Committee on overcrowding in the Wilson feeder pattern

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

The old Hardy school?

The reason Wilson crowding is such a conundrum is that there is no easy way to add capacity to any of the schools in the Wilson pyramid, including Wilson. Charters don't really have any more options than DCPS does.

Charters can rent or buy space privately. It's not ideal but an office building or something could be made into a high school.

Charters get no capital budget from the DC government so they have to fund their real estate needs from their operating budget (the same per pupil allocation that public schools get). Charters can fund raise or borrow but they have to service their debts from their cash flow. DCPS schools also get occasional capital funding for renovations directly from the DC government, which also can issue bonds.

The law requires that the DC government make surplus school properties available to charters but it often has been the case that such properties are made available to well connected developer interests instead.

Or well-connected private schools in the case of the old Hardy building.

[Anonymous]

Or well-connected charter consultants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

The old Hardy school?

The reason Wilson crowding is such a conundrum is that there is no easy way to add capacity to any of the schools in the Wilson pyramid, including Wilson. Charters don't really have any more options than DCPS does.

Charters can rent or buy space privately. It's not ideal but an office building or something could be made into a high school.

Nothing stops DCPS from renting or buying space. The Working Group hasn't been able to locate suitable space in Ward 3, even though they have been looking. One of the ideas was to see if an office building near Tenleytown could be used as overflow classrooms for Wilson.

One way to reduce overcrowding at Wilson is to identify the 100 or so students with the worst disciplinary and attendance records. If they are IB unfortunately there isn’t much to be done. But if they are OOB then the school can basically expel them to their IB high schools. All it takes is will to do the right thing.

[Anonymous]

I found the presentations / meeting notes from the working group interesting.

1 consideration was to make Hardy a 5-8 school. What does this do for Wilson overcrowding?

Didn't DCPS just move all elementary schools to a PreK-5th grade model so that everyone had transition at the same time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found the presentations / meeting notes from the working group interesting.

1 consideration was to make Hardy a 5-8 school. What does this do for Wilson overcrowding?

Didn't DCPS just move all elementary schools to a PreK-5th grade model so that everyone had transition at the same time?

Making Hardy a 5-8 school would reduce number of OOB students in the pathway. It alleviates crowding at Deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found the presentations / meeting notes from the working group interesting.

1 consideration was to make Hardy a 5-8 school. What does this do for Wilson overcrowding?

Didn't DCPS just move all elementary schools to a PreK-5th grade model so that everyone had transition at the same time?

Making Hardy a 5-8 school would reduce number of OOB students in the pathway. It alleviates crowding at Deal

By forcing parents who do not want their 5th grader with 8th graders to go private? How does Hardy having a 5-8 program alleviate crowding at Deal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found the presentations / meeting notes from the working group interesting.

1 consideration was to make Hardy a 5-8 school. What does this do for Wilson overcrowding?

Didn't DCPS just move all elementary schools to a PreK-5th grade model so that everyone had transition at the same time?

Making Hardy a 5-8 school would reduce number of OOB students in the pathway. It alleviates crowding at Deal

By forcing parents who do not want their 5th grader with 8th graders to go private? How does Hardy having a 5-8 program alleviate crowding at Deal?

They would adjust the boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's put some Rocketship and KIPP schools in Ward 3. They're supposed to be good enough for the rest of the city, so they're good enough for Upper Caucasia, right?

How does that help overcrowding at Wilson?

It would be a high school. If downtown and the Mayor think these charter high schools are good enough for the rest of the rest of the city, why are they not a solution for the Wilson boundary?

Yes, why not? Has the Mayor said anything about this as an option? You bring a good charter high school (eg, Latin) to a neighborhood with no charter options and families that already send kids to schools outside the ward for high school, you are likely to get some traction.

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

What is going in at the old Fannie Mae Space?

Or GDS lower school, when the are consolidating both campuses to the Tenley area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

The old Hardy school?

The reason Wilson crowding is such a conundrum is that there is no easy way to add capacity to any of the schools in the Wilson pyramid, including Wilson. Charters don't really have any more options than DCPS does.

Charters can rent or buy space privately. It's not ideal but an office building or something could be made into a high school.

Nothing stops DCPS from renting or buying space. The Working Group hasn't been able to locate suitable space in Ward 3, even though they have been looking. One of the ideas was to see if an office building near Tenleytown could be used as overflow classrooms for Wilson.

One way to reduce overcrowding at Wilson is to identify the 100 or so students with the worst disciplinary and attendance records. If they are IB unfortunately there isn’t much to be done. But if they are OOB then the school can basically expel them to their IB high schools. All it takes is will to do the right thing.

