DCPS and “Equity”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think any additional funding would go a long way if it was used to help end generational trauma by providing expecting parents with the tools and support necessary to raise a child in a manner that will allow for financial stability and the education one needs to raise a child in a trauma-free home. Once a child is of school age (even 3 in DC), it is unfortunately most often too late to undo the damage caused by a family that has suffered from discipline in the form of abuse and the trauma growing up in a home struggling to make ends meet.

Meh. We've been doing what you suggest for about 6 or 7 generations now in the District of Columbia. It does. not. matter.

I don’t think you know what a generation is. Unless you’re suggesting that we’ve been supporting low income families with mental health supports since ~1870

The age gap between parent/child in the District of Columbia is often 15 years. Not rare at all. 6 x 15 = 90, 2022-90 = 1932.

Have we been holding parenting classes since 1932 in an effort to end "generational trauma"? No, you got me there. But have we been throwing money at the problem via transfer payments, welfare, housing, jobs programs, Head Start, WIC, TANF, food stamps, Job Corps etc etc etc for almost that long? Yes, yes we have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't say this in liberal areas like DC, but many, many poor people don't give a sh*t about education. We pretend they care every much as doctors in Cleveland Park but it's not true. Some people care and try really hard, and some people don't.

Ok, but a lot do, or they wouldn't send their kids to charters which require more from the families than DCPS does. If you look at DCPS schools where only 20% of the neighborhood kids are going, you're missing a lot of involved parents who are going elsewhere.

It's not poor people who are sending their kids to charters. It's highly educated white people who can't afford to buy a home in Ward 3, who consider the neighborhood schools in their non-Ward 3 wards to be unacceptable.

It is absolutely poor people. KIPP and DC Prep, just to name a couple of popular LEAs, are not getting highly-educated white people. None of the DCPS neighborhood high schools besides Wilson are getting more than about a quarter of their zoned students, and only a small fraction of those are white kids. You just don't know about the charters that aren't aimed at you.

There's obviously a wide range of charters, some good, some bad, but the really good ones are very, very white.

NP. This is also inaccurate. The ones with the fruity philosophies are very, very white (e.g. LAMB), but many of the "really good" ones in terms of test score achievement, e.g. KIPP and DC Prep are 99%+ minority enrollment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't say this in liberal areas like DC, but many, many poor people don't give a sh*t about education. We pretend they care every much as doctors in Cleveland Park but it's not true. Some people care and try really hard, and some people don't.

Ok, but a lot do, or they wouldn't send their kids to charters which require more from the families than DCPS does. If you look at DCPS schools where only 20% of the neighborhood kids are going, you're missing a lot of involved parents who are going elsewhere.

It's not poor people who are sending their kids to charters. It's highly educated white people who can't afford to buy a home in Ward 3, who consider the neighborhood schools in their non-Ward 3 wards to be unacceptable.

It is absolutely poor people. KIPP and DC Prep, just to name a couple of popular LEAs, are not getting highly-educated white people. None of the DCPS neighborhood high schools besides Wilson are getting more than about a quarter of their zoned students, and only a small fraction of those are white kids. You just don't know about the charters that aren't aimed at you.

There's obviously a wide range of charters, some good, some bad, but the really good ones are very, very white.

NP. This is also inaccurate. The ones with the fruity philosophies are very, very white (e.g. LAMB), but many of the "really good" ones in terms of test score achievement, e.g. KIPP and DC Prep are 99%+ minority enrollment.

This was the case pre COVID, but the last few years hit them really hard. Look at math and KIPP especially. Brutal. Hopefully temporary.

https://www.empowerk12.org/data-dashboard-source/dc-parcc-dash

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was listening recently to someone argue that DCPS lacks equity because the best-performing (and most over-crowded) schools - the Wilson feeder pattern - are in the Upper NW, whereas EOTR schools fail to attract students from there own neighborhood and are routinely closed down due to low enrollment numbers.

Would DCPS be more equitable if Wilson and it’s feeders were also not good enough to attract in-boundary families and they by and large chose privates instead? Would DCPS be more equitable without a citywide lottery that allowed EOTR students to attend schools in other parts of the city?

Obviously, it would be wonderful to have better schools EOTR that could attract EOTR students. But my understanding is that it is not unlike DCPS has tried. Is there something that they haven’t tried which stands a good chance of working?

