but DCPS is resisting. By lottery time in early 2014, the decision on the lottery set up will have been made. In a private conversation, the principal encouraged me to suggest that Hill families who want neighborhood preference organize and rally, talk to Tommy Wells, do whatever.

[Anonymous]

^ Thanks! I couldn't make it. Sounds inspiring. Yes, rally Hil'ites, rally, rally, rally. This principal wants what you want. DCPS is arguing that there are too many schools in this little corner of NE--Maury, JO Wilson, Ludlow, Logan Montessori-for us to deserve proximity preference. The problem is that two of these schools, Ludlow and Wilson, are no hopers for most of the IB population past preschool.

[Anonymous]

I went and was impressed with the turnout. There must have been 100 parents there at 10 AM, so we had to tour the tiny facility in several different groups.

The principal and parents helping were well organized, providing multi-colored handouts with a nice slideshow. Teachers spoke one and one about pullout instruction and special projects for kids who can read one to three years above grade level. Where else do you hear that WotP, other than maybe Brent...

[Anonymous]

OP here. This may be of interest. DCPS only provides teachers aides up to K, but that SWS has raised the money to hire its own aide for 1st, and plans to raise more/hire more aides as the school expands up to 5th. Maury is doing the same thing.

Pretty clearly, one reason they want neighborhood preference is to remain in a good position to draw in the cash to hire aides. Faculty members predict that neighborhood preference would mean filling almost every open spot with a Hill kid from 2014 on.

[Anonymous]

Logan Montessori not only offers no proximity or IB preference, but it also does not allow non montessori kids older than 3 in. That = zero help to this part of NE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The principal and parents helping were well organized, providing multi-colored handouts with a nice slideshow. Teachers spoke one and one about pullout instruction and special projects for kids who can read one to three years above grade level. Where else do you hear that WotP, other than maybe Brent...

Sorry, I mean EotP! I heard about pullout groups at Janney and Lafayette.

[Anonymous]

the principal at sws came right out and said that he's asking for proximity preference while the logan montessori leadership never has. he also said that he predicts that the sws population will remain around "80%" hill families, like the montessori's, even if dcps won't cooperate on the preference next year. who actually gets preference on the hill could be a big messy fight.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that neighborhood proximity preference as currently defined by DCPS is limited to 3000 ft radius -- good news if you live in Trinidad, less so if you live south of Lincoln Park

[Anonymous]

I went and thought it was well done.

It really struck me that it is incredibly important that this school maintains its Hill base. So much of their success (let's be honest here) is because of high-income, motivated, and well-connected parents. In fact, the parent presenter essentially bragged about this fact - one parent is a landscape architect, two others are architects, another one is some sort of food/nutrition expert. They raise a large sum of money every year, from direct parent contribution, as well as from items donated and solicited by these same well-connected parents. I just can't imagine how they can sustain that if the parent population were to resemble the overall parent population in DCPS.

[Anonymous]

and once the nonboundary population enters in SY13-14 their sibs will gain priority over proximity

[Anonymous]

Don't beat me up for mentioning that parents attending were overwhelmingly white, and the others looked, well, high-SES. If this crowd was representative of the non-boundary future population, things might well continue as per usual. But there is a fine line - some high-SES families are leaving 2 Rivers as low-income numbers creep up there, looks like 60% AA this year, a new high.

One teacher mentioned that most of the construction and art toys in her classroom were donated by parents.

One white teacher, the font of all info about the program, had serious Rasta locks. Open-minded but straightforward kind of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that neighborhood proximity preference as currently defined by DCPS is limited to 3000 ft radius -- good news if you live in Trinidad, less so if you live south of Lincoln Park

Good point. Oh that's depressing. Trinidad could sink SWS over time. If only LT would shut, embracing SWS as the neighborhood school, coupled with a spirited crackdown on PG Country address cheating.

[Anonymous]

LT is in the middle of a renovation. DCPS isn't going to shut it.

[Anonymous]

If SWS has the regular walking distance preference, with the school in the middle of a square, then the preference boundary wouldn't touch Trinidad.

[Anonymous]

I think Trinidad would be just out of proximity. There are a lot of middel class young families in the area north of H and South of Florida due North of the new location.