Janney third grade parents--what do you think of the giant class sizes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great point about equating shiny and new with excellence - as in Stoddert. My DC started this year and I do not understand why so many people are crazy about it. Yes, the building is fine and everybody working there is super sweet, but my DC has an inexperienced teacher who cannot control the classroom, there are behavioral issues in the classroom and on the playground - my DC came home with a bruise from a big kid who tormented DC, there are aides who should have retired a decade ago, and the work in mind-numbingly boring. There is zero creativity. A huge disappointment.

Sorry you're going through that! I'm glad you posted, though. We're IB for Stoddert and I have reservations after visiting last year. Some parents I've talked to have been oddly coy about their experiences. Maybe this is why.

[Anonymous]

"2. Shrink the boundaries around overcrowded schools (and the corresponding feeder boundaries) to get the schools down to their rated capacity. As a practical matter, it seems that if you move the boundary line, many people losing access to the Upper NW schools will be redirected to other schools EOTP, which seems to fit with DCPS's plan for improving those EOTP schools. Even better, as more proficient students get shifted from the Deal cluster to other EOTP schools, those EOTP schools may well see increases in their proficiency scores and other numbers, which will attract more families. Seems like a win-win. Where that plan runs into trouble is all the angry parents who would prefer their children have easy access to Deal/Wilson, rather than facing unproven EOTP schools. Politicians do not want their constituents to be unhappy, especially vocal constituents. People losing access to schools will tend to complain more than people suffering overcrowded schools. Therefore, this approach is unlikely to work because of constituent complaints and political pressure. "

This seems to be the only viable option. We just need someone (not really one person) with the political will to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the love of Pete, shifting boundaries would be a free solution to NW school crowding.

... but DME proposed it and Janney shot it down!

This is what Janney asked for - and now they are upset?

Yep. Be careful what you wish for.

Janney parents should turn the chickens into nuggets and put up trailers, apply to privates or charters or deal with it.

Are Janney parent complaining? Seems to me that there are only a few people on this thread. The school is fine as it is - if we ever get to the point where all class have 30+ kids then we need to look at solutions.

- Janney Kindergarten parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"2. Shrink the boundaries around overcrowded schools (and the corresponding feeder boundaries) to get the schools down to their rated capacity. As a practical matter, it seems that if you move the boundary line, many people losing access to the Upper NW schools will be redirected to other schools EOTP, which seems to fit with DCPS's plan for improving those EOTP schools. Even better, as more proficient students get shifted from the Deal cluster to other EOTP schools, those EOTP schools may well see increases in their proficiency scores and other numbers, which will attract more families. Seems like a win-win. Where that plan runs into trouble is all the angry parents who would prefer their children have easy access to Deal/Wilson, rather than facing unproven EOTP schools. Politicians do not want their constituents to be unhappy, especially vocal constituents. People losing access to schools will tend to complain more than people suffering overcrowded schools. Therefore, this approach is unlikely to work because of constituent complaints and political pressure. "

This seems to be the only viable option. We just need someone (not really one person) with the political will to do it.

You'd need a lame duck mayor (and ideally a lame duck council chair) to make this happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.

Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.

There is definitely an academic and social pecking order. Janney parents look down on Murch as not being at Janney's level (pointing out that JKLM means Mann). Murch parents view Hearst as an EOTP school that happens to be located WOTP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.

Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.

There is definitely an academic and social pecking order. Janney parents look down on Murch as not being at Janney's level (pointing out that JKLM means Mann). Murch parents view Hearst as an EOTP school that happens to be located WOTP.

Neither is true. That foolishness only exists on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.

Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.

There is definitely an academic and social pecking order. Janney parents look down on Murch as not being at Janney's level (pointing out that JKLM means Mann). Murch parents view Hearst as an EOTP school that happens to be located WOTP.

Neither is true. That foolishness only exists on DCUM.

Exactly. Never seen this in real life. I am a Janney mom and also laugh at DCUM perceptions of Janney.

[Anonymous]

Well, it is a little true. Maybe not entirely, for everyone, but certainly a sizable group feels that way. Otherwise, Janney and Murch parents never would have freaked at the boundary proposals. And, for that matter, Lafayette parents wouldn't have panicked that their boundary might have been split down Broadbranch. It would be nice if that were not the case, but, let's be honest: if your kid is zoned for any of the JKLMM (Mann OR Murch), you will want to stay there.

By the same token, those parents that are sending their kids to Hearst OOB, Eaton OOB, Hardy OOB, or any school WOTP as an OOB, are also guilty of the same thing. You don't see an OOB Hearst parent singing the praises of their IB school and announcing to the world that it's "just fine" and "sure, no problem, send my kid back to his/her neighborhood school; we will be part of the improvement process."

[Anonymous]

I am on the boundary line between Murch and Janney (currently zoned for Janney). The only reason I don't want to be rezoned to Murch is because the building sucks. once it is renovated, what's the difference? All the Murch families I know are happy there except for size, which is an issue with J, L, and M schools. Likewise, there were families rezoned from Murch to Lafayette. Other than the fact that Lafayette was farther, not much noise about being moved from M to L.

I do think it's a valid concern to be rezoned to a school that has worse test-scores. I may not care about test scores personally, but it's not crazy.

