Ballou's New $120 Million Building--With an 8 Lane POOL!

[Anonymous]

GORGEOUS facility.

BUT the expressions "lipstick on a pig" and "casting pearls before swine" come to mind.

Check it out!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-officials-celebrate-groundbreaking-of-new-ballou-senior-high-in-southeast/2013/03/26/6788c8de-9634-11e2-9e23-09dce87f75a1_story.html

[Anonymous]

Now what if that $150K for each student (the article said about 800 students) were simultaneously invested in the community's children, put towards the necessary prerequisites to get those students to proficiency in HS subject matter (reading AND writing AND math AND science AND language) and regular attendance. Then it could be a HS that is world class. It will only end up being a world class building without the student body to go with it. DCPS's approach "if you build it, they will come/learn/succeed" doesn't seem to make sense.

[Anonymous]

Ballou has a kick-ass marching band so I guess if the kids can dance and make music, the school must be good for something. Those kids can be educated to entertain, not succeed in careers! Yes, massa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now what if that $150K for each student (the article said about 800 students) were simultaneously invested in the community's children, put towards the necessary prerequisites to get those students to proficiency in HS subject matter (reading AND writing AND math AND science AND language) and regular attendance. Then it could be a HS that is world class. It will only end up being a world class building without the student body to go with it. DCPS's approach "if you build it, they will come/learn/succeed" doesn't seem to make sense.

Nothing about what those clowns are doing in DC makes any sense.

Why don't they hire a Chancellor with an extensive background in education--more of it being in the classroom and/or school leadership. You know, someone whose actually spent more than 5 minutes working in a freaking school building to know what the hell is really happening?

DC School leadership has become a free-for-all dog and pony show. All appearances and no damn commonsense solutions.

That money could've been MUCH better spent. Textbooks and tutoring sounds about right. More social workers, school psychologists and teachers to make the classroom smaller, maybe.

It'll be interesting to see what that building looks like after it's been occupied for a year.

[Anonymous]

Don't let Marion Barry read this, it will be hell to pay. I just say it pays to be the last in line, when it comes to facilities. The first high-school to get remodeled was Eastern and it doesn't even compare to the latter ones. The school on Cap-Hill definitely got the short end of the stick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now what if that $150K for each student (the article said about 800 students) were simultaneously invested in the community's children, put towards the necessary prerequisites to get those students to proficiency in HS subject matter (reading AND writing AND math AND science AND language) and regular attendance. Then it could be a HS that is world class. It will only end up being a world class building without the student body to go with it. DCPS's approach "if you build it, they will come/learn/succeed" doesn't seem to make sense.

Nothing about what those clowns are doing in DC makes any sense.

Why don't they hire a Chancellor with an extensive background in education--more of it being in the classroom and/or school leadership. You know, someone whose actually spent more than 5 minutes working in a freaking school building to know what the hell is really happening?

DC School leadership has become a free-for-all dog and pony show. All appearances and no damn commonsense solutions.

That money could've been MUCH better spent. Textbooks and tutoring sounds about right. More social workers, school psychologists and teachers to make the classroom smaller, maybe.




It'll be interesting to see what that building looks like after it's been occupied for a year.



+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ballou has a kick-ass marching band so I guess if the kids can dance and make music, the school must be good for something. Those kids can be educated to entertain, not succeed in careers! Yes, massa.

They barely make music. They have a good large drum line and a bunch of hip-shakers, with a few musicians mixed in between.

[Anonymous]

Wow. From the WaPo article:

"Fewer than one-quarter of Ballou’s students are proficient in reading and math, according to the city’s standardized tests, and half graduate within four years. Chronic truancy is also a problem: 46 percent of Ballou students missed at least a month of class in the past school year."

As a general statement I oppose vouchers, but when I see this, I wonder what is a better use of financial resources and students' time.

[Anonymous]

14:26- Vouchers won't make the truant kids show up for school, especially if they have to go across town to get there. They're not skipping school because of the teachers or (in most cases) the other kids. They don't value education (for a wide variety of reasons).

I used to teach in SE. Had a kid miss 80 days of school in the 3rd grade. I didn't miss that many days of school in 13 years. That's mom's fault, not the school's. By the time these kids get to high school, they don't care anymore. He's dead now, BTW- gang shoot out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ballou has a kick-ass marching band so I guess if the kids can dance and make music, the school must be good for something. Those kids can be educated to entertain, not succeed in careers! Yes, massa.

They barely make music. They have a good large drum line and a bunch of hip-shakers, with a few musicians mixed in between.

Let's see the parades they have performed are quite prestigious e.g., Rose Bowl, Kentucky Derby, Macy's, Apple Blossom, Cherry Blossom and so many more. Let's do a roll call of schools that have music in their schools and produces a marchng band *crickets* You don't have to like'em or respect'em for that matter, they are getting a new school, so be it.

[Anonymous]

The auto-tech lab and the pool are great. Too many African-Americans can't swim and too many kids are in need of vocational training and don't receive it. Cosmetology, barber, plumbing and electrician programs would be great, too. You'll never be broke if you're good at any of those things.

[Anonymous]

15:57
+1
The dedication that it takes to be in the band- learning music, consistently attend practice, working with other- along with the opportunity to travel places they otherwise may not go is well worth it. And last I checked there are plenty of people with successful music careers.

[Anonymous]

I reallize that some folks don't have a clue about SE D.C. Ballou deserves to be renovated just like any WotP school. Secondly, African Americans do swim. http://washingtoninformer.com/index.php/local/item/5968-black-history-invitational-swim-meet

[Anonymous]

The remark about African-Americans not being able to swim was ridiculous. Regardless, I doubt that this shiny new pool will get kids to come to school and learn how read. Sad.

[Anonymous]

What?? I am a white nw girl born and bred but I find these Comments offensive. There is no way white parents in nw would find ballou's current building accepted. Kids who live in se deserve nice schools, too.

Btwn, statistically, fewer African Americans swim. Historically blacks were excluded from country clubs and public schools so there is less of a tradition of swim ing. Plus many black girls and women do not want to swim because they have to get their hair wet. I say black because this is true also in countries like Jamaica, Trinidad, etc.