Van Ness Elementary School - Who plans on going there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not pretend here. In general, schools in DC that have a relatively low FARM rate are the best schools in the city. This isn't a coincidence.

I don't disagree that SES is a component of a successful school, but what about everything else? Posters here must think very little of the education system if you think that's all it takes.

Is there a DCPS school that does the opposite? Is there a mostly high SES DCPS school that is struggling? Is there a mostly econ disadvantaged DCPS school (non-selective) that is doing well?

Then why do the schools bother hiring staff? We can put our kids in an empty classroom and have them stare at the walls all day and they will still do well as long as there are few poor kids.

Parents don't raise theoretical kids, they raise actual ones. Can anyone name DCPS schools that are flourishing while having most kids economically disadvantaged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not pretend here. In general, schools in DC that have a relatively low FARM rate are the best schools in the city. This isn't a coincidence.

I don't disagree that SES is a component of a successful school, but what about everything else? Posters here must think very little of the education system if you think that's all it takes.

Is there a DCPS school that does the opposite? Is there a mostly high SES DCPS school that is struggling? Is there a mostly econ disadvantaged DCPS school (non-selective) that is doing well?

Then why do the schools bother hiring staff? We can put our kids in an empty classroom and have them stare at the walls all day and they will still do well as long as there are few poor kids.

Parents don't raise theoretical kids, they raise actual ones. Can anyone name DCPS schools that are flourishing while having most kids economically disadvantaged.

Ludlow Taylor

[Anonymous]

Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

[Anonymous]

I think the jury is still out on the question of whether LT students are flourishing. I need to see the school sustain what has been viewed as progress measured by a single metric: CAS scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not pretend here. In general, schools in DC that have a relatively low FARM rate are the best schools in the city. This isn't a coincidence.

I don't disagree that SES is a component of a successful school, but what about everything else? Posters here must think very little of the education system if you think that's all it takes.

Is there a DCPS school that does the opposite? Is there a mostly high SES DCPS school that is struggling? Is there a mostly econ disadvantaged DCPS school (non-selective) that is doing well?

Then why do the schools bother hiring staff? We can put our kids in an empty classroom and have them stare at the walls all day and they will still do well as long as there are few poor kids.

Parents don't raise theoretical kids, they raise actual ones. Can anyone name DCPS schools that are flourishing while having most kids economically disadvantaged.

Parents need to be primarily concerned with their own kid, not school wide test scores. There are certainly individual students flourishing in schools that are mostly populated by economically disadvantaged families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

[Anonymous]

Tiresome

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

No snark, but why? What will the school have going for it that makes you think it will perform better than Brent or Maury or Ludlow Taylor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

No snark, but why? What will the school have going for it that makes you think it will perform better than Brent or Maury or Ludlow Taylor?

One thing that the school will have going for it is the fact that it is only opening with PS3, PK4 and K. They have the opportunity to really put a focus on building a strong early childhood education program since there won't be older kids there initially. As they slowly add grades, they can build the school culture. Also, since the neighborhood is rapidly developing with new housing being built, they should be able to attract newcomers that are looking for a strong neighborhood DCPS school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

No snark, but why? What will the school have going for it that makes you think it will perform better than Brent or Maury or Ludlow Taylor?

If Van Ness is as successful as Brent or Maury I suspect most people will call it successful. If it is as successful as Ludlow Taylor appears to be, based on discussions here, many people will consider VN successful. I think the goal is to have an option that is significantly better than Amidon Bowen. Is LT significantly better than Amidon Bowen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

No snark, but why? What will the school have going for it that makes you think it will perform better than Brent or Maury or Ludlow Taylor?

Which schools in DC have FARMs rates below 25% and are considered unsuccessful?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

No snark, but why? What will the school have going for it that makes you think it will perform better than Brent or Maury or Ludlow Taylor?

One thing that the school will have going for it is the fact that it is only opening with PS3, PK4 and K. They have the opportunity to really put a focus on building a strong early childhood education program since there won't be older kids there initially. As they slowly add grades, they can build the school culture. Also, since the neighborhood is rapidly developing with new housing being built, they should be able to attract newcomers that are looking for a strong neighborhood DCPS school.

The school is already projected as Title 1 so the 25% FARM rate is just a pipe dream. I think it still has potential for the same reason mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also 1 in 4 children at Ross qualifies for FARMs yet their scores are on par with the WOTP schools and beat EOTP schools with the same % or fewer FARM students.

If Van Ness ends up at 25% FARMs I suspect it will be quite successful.

No snark, but why? What will the school have going for it that makes you think it will perform better than Brent or Maury or Ludlow Taylor?

One thing that the school will have going for it is the fact that it is only opening with PS3, PK4 and K. They have the opportunity to really put a focus on building a strong early childhood education program since there won't be older kids there initially. As they slowly add grades, they can build the school culture. Also, since the neighborhood is rapidly developing with new housing being built, they should be able to attract newcomers that are looking for a strong neighborhood DCPS school.

You clearly know relatively little about education.

[Anonymous]

If it's not Title I, it won't have guaranteed PK and will have to take a certain percentage of OOB at-risk kids. The boundary is basically half public housing and half market rate housing, so it seems unlikely that the school will be overwhelmingly non-eligible for FARMS.

How much energy is being put into figuring out ways to help low-income families (and others) succeed at Van Ness? Will there be a uniform closet? Good before and aftercare? A full-time social worker or psychologist? Parenting education classes so families can support what their kids are learning in school? Partnership with a family strengthening collaborative? I did appreciate that DCPS started holding some planning meetings on the SW side of the boundary--that seemed like a step in the right direction. But there's a lot more that could happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it's not Title I, it won't have guaranteed PK and will have to take a certain percentage of OOB at-risk kids. The boundary is basically half public housing and half market rate housing, so it seems unlikely that the school will be overwhelmingly non-eligible for FARMS.

How much energy is being put into figuring out ways to help low-income families (and others) succeed at Van Ness? Will there be a uniform closet? Good before and aftercare? A full-time social worker or psychologist? Parenting education classes so families can support what their kids are learning in school? Partnership with a family strengthening collaborative? I did appreciate that DCPS started holding some planning meetings on the SW side of the boundary--that seemed like a step in the right direction. But there's a lot more that could happen.

I'm pretty confident that VN will surpass the 10 percent OOB and "at Rick" thresholds in 2016-17, regardless of Title I status. With Title I status comes a lot of bells and whistles, including DCPS aftercare and other supports. A more interesting question is whether DCPS will make VN a Community Eligible Option school whereby all students get free meals. In the end, the demographic profile of the K class will set the trajectory of the school. How many kids will be reading and writing by the end of the year? How many will need intensive behavioral interventions? Only time, not the number of apartment units being built, will tell.