DC Principals recruiting door to door

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a charter school parent so know the first hand appeal that charters have for many families compared to struggling neighborhood schools. That said, I find the DCPS bashing and snide comments really sad--I want the system to succeed and I think it is GREAT that principals are going door to door. I would hope my fellow charter school parents would also absolutely root for success in DCPS.

+1. I don't understand why so many posters are rooting for a total demise of neighborhood schools. I too am a charter school parent. However, I dread the extra commute and wish(ed) for better options in my neighborhood. DC is currently in DCI feeder and I know it will be close to impossible to get uptown to Walter Reed and all the way back downtown to earn a living. I may as well move to the burbs if I am asking for that kind of commute.

How about teaching your kid to use public transportation?

You are free to put your 11 year old on a one-hour plus multiple bus ride to cross town alone. I choose to parent differently, and not to subject my child to such dangers and hassles at such a young age. We need better local schools in closer proximity to our homes.

+1000
By breaking up neighborhood schools you open the pathway for a city-wide charter system. Smith comes from the charter board, Henderson is a huge charter booster. At the hearing last week one DME staff member literally couldn't stay still in her seat when the Eagle charter school spoke, because she was so happy that the school was proposing to serve all the children in the neighborhood, therefore replacing neighborhood schools.

Charters are supposed to provide competition, however that will not happen if DCPS is rooting for charters and doesn't see it as a clear mandate to improve their own performance.

DCPS and the DME need to be held to high standards that are performance based, not ideological. DCPS should emphasize targets that require feedback from principals, teachers, students, and parents. The good prinicipals and schools succeed in spite of DCPS not because of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's a sign of desperation, but rather of refocus. Post GM bailout everyone in the organization officially became a car salesman. They get points on their reviews for how many folks they recruit to buy. This has the same feel to me. If you are going to captain a DCPS school you had better believe in your mission and put in some elbow grease to 'sell' it.

Nicely put.

[Anonymous]

I would love to hear from my ib principal and feel welcomed. Every interaction I've had from our ib made me think they couldn't be bothered to talk about their school and certainly didn't want to go out of their way to attract ib families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people leaving? Because they believe they are going to a safer, more academically challenging school. Duh! How to keep them? Convince them that your school is as good or better.

I think that's what the principal is trying to do. For example, at my (not very good on test scores) in-bound school, the principal is a literacy expert, the test scores have risen, they have some partnerships with outside groups that allow them to do cool extracurriculars, there's a new playground and the school's been renovated, the early childhood grades have really small class sizes with an aide in every room,etc. There is more discipline (I don't always like how they implement discipline, but the school feels safe and orderly). The school is becoming more diverse kids (there are now more white, Asian, and Latino kids than before, for example), and the principal and teachers are very welcoming. Yet there's still a bad reputation--not all of which is deserved. Some parents won't even go to the open house. What better way for them to learn about all this and get their questions answered than to have the principal and some parents and teachers drop by?

Perhaps you could advertise this wonderful school by giving it's name. Other posters here talk about their DCPS schools, but don't provide the specifics. You could recruit right here and now.

Fair point. I'm in-bounds for Amidon-Bowen, whose principal was mentioned in the Post article.

[Anonymous]

I love that Prinicpals are out recruiting. I always felt that should me a measure of their success...How many IB students actually attend the school. There are too many horror stories of prinipals being dismissive of white/gentrifiers interested in the school so hopefully this is a sign that they are welcome. With their money and their time and their committment to their children. I live in a quickly transitioning EoTP neighborhood and I see a ton of young white upper class kids and every morning they scatter to 5 or so different charter schools even though there is a DCPS school two blocks away. we all made the effort to visit the school bput maybe I would be persuaded if I knew the principal valued out input and our desire for academic excellence (not just diversity)

[Anonymous]

Charters have been doing this for years. It's about time DCPS started marketing and reaching out.

[Anonymous]

My IB school won't be knocking on any doors. They don't care about changing the demographic. This is fine for other neighborhoods, but I don't seeing it happening in ours.

[Anonymous]

Quoted from the article

Branch has already come up with his own strategies for retaining students, and he has beat his enrollment targets every year. Starting in April, he offers a treat — a ice pop party or a movie — every Friday for students who have re-enrolled. In June, he puts on a day-long carnival, and only those students who have completed their enrollment paperwork are admitted to the choicest parts, such as the waterslide, the Ferris wheel and the dunk tank.

I really hate it when we reward or punish children for things that are well beyond their control. Children don't decide whether they are going to re-enroll. At my EOTP school they had dress down days at the end of the year and my DD's class missed out on getting to do so because I'm choosing not to re-enroll. Let me be clear, I'm fine with kids being rewarded for things they have some measure of control over such as good behavior, good grades, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quoted from the article

Branch has already come up with his own strategies for retaining students, and he has beat his enrollment targets every year. Starting in April, he offers a treat — a ice pop party or a movie — every Friday for students who have re-enrolled. In June, he puts on a day-long carnival, and only those students who have completed their enrollment paperwork are admitted to the choicest parts, such as the waterslide, the Ferris wheel and the dunk tank.

I really hate it when we reward or punish children for things that are well beyond their control. Children don't decide whether they are going to re-enroll. At my EOTP school they had dress down days at the end of the year and my DD's class missed out on getting to do so because I'm choosing not to re-enroll. Let me be clear, I'm fine with kids being rewarded for things they have some measure of control over such as good behavior, good grades, etc.

This is very disturbing. Why was this even allowed. It really does make those running the schools seem very immature. I guess it must have made you feel good about not re-enrolling.

[Anonymous]

My principal went to the housing projects in her community and recruited. She signed-up 13 families who otherwise was sending their children to SWW, Banneker, McKinley and etc.

[Anonymous]

Which school is the principal from in your neighborhood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My principal went to the housing projects in her community and recruited. She signed-up 13 families who otherwise was sending their children to SWW, Banneker, McKinley and etc.[/

For which school wascshe recruiting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My principal went to the housing projects in her community and recruited. She signed-up 13 families who otherwise was sending their children to SWW, Banneker, McKinley and etc.

Who in their right mind would unenroll from Banneker to attend an under-performing DCPS HS? You make it to Banneker from the projects and you are halfway there.

[Anonymous]

A couple things for the record. Kaya's kids DO NOT attend charter schools, they attend DCPS schools. (They're her stepkids.) One just graduated from McKinley HS this year. And as far as the door-to-door campaign goes--it was her idea so it didn't have "in spite" of her.

[Anonymous]

Pied Piper attitude or lab experiment both involves rats.