No one is willing to answer your question, but yes, it would be more “equitable” if Wilson and its feeders were like all the other DCPS catchment areas. That’s what “equity” means. People like to pretend that can be accomplished by elevating all areas, but that has been tried for decades and nothing works. The only option, which will be pursued, is to make Wilson worse, likely via continued and increasing overcrowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was listening recently to someone argue that DCPS lacks equity because the best-performing (and most over-crowded) schools - the Wilson feeder pattern - are in the Upper NW, whereas EOTR schools fail to attract students from there own neighborhood and are routinely closed down due to low enrollment numbers.

Would DCPS be more equitable if Wilson and it’s feeders were also not good enough to attract in-boundary families and they by and large chose privates instead? Would DCPS be more equitable without a citywide lottery that allowed EOTR students to attend schools in other parts of the city?

Obviously, it would be wonderful to have better schools EOTR that could attract EOTR students. But my understanding is that it is not unlike DCPS has tried. Is there something that they haven’t tried which stands a good chance of working?

No one is willing to answer your question, but yes, it would be more “equitable” if Wilson and its feeders were like all the other DCPS catchment areas. That’s what “equity” means. People like to pretend that can be accomplished by elevating all areas, but that has been tried for decades and nothing works. The only option, which will be pursued, is to make Wilson worse, likely via continued and increasing overcrowding.

It's not that nothing works, it's that nothing has been tried.

The charters that attract poor kids have high behavioral expectations and an atmosphere that encourages academic success. The charters that attract rich kids have attractive course options. DCPS has tried neither of these things at the WOTP middle and high schools because they don't want to suspend/expel kids to get the first and they don't want to do the tracking it would take to get the second.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

Politically, sure, but not for their kids in DC if they live EOTP. You're getting more white kids in DCPS and fewer in charters because more white kids live IB for Jackson-Reed and it's feeders. When you have a solid IB path, you're way less likely to look to charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

Most people who value neighborhood schools are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

The only white people who are anti-charter schools are those who live in areas where their neighborhood schools are good. People turn to charters when their local schools are garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

This "anti-charter/pro-charter" thing exists almost nowhere but on DCUM or WTU meetings. Parents want good schools for their kids. They want schools that have the offering they want. And the vast, vast majority don't give a flying you know what whether these are DCPS, charter or Martian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

This "anti-charter/pro-charter" thing exists almost nowhere but on DCUM or WTU meetings. Parents want good schools for their kids. They want schools that have the offering they want. And the vast, vast majority don't give a flying you know what whether these are DCPS, charter or Martian.

Lol. Not even close. Do you not follow any politics at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

This "anti-charter/pro-charter" thing exists almost nowhere but on DCUM or WTU meetings. Parents want good schools for their kids. They want schools that have the offering they want. And the vast, vast majority don't give a flying you know what whether these are DCPS, charter or Martian.

Lol. Not even close. Do you not follow any politics at all?

The only people who hate charter schools are in the teachers union. No one else cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

This "anti-charter/pro-charter" thing exists almost nowhere but on DCUM or WTU meetings. Parents want good schools for their kids. They want schools that have the offering they want. And the vast, vast majority don't give a flying you know what whether these are DCPS, charter or Martian.

Lol. Not even close. Do you not follow any politics at all?

The only people who hate charter schools are in the teachers union. No one else cares.

Well, there are some super woke parents who do go on and on about charters. But then inevitably it goes ... oops, "Larla is going to Two Rivers! It's really a better fit." or "Larlo will be attending a wonderful private school! We gave him a choice, he just really liked it. He will miss his friends soooo much though."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually white kids are more likely to go to DCPS than charters: https://myteacher.dc.gov/page/about-dc-public-education#:~:text=Charter%20Students%3A,6%25%20of%20students%20are%20White

DCPS Students:

59% of students are Black
20% of students are Latinx
16% of students are White
5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

74% of students are Black
16% of students are Latinx
6% of students are White
4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Many white people are anti-charter schools.

This "anti-charter/pro-charter" thing exists almost nowhere but on DCUM or WTU meetings. Parents want good schools for their kids. They want schools that have the offering they want. And the vast, vast majority don't give a flying you know what whether these are DCPS, charter or Martian.

Lol. Not even close. Do you not follow any politics at all?

I have no idea what this means. Even assuming the recent election was focused on pro/anti (it wasn't), your argument that a political race's commentary would indicate voter interest doesn't pass smell test. If it did, trans kids and bathrooms would be one of the promary concerns for parents.

[Anonymous]

charter schools are a big political issue. nationwide, over the past several years, mainstream democratic party support for charter schools has dried up. there is a view that investing in neighborhood publicly run schools is better and that charters remove funding from and weaken the public school system.