My daughter is the only white girl in her grade: ask me anything

[Anonymous]

And DC doesn't have a gifted and talented program, so I assume you're not talking about DC schools at all.

No, I am talking about a few miles outside of DC. I assume that's ok, since these boards are also for people who live in nearby parts of MD and VA, which often have similar demographics to parts of DC, right? Or are you just looking to argue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And DC doesn't have a gifted and talented program, so I assume you're not talking about DC schools at all.

No, I am talking about a few miles outside of DC. I assume that's ok, since these boards are also for people who live in nearby parts of MD and VA, which often have similar demographics to parts of DC, right? Or are you just looking to argue?

No, but I think it's worth pointing out that there are differences between DCPS and the schools in the counties, the G&T program being one of the key ones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And DC doesn't have a gifted and talented program, so I assume you're not talking about DC schools at all.

No, I am talking about a few miles outside of DC. I assume that's ok, since these boards are also for people who live in nearby parts of MD and VA, which often have similar demographics to parts of DC, right? Or are you just looking to argue?

OP, this is getting weirder by the second. Not only is your daughter NOT "the only white girl in her grade," but her school is NOT in DC.

You realize there are separate threads for MD and VA schools, in this very same website, correct?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And DC doesn't have a gifted and talented program, so I assume you're not talking about DC schools at all.

No, I am talking about a few miles outside of DC. I assume that's ok, since these boards are also for people who live in nearby parts of MD and VA, which often have similar demographics to parts of DC, right? Or are you just looking to argue?

OP, this is getting weirder by the second. Not only is your daughter NOT "the only white girl in her grade," but her school is NOT in DC.

You realize there are separate threads for MD and VA schools, in this very same website, correct?

A different poster is from the suburbs.

There's no PK4 in MD or VA -- OP's in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And DC doesn't have a gifted and talented program, so I assume you're not talking about DC schools at all.

No, I am talking about a few miles outside of DC. I assume that's ok, since these boards are also for people who live in nearby parts of MD and VA, which often have similar demographics to parts of DC, right? Or are you just looking to argue?

OP, this is getting weirder by the second. Not only is your daughter NOT "the only white girl in her grade," but her school is NOT in DC.

You realize there are separate threads for MD and VA schools, in this very same website, correct?

I'm in DC (OP here). The PP is not - which is fine - but I don't think that DC schools, MD schools, and VA schools are entirely analogous, even in the context of social experience.

And I clarified the "white" vs. "non-Hispanic white" issue a few pages back. I'm sorry if that caused confusion/suspicion/anger, though I suspect that it was willful confusion/suspicion/anger, rather than genuine concern about the issue.

[Anonymous]

This thread is really sad to read. So many of you are afraid that minority children will spoil your white children. Many minorities probably feel the same about your children. Not being snarky, just being honest. What is so wrong about being the only white child in a class? And I find it really sad that some of you think that's terrible--to be the only white child, but being the only minority child (black child) would be okay because white children are so well behaved.

[Anonymous]

beong the only anytihng is hard

I think most parents want their kid to be in the best education environment possilbe and that;s

All together now

Mostly _____ and _____ and fewer _____ and _____

The statistics don't lie

[Anonymous]

OP, does your DD eat the school lunch? From reading this forum, I get the impression that most higher SES parents find DCPS lunches unacceptable, while most poorer kids will eat them, especially if the school is community eligible and meals are free. So this is another potential point of segregation within the school. I'm asking because we are about to start PK at a Title 1 school with very few white kids, and I intend to have my DD eat the school lunch since I assume most if not all kids in her class will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your DD eat the school lunch? From reading this forum, I get the impression that most higher SES parents find DCPS lunches unacceptable, while most poorer kids will eat them, especially if the school is community eligible and meals are free. So this is another potential point of segregation within the school. I'm asking because we are about to start PK at a Title 1 school with very few white kids, and I intend to have my DD eat the school lunch since I assume most if not all kids in her class will.

I'm glad you asked this question! It is something I care about a lot.

Yes, DD mostly eats the school lunch. I'm not thrilled about it. In PK, they ate family-style in the classroom, and I didn't want her to feel left out of what the other kids were eating - her teacher flat out told me that that is usually what happens and strongly encouraged me to let her eat the classroom lunch unless there were dietary restrictions that prohibited that. Last year was her first year in the cafeteria, and I tried to send lunch several times because she's a slow eater and lunch periods are so short, I was worried she wouldn't get enough food. She basically ate school lunch all year anyway. I'd send in lunch and it would come back mostly uneaten and then she'd report that she ate the whatever-was-being-served-in-the-cafeteria with everyone else. This year, they basically sign up for school lunch or home lunch a day in advance, so she decided that she would listen to the menu options and decide whether to pack a lunch accordingly.

