Bancroft-Specific Boundary Study Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bancroft has fed to Deal for as long as I can remember so it is going to be hard politically to change that. But if the issue they're solving for is Deal overcrowding, Bancroft would be a likely school to move, and Adams could make a lot of sense if there's still time to factor that into the renovation. It is probably more palatable than other options and it is right on the 42 bus line.

Bancroft kids could still go to J-R for high school (since MacArthur is lessening the burden there). That would be one of the least disruptive but most impactful changes.

Bancroft has no chance at Adams; neither does Marie Reed which is closer and also dual-language.

[Anonymous]

And you know this how?

[Anonymous]

Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

You do know that’s lip service and they’re going to do what they want?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you were burned before or geographically feed to where you don’t want to be. I’m sorry your experience was negative or for whatever reason you are such a negative Nancy, but no one knows at this point and everything is on the table.

[Anonymous]

How do you know what they want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

What were the other 2 options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the loudest voices advocating for retaining rights to Deal/JR are also the ones who have the most to lose to their livelihood. e.g. It’s not a good look when neighborhood realtor residents/parents are arguing for “diversity” when clearly a shift would impact their bottom line.

I’m not going to say that most Bancroft parents’ concerns aren’t mainly for their own kids (that’s the case with most parents, right?), but it’s ridiculous to say that profit is the big motivation. Most neighborhood parents feel very strongly about keeping Deal feeder rights for their kids, and very few of them are real estate agents.

And yes, it might have some effect on house prices in the neighborhood, but probably not much. Bancroft will still be very desirable for elementary, and Mt P is an amazing neighborhood in any case.

Losing access to Deal 10 years ago affected the demographics in nearby Kalorama Triangle. Fewer families and especially fewer kids beyond early elementary grades than when the neighborhood fed to Deal.

I foresee this possibility as well. Mount Pleasant ("Mount Pregnant") has boomed as a young family destination over the last decade, and Bancroft's success is an outsized part of that. Yes, a lot of the families skew Caucasian and UMC, but there are a number of Asian, Latino, and Black parents who are fighting these changes as well.

Unsure of the effects on property values (which has been an elephant in the room), but families with the means to move will move. They settled in Mount Pleasant precisely because they wanted their kids to go to Deal/JR. While Adams/JR seemed like a palatable alternative floated in the last meeting, it was overwhelmingly clear in both the Spanish and English meetings that parents don't want to change the status quo.

HOuses in Mnt P are insanely expensive, a renovated row house is going to start at 1.3 and thats get a bidding war started

Yes, they are insanely expensive. A significant reason why is because of the current feeder pattern. For example, a house on the 1600 block of Newton or Monroe sells for at least $100-200K more than one just east of 16th because of Bancroft’s current feeder rights and the mentality that private school won’t be necessary. If Deal and J-R are removed as geographic feeders, that premium disappears. Families who aren’t pleased with whatever changes are made and have the means to move will not have that premium if they sell. Few are willing to point that out “on the record.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

What were the other 2 options?

Who presented these options? Were these suggestions by parents or by DCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

What were the other 2 options?

CHEC and McFarland for middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

What were the other 2 options?

Who presented these options? Were these suggestions by parents or by DCPS?

By DCPS

[Anonymous]

A little secret that people don’t like to admit is that a third to half of the Bancroft 5th graders don’t matriculate to Deal. A large number go to CHEC, probably because it is across the street rather than a school 3 miles away. Others go to schools like EL Haynes, DCI and MacFarland. These generally aren’t the white kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

What were the other 2 options?

Who presented these options? Were these suggestions by parents or by DCPS?

By DCPS

By the DME

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adams was actually one of the only 3 options presented to Bancroft families.

What were the other 2 options?

CHEC and McFarland for middle school

No- adams, the new Shaw (Euclid), macfarland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there room at Adams for Bancroft kids? And would it feed into JR or Roosevelt?

I'd rather see Oyster-Adams become a PK3-5 school and then it and Bancroft can both go to MacFarland and Roosevelt. That feeder pattern has a lot of potential.

Are you a parent at OA? I am. They’re expanding the Adams campus (4-8 grades) and adding classroom space but removing outdoor space. There are significant leadership issues at the upper campus (and the lower campus), but the upper campus suffers. It will likely see a lot of families removing students in the years to come. Teachers are leaving. Admin is a mess. It’s sad.