A PS3 Parent's Perspective on Bancroft

[Anonymous]

As another parent with a child at Bancroft in the PS 3 program, I need to interject and say that our experience has been very positive. In speaking with other parents in the program, in a couple of different classes, I have found others are very happy as well. While some of the grievances listed here are somewhat accurate (we get artwork all the time, not sure about that one), I find them to be relatively small quirks/details in a program that meets/exceeds our expectations. The quality of teaching, as well as what they are learning sets a high bar compared to the private (and seemingly superior) program we had our child in last year. The teachers are very committed, engaged, and work hard with each kid. They put in so much effort, and the kids seem happy and productive. In terms of communication, they also text me with questions or just to share pictures of what they do during the day.

Not every school is a good fit for every child, but we have been very, very happy with our experience at Bancroft and I know that we are not the only ones. Our child also loves school and is excited to go every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As another parent with a child at Bancroft in the PS 3 program, I need to interject and say that our experience has been very positive. In speaking with other parents in the program, in a couple of different classes, I have found others are very happy as well. While some of the grievances listed here are somewhat accurate (we get artwork all the time, not sure about that one), I find them to be relatively small quirks/details in a program that meets/exceeds our expectations. The quality of teaching, as well as what they are learning sets a high bar compared to the private (and seemingly superior) program we had our child in last year. The teachers are very committed, engaged, and work hard with each kid. They put in so much effort, and the kids seem happy and productive. In terms of communication, they also text me with questions or just to share pictures of what they do during the day.

Not every school is a good fit for every child, but we have been very, very happy with our experience at Bancroft and I know that we are not the only ones. Our child also loves school and is excited to go every day.

Thanks for the thoughtful post. I have a child in the upper grades at Bancroft, and we have been happy with the school as well. The teachers have been excellent every year and our child has been able to be a part of many meaningful and well- organized experiences and is also now bilingual in English and Spanish. I feel like the grievances listed by the OP are relatively small details as well. The OP also makes no reference to the quality of the child's teachers or the child's happiness at the school, both factors that I feel are important.

[Anonymous]

PP, as an experienced Bancroft parent I know where you're coming from, but I also know the school is a warm, welcoming place and I and some other neighborhood families think it's worth it, flaws and all.
What's missing are middle class parents with time to organize things like email lists. There are not enough of us. You would not believe the amount of time a few parents put into events like the tree sale and other fundraisers. We need more help!

Have you joined the parent listserv? Some parents started it this year to improve school wide communication.
http://www.bancroftelementary.org/home/bancroft-families-listserv

As for class-level info, yes, you may need to jump in and help your teachers organize an email list. It's not a huge amount of effort and once it's going you'll feel a lot better.
I also get frustrated by things like the last minute notices about school events. There was a parent-staff communications committee last year. It wasn't continued this year because we parents mainly seemed to simply nod our heads to approve what the administration was doing anyway. But I think it did push them to communicate better.

Communication is an issue high on the list of the LSAT, for what that's worth.

You may want to drop by an LSAT or PTA board meeting to get a better feel for what the school is trying to do to address problems like communication (and to make your views heard).

[Anonymous]

P..S. I've heard that the five empty spots in PK-3 this year were Headstart slots that could not be filled by waitlisted families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:P..S. I've heard that the five empty spots in PK-3 this year were Headstart slots that could not be filled by waitlisted families.

Interesting. I wonder how this works. Is Bancroft a Title I school?

[Anonymous]

Did someone really post an anonymous complaint on the Internet about getting paper notices instead of email, and not getting enough of your special snowflake's art projects? That is weak sauce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did someone really post an anonymous complaint on the Internet about getting paper notices instead of email, and not getting enough of your special snowflake's art projects? That is weak sauce.

No no that is the special sauce of which DCUM DCPS/PCS forum complaints are made! gotta love it!