There was just an article in the NYT about a similar fight happening in Brooklyn. One neighborhood has one overcrowded elementary school (so crowded that IB kids can't even get in, under the rules in NYC). So they want to redraw the lines to zone part of the neighborhood to another school (also in the same neighborhood) but also includes a housing project and (unsurprisingly) the test scores are much worse. Parents would rather their kids attend the overcrowded school than be zoned for a failing school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am on the boundary line between Murch and Janney (currently zoned for Janney). The only reason I don't want to be rezoned to Murch is because the building sucks. once it is renovated, what's the difference? All the Murch families I know are happy there except for size, which is an issue with J, L, and M schools. Likewise, there were families rezoned from Murch to Lafayette. Other than the fact that Lafayette was farther, not much noise about being moved from M to L.

I do think it's a valid concern to be rezoned to a school that has worse test-scores. I may not care about test scores personally, but it's not crazy.

There was just an article in the NYT about a similar fight happening in Brooklyn. One neighborhood has one overcrowded elementary school (so crowded that IB kids can't even get in, under the rules in NYC). So they want to redraw the lines to zone part of the neighborhood to another school (also in the same neighborhood) but also includes a housing project and (unsurprisingly) the test scores are much worse. Parents would rather their kids attend the overcrowded school than be zoned for a failing school.

I did not read the NYT article but if the schools being referenced is in Park Slope (PS 351), I will tell you that the fight is really about SES and to a lesser extent race. Frankly the same dynamics are present in DC only worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am on the boundary line between Murch and Janney (currently zoned for Janney). The only reason I don't want to be rezoned to Murch is because the building sucks. once it is renovated, what's the difference? All the Murch families I know are happy there except for size, which is an issue with J, L, and M schools. Likewise, there were families rezoned from Murch to Lafayette. Other than the fact that Lafayette was farther, not much noise about being moved from M to L.

I do think it's a valid concern to be rezoned to a school that has worse test-scores. I may not care about test scores personally, but it's not crazy.

There was just an article in the NYT about a similar fight happening in Brooklyn. One neighborhood has one overcrowded elementary school (so crowded that IB kids can't even get in, under the rules in NYC). So they want to redraw the lines to zone part of the neighborhood to another school (also in the same neighborhood) but also includes a housing project and (unsurprisingly) the test scores are much worse. Parents would rather their kids attend the overcrowded school than be zoned for a failing school.

I did not read the NYT article but if the schools being referenced is in Park Slope (PS 351), I will tell you that the fight is really about SES and to a lesser extent race. Frankly the same dynamics are present in DC only worse.

Correction, PS 321.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am on the boundary line between Murch and Janney (currently zoned for Janney). The only reason I don't want to be rezoned to Murch is because the building sucks. once it is renovated, what's the difference? All the Murch families I know are happy there except for size, which is an issue with J, L, and M schools. Likewise, there were families rezoned from Murch to Lafayette. Other than the fact that Lafayette was farther, not much noise about being moved from M to L.

I do think it's a valid concern to be rezoned to a school that has worse test-scores. I may not care about test scores personally, but it's not crazy.

There was just an article in the NYT about a similar fight happening in Brooklyn. One neighborhood has one overcrowded elementary school (so crowded that IB kids can't even get in, under the rules in NYC). So they want to redraw the lines to zone part of the neighborhood to another school (also in the same neighborhood) but also includes a housing project and (unsurprisingly) the test scores are much worse. Parents would rather their kids attend the overcrowded school than be zoned for a failing school.

I did not read the NYT article but if the schools being referenced is in Park Slope (PS 351), I will tell you that the fight is really about SES and to a lesser extent race. Frankly the same dynamics are present in DC only worse.

except none of the schools being discussed here are "failing" by any measure. You can talk pecking order, but even Hearst can objectively be labeled a "successful" school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.

Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.

There is definitely an academic and social pecking order. Janney parents look down on Murch as not being at Janney's level (pointing out that JKLM means Mann). Murch parents view Hearst as an EOTP school that happens to be located WOTP.

Neither is true. That foolishness only exists on DCUM.

Except when a lazy journalist comes along and hashes out an article about these so-called facts and truths...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.

Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.

There is definitely an academic and social pecking order. Janney parents look down on Murch as not being at Janney's level (pointing out that JKLM means Mann). Murch parents view Hearst as an EOTP school that happens to be located WOTP.

Neither is true. That foolishness only exists on DCUM.

Exactly. Never seen this in real life. I am a Janney mom and also laugh at DCUM perceptions of Janney.

Weren't the perceptions more about MILFs and chickens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall those threads, they were mostly Murch families that were upset about being rezoned to Hearst.

Actually at the community meetings, the Janney parents were about as insane as the Murch ones, if not more. They just didn't vent on DCUM as much.

There is definitely an academic and social pecking order. Janney parents look down on Murch as not being at Janney's level (pointing out that JKLM means Mann). Murch parents view Hearst as an EOTP school that happens to be located WOTP.

Neither is true. That foolishness only exists on DCUM.

Exactly. Never seen this in real life. I am a Janney mom and also laugh at DCUM perceptions of Janney.

Weren't the perceptions more about MILFs and chickens?

It's also about community. People have invested in their school communities and have built a neighborhood community around that and they don't want to be forced into a new school. I don't think there is a real concern over test scores. Oh, and property values.