if you could choose any elementary school in the district...

[Anonymous]

Have heard that the delay in releasing full DC-CAS results has to do with appeals. Lovely. Yet another disappointment from DCPS. Meanwhile, despite their hoped-for increase in enrolment, they are down YET AGAIN from projected students. And charters are up.

So, OP, I guess this means where you live is becoming less and less important - so long as you get lucky in a good charter school lottery.

When is the "Education Mayor" Fentry/Rhee combination up for being voted out of office?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have heard that the delay in releasing full DC-CAS results has to do with appeals. Lovely. Yet another disappointment from DCPS. Meanwhile, despite their hoped-for increase in enrolment, they are down YET AGAIN from projected students. And charters are up.

So, OP, I guess this means where you live is becoming less and less important - so long as you get lucky in a good charter school lottery.

When is the "Education Mayor" Fentry/Rhee combination up for being voted out of office?

Yes, and they plan to release all the appeals and the decisions publicly as well. I really do not see how a one week delay to work through issues raised with planned full disclosure is another disappointment.

[Anonymous]

What about Ross Elementary near Dupont Circle? Does anyone have first-hand info on this school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have heard that the delay in releasing full DC-CAS results has to do with appeals. Lovely. Yet another disappointment from DCPS. Meanwhile, despite their hoped-for increase in enrolment, they are down YET AGAIN from projected students. And charters are up.

So, OP, I guess this means where you live is becoming less and less important - so long as you get lucky in a good charter school lottery.

When is the "Education Mayor" Fentry/Rhee combination up for being voted out of office?

I am CONSTANTLY confused as to why people think Charters are the answer for our city when they steal from the very schools our tax dollars are paying for!! And when I say STEAL, I mean students, b/c the students equal MONEY and SUPPORT. If people want options, they should go back to a voucher choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have heard that the delay in releasing full DC-CAS results has to do with appeals. Lovely. Yet another disappointment from DCPS. Meanwhile, despite their hoped-for increase in enrolment, they are down YET AGAIN from projected students. And charters are up.

So, OP, I guess this means where you live is becoming less and less important - so long as you get lucky in a good charter school lottery.

When is the "Education Mayor" Fentry/Rhee combination up for being voted out of office?

Yes, and they plan to release all the appeals and the decisions publicly as well. I really do not see how a one week delay to work through issues raised with planned full disclosure is another disappointment.

I agree. I'm not sure I understand the poster's outrage on this.

[Anonymous]

People think that charters are the answer because charters are a way for frustrated parents to sidestep a dysfunctional DCPS bureaucracy. Charters don't "steal" anything. They ARE public schools and entitled to our tax dollars. As a DC taxpayer, I would much rather see my tax dollars go to SEED, KIPP, Cap City, EL Haynes, Washington Latin, Yu Ying, and Two Rivers. In fact, I'd like to see MORE of my tax money allocated to those schools, where kids are performing---so that those schools can expand their enrollments---than be kept within the DCPS bureaucracy and allocated to schools that have shown no indicia of improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that Janney is a mess right now, but have a deep wealth of community support. Look into them.

Please please do elaborate ! My son is attending Janney in the fall. Should I worry?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People think that charters are the answer because charters are a way for frustrated parents to sidestep a dysfunctional DCPS bureaucracy. Charters don't "steal" anything. They ARE public schools and entitled to our tax dollars. As a DC taxpayer, I would much rather see my tax dollars go to SEED, KIPP, Cap City, EL Haynes, Washington Latin, Yu Ying, and Two Rivers. In fact, I'd like to see MORE of my tax money allocated to those schools, where kids are performing---so that those schools can expand their enrollments---than be kept within the DCPS bureaucracy and allocated to schools that have shown no indicia of improvement.

ditto. That whole stealing money line is getting old. Charter kids' parents pay taxes. Charter schools are public schools. Personally, I would like to see them all (charter, dcps, independent) succeed, but DCPS has had decades to enact meaningful reform while kids were trapped within--they can still reform while kids have more options. Maybe it will actually nudge them to think outside the box a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People think that charters are the answer because charters are a way for frustrated parents to sidestep a dysfunctional DCPS bureaucracy. Charters don't "steal" anything. They ARE public schools and entitled to our tax dollars. As a DC taxpayer, I would much rather see my tax dollars go to SEED, KIPP, Cap City, EL Haynes, Washington Latin, Yu Ying, and Two Rivers. In fact, I'd like to see MORE of my tax money allocated to those schools, where kids are performing---so that those schools can expand their enrollments---than be kept within the DCPS bureaucracy and allocated to schools that have shown no indicia of improvement.

Hear, hear! Charter schools ARE public schools - ergo they steal nothing. They are supported by tax dollars and cost nothing to attend. They outperform regular DCPS schools and eliminate the wasteful DCPS bureaucracy. If anything needs to go, it's the disastrous, underperforming, too-expensive DCPS system in all its wasteful extravagance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have heard that the delay in releasing full DC-CAS results has to do with appeals. Lovely. Yet another disappointment from DCPS. Meanwhile, despite their hoped-for increase in enrolment, they are down YET AGAIN from projected students. And charters are up.