For educators, doing the right thing means doing what’s best for the kids. Expulsion ain’t it.

- Wilson parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's put some Rocketship and KIPP schools in Ward 3. They're supposed to be good enough for the rest of the city, so they're good enough for Upper Caucasia, right?

Upper NW parents have no interest in a kill and drill school. Those schools are for kids whose parents aren't supporting education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Step 1 - Stop Grandfathered families that are not currently enrolled in Deal / Wilson from enrolling. [Crestwood / 16th St Heights]

Step 2 - Cut option for Bancroft to Deal and move it only to MacFarland

Step 3 - Move Oyster Adams feeder to MacFarland

Easy

This. 2 and 3 are the best ways forward even though the families will totally revolt. Its the only way to keep other UMC families in the other McFarland Feeders, if they know there will be other high achieving and UMC families. We are a UC families at a title 1 feeder for McFarland but will bail soon enough. If I knew Bancdoft and Oyster would be forced into mcFarland that might change my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Step 1 - Stop Grandfathered families that are not currently enrolled in Deal / Wilson from enrolling. [Crestwood / 16th St Heights]

Step 2 - Cut option for Bancroft to Deal and move it only to MacFarland

Step 3 - Move Oyster Adams feeder to MacFarland

Easy

This. 2 and 3 are the best ways forward even though the families will totally revolt. Its the only way to keep other UMC families in the other McFarland Feeders, if they know there will be other high achieving and UMC families. We are a UC families at a title 1 feeder for McFarland but will bail soon enough. If I knew Bancdoft and Oyster would be forced into mcFarland that might change my mind.

Same for us.

- Powell parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

The old Hardy school?

The reason Wilson crowding is such a conundrum is that there is no easy way to add capacity to any of the schools in the Wilson pyramid, including Wilson. Charters don't really have any more options than DCPS does.

Charters can rent or buy space privately. It's not ideal but an office building or something could be made into a high school.

Nothing stops DCPS from renting or buying space. The Working Group hasn't been able to locate suitable space in Ward 3, even though they have been looking. One of the ideas was to see if an office building near Tenleytown could be used as overflow classrooms for Wilson.

One way to reduce overcrowding at Wilson is to identify the 100 or so students with the worst disciplinary and attendance records. If they are IB unfortunately there isn’t much to be done. But if they are OOB then the school can basically expel them to their IB high schools. All it takes is will to do the right thing.

Wilson does this pretty aggressively, I hear. Many OOB kids have long Metro rides to school, Metro is unreliable and they're often late. Too many absences and they get sent back to their IB schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

The old Hardy school?

The reason Wilson crowding is such a conundrum is that there is no easy way to add capacity to any of the schools in the Wilson pyramid, including Wilson. Charters don't really have any more options than DCPS does.

Charters can rent or buy space privately. It's not ideal but an office building or something could be made into a high school.

Nothing stops DCPS from renting or buying space. The Working Group hasn't been able to locate suitable space in Ward 3, even though they have been looking. One of the ideas was to see if an office building near Tenleytown could be used as overflow classrooms for Wilson.

One way to reduce overcrowding at Wilson is to identify the 100 or so students with the worst disciplinary and attendance records. If they are IB unfortunately there isn’t much to be done. But if they are OOB then the school can basically expel them to their IB high schools. All it takes is will to do the right thing.

Wilson does this pretty aggressively, I hear. Many OOB kids have long Metro rides to school, Metro is unreliable and they're often late. Too many absences and they get sent back to their IB schools.

Funny, hundreds of thousands of adults manage not to be late or get fired commuting every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Where is the space in Ward 3 for a charter HS?

The old Hardy school?

The reason Wilson crowding is such a conundrum is that there is no easy way to add capacity to any of the schools in the Wilson pyramid, including Wilson. Charters don't really have any more options than DCPS does.

Charters can rent or buy space privately. It's not ideal but an office building or something could be made into a high school.

Nothing stops DCPS from renting or buying space. The Working Group hasn't been able to locate suitable space in Ward 3, even though they have been looking. One of the ideas was to see if an office building near Tenleytown could be used as overflow classrooms for Wilson.

One way to reduce overcrowding at Wilson is to identify the 100 or so students with the worst disciplinary and attendance records. If they are IB unfortunately there isn’t much to be done. But if they are OOB then the school can basically expel them to their IB high schools. All it takes is will to do the right thing.

For educators, doing the right thing means doing what’s best for the kids. Expulsion ain’t it.

- Wilson parent

Doing right by the kids isn't so simple in this situation. What about doing right by the kids whose education is frequently interrupted by those with discipline issues?