[Anonymous]

OP here with a few additional thoughts. By no means did my original post say that Bancroft is an awful school, nor that our experience has been uniformly negative. Our son is mostly content going each day . On the other hand, the issues I raised are ones I did not know about going in, and none of the Bancroft boosters--including friends and acquaintances we have in the neighborhood, where we have lived a long time--shared with us before we attended. We wished we had known how tough communicating with the school and our son's teachers would be going in. Unlike the poster above, who gets texts from her kid's teachers (?!) we haven't been able to get any meaningful regular communication out of our son's teachers, and we're not alone in this experience in the class.

As to the quality of the teachers, I'd say our experience is decidedly more mixed. Our son's teachers are certainly nice enough, but I think communication is a core part of their jobs, and we struggle with it with them. I have also experienced some downright disturbing incidents with other teachers in the PS3 grade, including witnessing one teacher berating a student for sucking on her fingers while walking to class in the morning. The teacher, who didn't know I was behind her, repeatedly mocked the child for acting "like a baby" and I was horrified. I actually didn't even realize she WAS a teacher until she turned around--I thought she was the child's parent, which wouldn't have excused the behavior, but would have been marginally less upsetting.

I am glad there are families who are having good experiences, and I do think that family involvement is essential to improving the school. I just think it's worth folks knowing the different experiences current families are having there. I know I would have wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here with a few additional thoughts. By no means did my original post say that Bancroft is an awful school, nor that our experience has been uniformly negative. Our son is mostly content going each day . On the other hand, the issues I raised are ones I did not know about going in, and none of the Bancroft boosters--including friends and acquaintances we have in the neighborhood, where we have lived a long time--shared with us before we attended. We wished we had known how tough communicating with the school and our son's teachers would be going in. Unlike the poster above, who gets texts from her kid's teachers (?!) we haven't been able to get any meaningful regular communication out of our son's teachers, and we're not alone in this experience in the class.

As to the quality of the teachers, I'd say our experience is decidedly more mixed. Our son's teachers are certainly nice enough, but I think communication is a core part of their jobs, and we struggle with it with them. I have also experienced some downright disturbing incidents with other teachers in the PS3 grade, including witnessing one teacher berating a student for sucking on her fingers while walking to class in the morning. The teacher, who didn't know I was behind her, repeatedly mocked the child for acting "like a baby" and I was horrified. I actually didn't even realize she WAS a teacher until she turned around--I thought she was the child's parent, which wouldn't have excused the behavior, but would have been marginally less upsetting.

I am glad there are families who are having good experiences, and I do think that family involvement is essential to improving the school. I just think it's worth folks knowing the different experiences current families are having there. I know I would have wanted to.

OP, my child is in PS3 at a charter, and we have also had communication issues. I recognize that a lot of my frustration with the communication issues is directly related to the caliber of the communication we received from the daycare/preschool she attended previously. We also get little notice about schoolwide events. Often notice for things like parent night or PTA event is given in the form of flyers at school on the bulletin board. I do not always check the bulletin board when dropping off or picking up DD as there is usually a ton going on at those times. There is a monthly newsletter for our classroom, but it is mostly a souvenir rather than a communication tool.

I've heard a lot of good things about Bancroft. We had good waitlist numbers last year but didn't get in and will hope to get in this year as it is nearby (we live across 14th Street) and I prefer it to Tubman or Raymond. I was my experience as a student in public school elsewhere that the quality of "the school" often depends on your perspective. Maybe the teacher you have this year just isn't great. Maybe the reason your friends did not tell you about the lack of communication is that it doesn't bother them. Some people have no issue with last minute notice and no email blasts. The incident you mentioned with the teacher sounds pretty upsetting - did you report it to the principal or anything? I would have.

[Anonymous]

Where is the new principal in all of this? I agree communication with parents is a key part of creating a participatory school culture.

[Anonymous]

That's really appalling that a teacher was a mocking a 3-year old. I find that to be more disturbing than the lack of communication. Why do people choose to become educators if they don't like children or don't know how to interact with them? If I witnessed something like that, I would pull my child out. That is ridiculous. Imagine what this teacher does when no one is around. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

From the latest Bancroft newsletter

"All teachers are beginning this month to distribute their weekly updates and newsletters electronically as well as in hard copy"