When (if ever) will DC neighborhood schools be the default option for high achieving students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More and more Elementary schools are decent

Middle school wise

Capitol Hill area more and more folks are choosing Stuart Hobson and Jefferson. They both have some type of differentiation/honors component

As far as EOTP is concerned yall need to coordinate and pick one middle school for all the higher achievers to take over and flip Cardozo, Columbia Heights, Brookland, MicKinley, or New North. The numbers area there you just need to pick one of those options and swarm it

High School works because of all the test-in select school options

Agree that SH and Jefferson are next. The normal MS options are getting harder to lottery in, & combined with the honors track, makes both more viable.

I would have agreed with this except with Latin opening a 2nd campus for fall of 2020, I think that will stall out SH and Jefferson yet again. I don't think SH/Jefferson/EH and then Eastern will see more IB participation for quite a while now, if ever. I used to believe that we were approaching a tipping point with LT becoming more IB, etc, but I think we'll move away from it again (much to my dismay).

Not if Latin locates in Ward 7 or 8, as intended and planned.

However if BASIS is approved to open an elementary, which won't draw people out of their neighborhood DCPS schools, BASIS as a middle school option will cease to exist, going from the current 120-130 5th-grade seats to about 20-25..

That would be good news for SH and Jefferson.

SH and Jefferson boosters should be loudly boosting the BASIS K-4 plan.

Are you saying that there would only be 20-25 OPEN seats for BASIS middle if the expansion happens?

And the new Latin will need to be in very far ward 7 or 8 to keep all the ward 6 families out. They have shown that they will travel anywhere for a non-EH middle school option.

Not convinced. I don't see Ward 6 families flocking to a 2nd Latin campus located anywhere in Ward 7 or 8. No tradition of doing that, with one very unlikely to develop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

Completely agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

I thought MCPS doesn’t start this until 4th, & only for a very small group of students, and that Arlington doesn’t do it at all at the elementary level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

I thought MCPS doesn’t start this until 4th, & only for a very small group of students, and that Arlington doesn’t do it at all at the elementary level?

Arlington does identify gifted kids and they receive differentiation within the regular classroom. Kids can be referred by parents and teachers at any point to be evaluated by the committee, but they also test all 2nd graders and begin giving services to those ID’d through testing in third grade. They do “cluster” gifted kids in order to deliver services within the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

Completely agree

It's never happening, and I'm not sure how big a deal that is. Parents at the highest-performing DCPS schools already enjoy advantages helping "gifted kids" that the suburbs lack. This is because DC PTAs raise far for money per capital that counterparts in the burbs, and spend it far more freely. Suburban PTA are not permitted to hire staff. DC PTA are permitted, and often do so.

My child's 3rd grade class has 22 students and two full-time instructions, one paid for by the PTA (which raised more than 400K this year). Compare that to ES classes of up to 30 students with one instructor in some of the MD and VA burbs. While those jurisdictions technically provided gifted services, my child effectively receives them by virtue of the fact that two excellent instructors are in her classroom. She gets pulled out for math and ELA on the PTA dime because she works 1-2 years ahead of grade level. I'm not complaining, formal GT services or no GT services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More and more Elementary schools are decent

Middle school wise

Capitol Hill area more and more folks are choosing Stuart Hobson and Jefferson. They both have some type of differentiation/honors component

As far as EOTP is concerned yall need to coordinate and pick one middle school for all the higher achievers to take over and flip Cardozo, Columbia Heights, Brookland, MicKinley, or New North. The numbers area there you just need to pick one of those options and swarm it

High School works because of all the test-in select school options

Agree that SH and Jefferson are next. The normal MS options are getting harder to lottery in, & combined with the honors track, makes both more viable.

I would have agreed with this except with Latin opening a 2nd campus for fall of 2020, I think that will stall out SH and Jefferson yet again. I don't think SH/Jefferson/EH and then Eastern will see more IB participation for quite a while now, if ever. I used to believe that we were approaching a tipping point with LT becoming more IB, etc, but I think we'll move away from it again (much to my dismay).

Not if Latin locates in Ward 7 or 8, as intended and planned.

However if BASIS is approved to open an elementary, which won't draw people out of their neighborhood DCPS schools, BASIS as a middle school option will cease to exist, going from the current 120-130 5th-grade seats to about 20-25..

That would be good news for SH and Jefferson.

SH and Jefferson boosters should be loudly boosting the BASIS K-4 plan.

Are you saying that there would only be 20-25 OPEN seats for BASIS middle if the expansion happens?

And the new Latin will need to be in very far ward 7 or 8 to keep all the ward 6 families out. They have shown that they will travel anywhere for a non-EH middle school option.

Correction. They will travel very far into NW neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

Completely agree

It's never happening, and I'm not sure how big a deal that is. Parents at the highest-performing DCPS schools already enjoy advantages helping "gifted kids" that the suburbs lack. This is because DC PTAs raise far for money per capital that counterparts in the burbs, and spend it far more freely. Suburban PTA are not permitted to hire staff. DC PTA are permitted, and often do so.

My child's 3rd grade class has 22 students and two full-time instructions, one paid for by the PTA (which raised more than 400K this year). Compare that to ES classes of up to 30 students with one instructor in some of the MD and VA burbs. While those jurisdictions technically provided gifted services, my child effectively receives them by virtue of the fact that two excellent instructors are in her classroom. She gets pulled out for math and ELA on the PTA dime because she works 1-2 years ahead of grade level. I'm not complaining, formal GT services or no GT services.

