Apparently all you have to do to get up the Dander of a Charter supporter...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I will admit to being lucky enough to be a JKLMer but I love the community and ease of being in a neighborhood school. And while I completely understand the above stated point - part of me thinks that if the charters had neighborhood preference then more people could enjoy that. Then again...only those with money which is not really the point. Comes back to the fact that we really need to fix DCPS more...somehow.

That's exactly why I oppose a neighborhood preference for charters -- it would mean that property values go up around the best schools, and as a result it would be yet another educational option dictated by your ability to afford expensive property. If you want a neighborhood school, that's what neighborhood DCPS are for.

I think if DC and DCPS made an active effort to court middle-class families it would benefit the system as a whole. If DC could improve its tax-base, and increase the overall numbers of engaged families, I think it would benefit everyone. People go on and on about a "baby boom" in DC, well, for decades on decades people have been having babies and leaving the city. If they want to improve schools, attract more families to stay beyond a few thousand in this so-called baby boom. If a small % of charter spots went to neighborhood preference and that attracted more families to remain in the city and increased the tax base, and you could create LAMB I-III, and I think it would benefit the entire city as a whole. Look at the big picture and not just whether every family could buy a house in charter neighborhood, but how that could strengthen the system.

I'm the original lucky to be in JKLM poster - and this is a great argument for me why there should not be neighborhood preference. I really think that a strong DCPS with neighborhood schools in the long run is the best solution for everyone. Though getting there is a whole different story. I do think if charters weren't so popular imagine what the DCPS schools EOTP especially in the child-heavy neighborhoods of Columbia Heights and Brookland could look like today. If there were more strong neighborhood schools across the city - there would be more room for OOB kids from the low SES areas as well.

Anyone who knows even a smidgen about education, charter schools and DC knows that "looking at the big picture" means you do NOT do neighborhood preference for charters. Guess what: there is no neighborhood preference for charters right now and DC is gentrifying at a rapid pace. Middle and upper class families are moving IN and staying more and more. And there's no neighborhood preference. Even if adding some neighborhood preference increased the amount of middle class, guess what else? THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH SEATS FOR EVERYONE.

All roads lead back to the same basic bottom line: DC's "looking at the big picture" priorities need to be improving the many neighborhood schools that already exist. Many of which exist in the very neighborhoods gentrifying at a rapid pace. No, not saying schools with 70% FARMS will turn into JKLMM next year. But I am saying that DC's priority in attracting and keeping more middle income families (while also not continuing to screw all low income families who haven't gotten into better charters or OOB schools) should be improving the schools that are already here so that ALL families that prioritize quality education will be interested.

The system will be weakened, not strengthened, by neighborhood preference for charters. You are pinpointing your narrow view of what will serve middle class families best (and you're wrong about what you're pinpointing), and you are not doing anything to really draw in more families by actually increasing the number of good/great seats in schools. Focus on that, that is focusing on "the big picture".

PP here, okay, so fine, improve DCPS with neighborhood preference. The point is, another viewpoint is, the neighborhood-based seats could be at charters. I promise I am not a charter booster, and actually think there are real downsides to how split the system is in DC. But, given the system exists, why not exploit the strengths of the charters? And just to throw it out there for discussion, why not consider some % neighborhood preference if it convince people who were going to leave, to instead stay.

I really think there are still many people who would stay in DC longer, and still leave because of the schools. Baby boom or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I will admit to being lucky enough to be a JKLMer but I love the community and ease of being in a neighborhood school. And while I completely understand the above stated point - part of me thinks that if the charters had neighborhood preference then more people could enjoy that. Then again...only those with money which is not really the point. Comes back to the fact that we really need to fix DCPS more...somehow.

That's exactly why I oppose a neighborhood preference for charters -- it would mean that property values go up around the best schools, and as a result it would be yet another educational option dictated by your ability to afford expensive property. If you want a neighborhood school, that's what neighborhood DCPS are for.

I think if DC and DCPS made an active effort to court middle-class families it would benefit the system as a whole. If DC could improve its tax-base, and increase the overall numbers of engaged families, I think it would benefit everyone. People go on and on about a "baby boom" in DC, well, for decades on decades people have been having babies and leaving the city. If they want to improve schools, attract more families to stay beyond a few thousand in this so-called baby boom. If a small % of charter spots went to neighborhood preference and that attracted more families to remain in the city and increased the tax base, and you could create LAMB I-III, and I think it would benefit the entire city as a whole. Look at the big picture and not just whether every family could buy a house in charter neighborhood, but how that could strengthen the system.

Anyone who knows even a smidgen about education, charter schools and DC knows that "looking at the big picture" means you do NOT do neighborhood preference for charters. Guess what: there is no neighborhood preference for charters right now and DC is gentrifying at a rapid pace. Middle and upper class families are moving IN and staying more and more. And there's no neighborhood preference. Even if adding some neighborhood preference increased the amount of middle class, guess what else? THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH SEATS FOR EVERYONE.

All roads lead back to the same basic bottom line: DC's "looking at the big picture" priorities need to be improving the many neighborhood schools that already exist. Many of which exist in the very neighborhoods gentrifying at a rapid pace. No, not saying schools with 70% FARMS will turn into JKLMM next year. But I am saying that DC's priority in attracting and keeping more middle income families (while also not continuing to screw all low income families who haven't gotten into better charters or OOB schools) should be improving the schools that are already here so that ALL families that prioritize quality education will be interested.

The system will be weakened, not strengthened, by neighborhood preference for charters. You are pinpointing your narrow view of what will serve middle class families best (and you're wrong about what you're pinpointing), and you are not doing anything to really draw in more families by actually increasing the number of good/great seats in schools. Focus on that, that is focusing on "the big picture".

PP here, okay, so fine, improve DCPS with neighborhood preference. The point is, another viewpoint is, the neighborhood-based seats could be at charters. I promise I am not a charter booster, and actually think there are real downsides to how split the system is in DC. But, given the system exists, why not exploit the strengths of the charters? And just to throw it out there for discussion, why not consider some % neighborhood preference if it convince people who were going to leave, to instead stay.

I really think there are still many people who would stay in DC longer, and still leave because of the schools. Baby boom or not.

I'm the original lucky to be in JKLM poster - and this is a great argument for me why there should not be neighborhood preference. I really think that a strong DCPS with neighborhood schools in the long run is the best solution for everyone. Though getting there is a whole different story. I do think if charters weren't so popular imagine what the DCPS schools EOTP especially in the child-heavy neighborhoods of Columbia Heights and Brookland could look like today. If there were more strong neighborhood schools across the city - there would be more room for OOB kids from the low SES areas as well.

Ha - too long a thread - typed this in the wrong place above. That'll teach me to start using the Preview option!