EOTP Parents “ we will bail after k or 1st grade”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading some of the comments in the Bruce Monroe thread, it puzzles me that many families are taking this route. How do you expect a school to improve if you just up and leave? What’s the point of living in the city? Your jobs or because you hope to land a spot in a Charter?

We are an EOTP family, who unlike others, plan on staying at our Title 1 school up to 5th grade.

Why does this puzzle you? I suppose it's nice that you think it's your job to improve a school, but many parents see it as the school's job to educate their child. That's not exactly the same thing. Not everyone is enrolling in a school with the intention of improving it, and if the school isn't up-to-par by K or 1st grade then parents whose number one priority is a high-quality education are well within their rights to bail.

It's pretty much this. I'm sorry, but my child is not an experiment for me to plug into a social engineering scheme. I'm a hard-core Democrat educated in public schools, but the whole system has become a nightmarish mess. And it's beyond my power to fix. Sorry.

I respect your right to send your kid wherever you feel is best, but please lay off the "social engineering" - I'm sending my kids to my EOTP DCPS school because I think that's what's best for them not for some education planning experiment. Maybe your school is a nightmarish mess - I don't know it or you, but mine isn't and the "whole system" isn't.

If you take out WOTP schools, which are mostly unavailable to EOTP, then DCPS is about a third or a quarter proficient (per DC CAS). In what world is that not nightmarish?

My EOTP school is a few points shy of 70% in math and in the 50%s in reading. The numbers are particularly good for students who start and finish there. That's certainly not goodin my book, but it is a challenge to address rather than a nightmare to run away from.
Schools with 10% profiency are more nightmarish, but not the whole system.

What is the story with your child's EOTP middle school? High school?

It's complicated. Right now, it is an education campus (boo), but I also have rights to Deal, which would feed them to Wilson (ok). But there's the unknown of MacFarland (not sure what to think of that) and Roosevelt (yikes), which the boundary change would shift us to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading some of the comments in the Bruce Monroe thread, it puzzles me that many families are taking this route. How do you expect a school to improve if you just up and leave? What’s the point of living in the city? Your jobs or because you hope to land a spot in a Charter?

We are an EOTP family, who unlike others, plan on staying at our Title 1 school up to 5th grade.

How old is your child? And, how long have you lived in the city?

Those are the questions I'd put to you.

I've lived here a long time. And I see people like you come and go. And it's great! But, more often - you are excited in PS3 and PK4 and then burnt out by K....and then you leave in 1st grade.

If you had a 2nd or 3rd grader I'd take you more seriously. As someone who has lived in DC for awhile, its hard to take some of these posts seriously.

Which EOTP schools (other than Maury and Brent) have the most high SES 2nd graders? Is 2nd grade the grade to watch for? Will there be a thread here after school opens on demographic shifts in 2nd grades at those schools?

YY, CM, LAMB, MV, IT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading some of the comments in the Bruce Monroe thread, it puzzles me that many families are taking this route. How do you expect a school to improve if you just up and leave? What’s the point of living in the city? Your jobs or because you hope to land a spot in a Charter?

We are an EOTP family, who unlike others, plan on staying at our Title 1 school up to 5th grade.

How old is your child? And, how long have you lived in the city?

Those are the questions I'd put to you.

I've lived here a long time. And I see people like you come and go. And it's great! But, more often - you are excited in PS3 and PK4 and then burnt out by K....and then you leave in 1st grade.

If you had a 2nd or 3rd grader I'd take you more seriously. As someone who has lived in DC for awhile, its hard to take some of these posts seriously.

Which EOTP schools (other than Maury and Brent) have the most high SES 2nd graders? Is 2nd grade the grade to watch for? Will there be a thread here after school opens on demographic shifts in 2nd grades at those schools?

YY, CM, LAMB, MV, IT

Pardon, I meant excluding charters.

[Anonymous]

dcmom wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

One thing that really hurts schools that are trying to retain students is the policy that once you're in OOB you can go to the destination middle school. People are therefore willing to play the lottery and leave an elementary they're fairly happy with in hopes of getting into one that feeds a better middle school. I am really disappointed that the DME's plan didn't address this issue, because I think it might be one of the major hurdles to improving schools (and probably one of the few hurdles DME is actually able to address--things like childhood poverty and low parental literacy are much greater issues but outside of her control).

That is a really good point about the feeder rights. I had not thought about that and wished I had put it in my feedback to the DME. Did you provide such feedback?

Yes, I did, on several occasions. I even talked to Abigail Smith about it at a meeting at Dunbar as well as one in my neighborhood. Her challenge is that for every person saying what I said, there was someone who got their kid into Hearst OOB at age 3 who was basically telling her "over my dead body will you take away my kid and her siblings' right to Deal and Wilson." And she chose that second group over the people who thought like I did. This is one area I hope will change in the final plan, and if it doesn't I will try really hard to lobby for whoever the mayor is to change it before implementation. I know the deadline has passed for submitting comments on the draft, but if folks write to Abby Smith about it I'm sure someone will still read it. Folks who care could also talk to the mayoral candidates...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading some of the comments in the Bruce Monroe thread, it puzzles me that many families are taking this route. How do you expect a school to improve if you just up and leave? What’s the point of living in the city? Your jobs or because you hope to land a spot in a Charter?

We are an EOTP family, who unlike others, plan on staying at our Title 1 school up to 5th grade.

How old is your child? And, how long have you lived in the city?

Those are the questions I'd put to you.

I've lived here a long time. And I see people like you come and go. And it's great! But, more often - you are excited in PS3 and PK4 and then burnt out by K....and then you leave in 1st grade.