Sure your school might, which I’m guessing is WOTP, to raise so much money, but the majority of schools in DC dont come even close to 1/3 of that type of money raised by PTA. Challenging advance learners and meeting their needs should be expected of all DCPS schools. It shouldn’t be an extra service provided off PTA fundraising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

Completely agree

It's never happening, and I'm not sure how big a deal that is. Parents at the highest-performing DCPS schools already enjoy advantages helping "gifted kids" that the suburbs lack. This is because DC PTAs raise far for money per capital that counterparts in the burbs, and spend it far more freely. Suburban PTA are not permitted to hire staff. DC PTA are permitted, and often do so.

My child's 3rd grade class has 22 students and two full-time instructions, one paid for by the PTA (which raised more than 400K this year). Compare that to ES classes of up to 30 students with one instructor in some of the MD and VA burbs. While those jurisdictions technically provided gifted services, my child effectively receives them by virtue of the fact that two excellent instructors are in her classroom. She gets pulled out for math and ELA on the PTA dime because she works 1-2 years ahead of grade level. I'm not complaining, formal GT services or no GT services.

That doesn’t happen everywhere. You are in a bubble over there WOTP. Our PTA uses funding to help struggling students. In NYC they told the PTAs they can’t use $ to hire classroom aides.

[Anonymous]

I’ll bite on the original question. I think there will be pockets of uneven integration. There is already strong integration potential at your selective high schools, and I see programmatic ties to integration through attraction: Roosevelt’s global program, McKinley Tech, Coolidge early college. The last resort schools with none but students who are behind will likely never integrate. They will be schools of last resort indefinitely: Ballou, Dunbar, Anacostia. Ones where a mix of student success exists and attractive programs have been added will work out. Especially where the neighborhood demographics supports a shift. Ward 4 and Ward 6 will have integrated high schools long before Wards 7 or 8.

The changes reaching high schools will arrive in 6-9 years in my opinion. When the demographic wave in kids and families and a slowing in the expansion of charter options reaches an equilibrium. My feeling - can’t support it that factually - is that the boom of births of families that engaged with DCPs hard in gentrifying area started about 2010. And about five years ago the growth of large secondary charter possibilities really started to drop off. Others can correct that but my guess really is we see real integration in parts of DCPS secondary schools besides Wards 2 and 3 by the mid-2020s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

Completely agree

Me too.

[Anonymous]

"Needy" or low SES does not always mean low performing.

High SES bias keeps the patterns of segregation going strong... they think mostly white means better...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Needy" or low SES does not always mean low performing.

High SES bias keeps the patterns of segregation going strong... they think mostly white means better...

Here's a question. Who would you rather have as a classmate? This isn't an argument couched as a question, but a true question. A learning disabled child (adhd, dyslexia, dysgraphia) currently a year below grade level from a high SES family. Or a child on or above grade level from low SES home whose witnessed a medium amount of trauma (things like screaming fights between mom and others). Both have some behavioral issues either from the adhd or the lack of a stable home-life.

Go.

[Anonymous]

To answer the original question, not in time for anyone currently PK3 or above in the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Needy" or low SES does not always mean low performing.

High SES bias keeps the patterns of segregation going strong... they think mostly white means better...

Here's a question. Who would you rather have as a classmate? This isn't an argument couched as a question, but a true question. A learning disabled child (adhd, dyslexia, dysgraphia) currently a year below grade level from a high SES family. Or a child on or above grade level from low SES home whose witnessed a medium amount of trauma (things like screaming fights between mom and others). Both have some behavioral issues either from the adhd or the lack of a stable home-life.

Go.

Not PP. Either one of those classmates would be fine. It’s the 13 kids that are 2-3 grade levels behind from a family that does not (or cannot due to life circumstances) prioritize education that make a learning environment somewhere that I’m not going to stick my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When DCPS starts tracking, test in classes, starts gifted programming in 3rd grade like every jurisdiction around us, most parents are not going to choose their local school.

Completely agree

It's never happening, and I'm not sure how big a deal that is. Parents at the highest-performing DCPS schools already enjoy advantages helping "gifted kids" that the suburbs lack. This is because DC PTAs raise far for money per capital that counterparts in the burbs, and spend it far more freely. Suburban PTA are not permitted to hire staff. DC PTA are permitted, and often do so.

My child's 3rd grade class has 22 students and two full-time instructions, one paid for by the PTA (which raised more than 400K this year). Compare that to ES classes of up to 30 students with one instructor in some of the MD and VA burbs. While those jurisdictions technically provided gifted services, my child effectively receives them by virtue of the fact that two excellent instructors are in her classroom. She gets pulled out for math and ELA on the PTA dime because she works 1-2 years ahead of grade level. I'm not complaining, formal GT services or no GT services.

That doesn’t happen everywhere. You are in a bubble over there WOTP. Our PTA uses funding to help struggling students. In NYC they told the PTAs they can’t use $ to hire classroom aides.

We are in no bubble: our DCPS school is EotP. Our parents work hard to raise the money year in and year out. The extra hands in the school keep us in our school and neighborhood. Beats moving. I dearly wish that there were GT services in DCPS, but things aren't nearly as black and white where GT goes as posters paint the picture.