Until this year, I was pretty pleased with the quality of the food being served at our school. This year, I am less confident because of the vendor chosen by DCPS and problems that have already arisen with that vendor. There should be menus available so you can make your own decisions, but one of the things that I really appreciated about our PK program was the family-style meals. I wish they still did it because I think it's really important that kids experience family meal times and integrate dining as a social experience, but I get why they're not doing it. I really hope that the food quality at our school doesn't go down the drain so that she can continue to pack lunch.

[Anonymous]

I was the "only" growing up and had no ill effects because of it. I made great friends, some of whom I still consider great friends. I graduated with honors from a very competitive university and went on to get an advanced degree. I wonder if the posters who keep harping that negative consequences will ensue for being the "only" have any personal experience or know of anyone with personal experience being the "only". Where is the vitriol coming from?

[Anonymous]

Hispanic PP:

OP here. I understand why you feel marginalized in these conversations. However, I would respectfully ask that you pay at least as much attention to my responses to your concerns as you do to the omission of "non-Latino" (or "non-Hispanic" which you seem to prefer). I think I was pretty clear about the ethnic makeup of the school in all but my original post as well as the cultural differences that accompany a Latino majority school for an English speaking ethnically Northern European family. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is really sad to read. So many of you are afraid that minority children will spoil your white children. Many minorities probably feel the same about your children. Not being snarky, just being honest. What is so wrong about being the only white child in a class? And I find it really sad that some of you think that's terrible--to be the only white child, but being the only minority child (black child) would be okay because white children are so well behaved.

I am not white so can talk about this.

The importance is low FARMS / ESOL. I don't even care about the racial makeup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is really sad to read. So many of you are afraid that minority children will spoil your white children. Many minorities probably feel the same about your children. Not being snarky, just being honest. What is so wrong about being the only white child in a class? And I find it really sad that some of you think that's terrible--to be the only white child, but being the only minority child (black child) would be okay because white children are so well behaved.

I am not white so can talk about this.

The importance is low FARMS / ESOL. I don't even care about the racial makeup.

Well yeah of course I mean its not like race is in any way connected to poverty and English as a second language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is really sad to read. So many of you are afraid that minority children will spoil your white children. Many minorities probably feel the same about your children. Not being snarky, just being honest. What is so wrong about being the only white child in a class? And I find it really sad that some of you think that's terrible--to be the only white child, but being the only minority child (black child) would be okay because white children are so well behaved.

I am not white so can talk about this.

The importance is low FARMS / ESOL. I don't even care about the racial makeup.

Well yeah of course I mean its not like race is in any way connected to poverty and English as a second language.

You mean blacks don't speak English?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your DD eat the school lunch? From reading this forum, I get the impression that most higher SES parents find DCPS lunches unacceptable, while most poorer kids will eat them, especially if the school is community eligible and meals are free. So this is another potential point of segregation within the school. I'm asking because we are about to start PK at a Title 1 school with very few white kids, and I intend to have my DD eat the school lunch since I assume most if not all kids in her class will.

I'm glad you asked this question! It is something I care about a lot.

Yes, DD mostly eats the school lunch. I'm not thrilled about it. In PK, they ate family-style in the classroom, and I didn't want her to feel left out of what the other kids were eating - her teacher flat out told me that that is usually what happens and strongly encouraged me to let her eat the classroom lunch unless there were dietary restrictions that prohibited that. Last year was her first year in the cafeteria, and I tried to send lunch several times because she's a slow eater and lunch periods are so short, I was worried she wouldn't get enough food. She basically ate school lunch all year anyway. I'd send in lunch and it would come back mostly uneaten and then she'd report that she ate the whatever-was-being-served-in-the-cafeteria with everyone else. This year, they basically sign up for school lunch or home lunch a day in advance, so she decided that she would listen to the menu options and decide whether to pack a lunch accordingly.

Until this year, I was pretty pleased with the quality of the food being served at our school. This year, I am less confident because of the vendor chosen by DCPS and problems that have already arisen with that vendor. There should be menus available so you can make your own decisions, but one of the things that I really appreciated about our PK program was the family-style meals. I wish they still did it because I think it's really important that kids experience family meal times and integrate dining as a social experience, but I get why they're not doing it. I really hope that the food quality at our school doesn't go down the drain so that she can continue to pack lunch.

The food quality has been pretty good on the first two days.

Signed -- high-SES parent who hates packing lunches.