If you had a 2nd or 3rd grader I'd take you more seriously. As someone who has lived in DC for awhile, its hard to take some of these posts seriously.

Which EOTP schools (other than Maury and Brent) have the most high SES 2nd graders? Is 2nd grade the grade to watch for? Will there be a thread here after school opens on demographic shifts in 2nd grades at those schools?

YY, CM, LAMB, MV, IT

Pardon, I meant excluding charters.

Maybe Ross and Likely Shepherd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After reading some of the comments in the Bruce Monroe thread, it puzzles me that many families are taking this route. How do you expect a school to improve if you just up and leave? What’s the point of living in the city? Your jobs or because you hope to land a spot in a Charter?

We are an EOTP family, who unlike others, plan on staying at our Title 1 school up to 5th grade.

How old is your child? And, how long have you lived in the city?

Those are the questions I'd put to you.

I've lived here a long time. And I see people like you come and go. And it's great! But, more often - you are excited in PS3 and PK4 and then burnt out by K....and then you leave in 1st grade.

If you had a 2nd or 3rd grader I'd take you more seriously. As someone who has lived in DC for awhile, its hard to take some of these posts seriously.

Which EOTP schools (other than Maury and Brent) have the most high SES 2nd graders? Is 2nd grade the grade to watch for? Will there be a thread here after school opens on demographic shifts in 2nd grades at those schools?

YY, CM, LAMB, MV, IT

Pardon, I meant excluding charters.

[Anonymous]

I will stay at my EoTP school as long as possible. But no matter how much I try to "improve" the school it wont change the fact that 95% of the kids are impoverished, and most come from the projects etc. I cant fix generations of social ills. Some of us don't think its productive for our kid to sit in a classroom bored while a teacher tries to get kids who are two grades behind (and suffering behavioral issues) up to speed. Maybe if the lower grades has a critical mass of families willing to move together (and by that I mean at least 50% of the class) then we could stick it out. But I am not sacrificing my kids education to make a point either. Anyhow, there is no middle school option. For those of you who think Cardozo or CHEC are options...well you must be new to DC.

[Anonymous]

and when people say "EoTP" they don't mean the Cap Hill schools. Those are the Cap hill schools. They mean Petworth, Columbia Heights, Logan Circle, Brookland etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and when people say "EoTP" they don't mean the Cap Hill schools. Those are the Cap hill schools. They mean Petworth, Columbia Heights, Logan Circle, Brookland etc.

Brightwood and Takoma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and when people say "EoTP" they don't mean the Cap Hill schools. Those are the Cap hill schools. They mean Petworth, Columbia Heights, Logan Circle, Brookland etc.

Thank you! Whenever a Cap Hill parent chimes in on a EoTP thread, I just roll my eyes.

[Anonymous]

My kid is still little, but we're going to stick with EOTP schools. I know they aren't all amazing now, and there are huge questions about the middle and high school situations, but I have to believe that this is just part of DC changing. Pre-80s most of the schools in DC were just fine or even highly rated. After the crack epidemic forced a lot of people (black and white), especially with kids, out of the city it changed the entire approach to elementary education in DC. Now parents are flocking back to the city and things have no choice but to change. With interested parents, I have to believe that the schools will all improve and meet high standards again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and when people say "EoTP" they don't mean the Cap Hill schools. Those are the Cap hill schools. They mean Petworth, Columbia Heights, Logan Circle, Brookland etc.

thank you - I didn't know DCUM terminology. AFAICT in district discussion in general EoTP does include the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is still little, but we're going to stick with EOTP schools. I know they aren't all amazing now, and there are huge questions about the middle and high school situations, but I have to believe that this is just part of DC changing. Pre-80s most of the schools in DC were just fine or even highly rated. After the crack epidemic forced a lot of people (black and white), especially with kids, out of the city it changed the entire approach to elementary education in DC. Now parents are flocking back to the city and things have no choice but to change. With interested parents, I have to believe that the schools will all improve and meet high standards again.

I don't think thats quite true. The white population was decling from the 1950s on (school integration, as a matter of fact) and was almost done when the 1968 riots pretty much drove the last whites out of EOTR and the NE periphery - the only ones left were WOTP and a tiny part of the Hill. I think though the middle class black flight may have been more concentrated during the 1980s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:and when people say "EoTP" they don't mean the Cap Hill schools. Those are the Cap hill schools. They mean Petworth, Columbia Heights, Logan Circle, Brookland etc.

thank you - I didn't know DCUM terminology. AFAICT in district discussion in general EoTP does include the Hill.

But that's ridiculous - CapHill isn't anywhere near "the park." East of Rock Creek Park are those areas of NW and NE that are, well - east of the park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is still little, but we're going to stick with EOTP schools. I know they aren't all amazing now, and there are huge questions about the middle and high school situations, but I have to believe that this is just part of DC changing. Pre-80s most of the schools in DC were just fine or even highly rated. After the crack epidemic forced a lot of people (black and white), especially with kids, out of the city it changed the entire approach to elementary education in DC. Now parents are flocking back to the city and things have no choice but to change. With interested parents, I have to believe that the schools will all improve and meet high standards again.

I don't think thats quite true. The white population was decling from the 1950s on (school integration, as a matter of fact) and was almost done when the 1968 riots pretty much drove the last whites out of EOTR and the NE periphery - the only ones left were WOTP and a tiny part of the Hill. I think though the middle class black flight may have been more concentrated during the 1980s.

It's also not necessarily true that things will change because more educated, middle and upper class families are moving back in. Things only change if people stay once their children are school-aged - no sign that is happening in large numbers outside of upper NW. Many of those educated professionals leave once their kids hit elementary age. I did, and so did many other families I know.