So, OP, I guess this means where you live is becoming less and less important - so long as you get lucky in a good charter school lottery.

When is the "Education Mayor" Fentry/Rhee combination up for being voted out of office?

I am CONSTANTLY confused as to why people think Charters are the answer for our city when they steal from the very schools our tax dollars are paying for!! And when I say STEAL, I mean students, b/c the students equal MONEY and SUPPORT. If people want options, they should go back to a voucher choice.

Really? Vouchers? Personally, I have no problem with vouchers, but since they funnel public dollars into private schools it seems like that's where your ire should lie. If you are CONSTANTLY confused about why people think charters are the answer, then I suspect you actually don't understand charters very well. They are PUBLIC schools which ANYONE can attend, but unlike DCPS they come without the pain, bureaucracy and hassle of all things run by the District of Columbia. It's not STEALING when public schoolchildren attend public schools supported by public tax dollars. Perhaps you should educate yourself on the subject, then you'll be less confused.

[Anonymous]

The frustration I have had with charters is how hard it is to get into the ones that have good reputations and that I was impressed with on the tours. I think that is the frustration experienced by parents all around the city, so I do not think I am so special. It is just hard to not feel resentful that there are these great opportunities and your children are kept out by the luck of a lottery. (For those who would tell me to move, I am in a good school district, but I was REALLY impressed with some of the charters.)

I personally do not have a problem with public funds going to charter schools. The good schools around DC have plenty of students and so I am not sure I understand how they are losing money from the charters. It would be nice to have more money overall but it this economy I think that we are very lucky the schools have not been subject to a lot of cutting.

The schools that are underperforming, well I cannot blame parents for taking their kids out and getting them into the best school that they can. That is a parent's job.

[Anonymous]

We 'took a chance' on a charter when it was not popular/ergo not hard to get in (and also, the results not guaranteed). Now, yes, there are waiting lists. Perhaps support capacity building for charters that exist, and cheerlead any more that come on line (while expecting accountability)--so opportunities expand for all kids? That's basically what we did.

[Anonymous]

Charters steal from DCPS in that they steal the higher performing students, more active parents, leaving the DCPS with ALL higher needs and less support. This whole Charters are public is bunk....they are mini private schools, stealing students from DCPS. Parents from NW think they are giving their kids some kind of "pulbic school experience" by getting on the WL, but ultimately, anything that requires THAT much of a WL is not just. The kids who REALLY need these charters are being crowded out by the fake ideal of liberals in NW and the like. Now the charters are becoming saturated with <gasp> a bunch of rich kids. It is a numbers game and DCPS loses every time.

[Anonymous]

Several DC charter schools are self-identified as offering the Core Knowledge Sequence. This is a very rich K-8 supplemental curriculum designed to develop the vocabulary and background knowledge necessary for reading comprehension. The content is as exciting to teach as it is to learn. An added benefit is that students have a lot to talk about when they come home from school.

I don't know why there are no DCPS schools that have added this program. This is an example of charters implementing programs that DCPS should be taking a look at. I also don't under why DCPS hasn't developed a Classical Latin Academy similar to that of Washington Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charters steal from DCPS in that they steal the higher performing students, more active parents, leaving the DCPS with ALL higher needs and less support. This whole Charters are public is bunk....they are mini private schools, stealing students from DCPS. Parents from NW think they are giving their kids some kind of "pulbic school experience" by getting on the WL, but ultimately, anything that requires THAT much of a WL is not just. The kids who REALLY need these charters are being crowded out by the fake ideal of liberals in NW and the like. Now the charters are becoming saturated with <gasp> a bunch of rich kids. It is a numbers game and DCPS loses every time.

Sorry--this is BS. I am not sure how you can discriminate which kids "really need" charters. Don't they all? There is no crowding out per se as the waiting lists are totally transparent and anyone from the District can apply/has an equal chance to get in. Also, few schools thrive without active families so any public school that keeps active families in public ed in the District is a good thing for all the children who choose to attend. It's not like active families advocate just for their kids--their advocacy benefits all the children in the school/in the case of charters--all the children in the charter system. Vis your vast generalizations--I am a charter school mom and I am not a fake liberal but somewhat conservative. I put my child in charters where I found a bit more intellectual and academic diversity --liberal to conservative--than the lockstep ideology I encountered as pervasive in public (where I also taught). I hope my child benefits from being taught 'to think', not what to think....
Again, I hope all schools thrive in the District--public (DCPS and Charter) and independent. And if charters are giving Rhee a run for her money, well, maybe she can get inspiration there and start rewarding the highest performing public schools with semi-autonomy while focusing her support efforts on those that need more help.