DCPS can't handle 'Middle Schools'? This is why Kaya Henderson needs to go

[Anonymous]

So frustrated with Kaya Henderson right now. At yesterday's hearing she claimed that DC kids should be 'funneled' to charters for Middle School because they do Middle School so well? WTF? Yes, there are some great charters that do middle school ok...I'd say that this is a small minority. But instead of saying...we could learn from some of the charters, or that we need to really focus on this aspect of DCPS...she sounds like she wants to give up.

I have a student in a DC middle school and I'm not remotely ready to give up.

[Anonymous]

or is this a way to make charters look bad? everyone knows middle and high schools are harder to do well than elementary--is she trying to turn it over to charters so that she can then turn around and say, see? they can't do it either!
either way her statement was an absolute pr nightmare.

[Anonymous]

I don't know OP. I'm a DCPS middle school parent too. Maybe she's just acknowledging that charters can do a better job in this arena.

If DCPS were a business you would stop doing the things that you're not good at in order to survive. One thing that Dr. Kim (former principal at Deal) used to say was that she was really passionate about understanding the mind of middle-schoolers. I think part of her success was really having a firm understand of what kids need at that specific stage in their lives. I know people credit her organization, leadership and no-nonsense style to her success - but for me when she said that it really resonated with me and meant that she really understood her audience but the sweet part was that she could execute.

I wish that DCPS could deconstruct Deal's success to understand what made it work. Maybe they have and can't figure out how to replicate it. I think folks forget that Dr. Kim turned Deal into an attractive option but that the population initially wasn't all cream of the crop students. I'm not ready to give up either, but I kind of understand what Kaya is saying.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I've lived in a few different cities in this country and am a middle school educator. It's not that hard. Really. Even with socio-economic diversity, with neighborhood boundary issues etc....we can do this. Partly it's making it a real priority and not just shrugging when it looks difficult. I agree that some charters can do it well, but what are they doing? What could DCPS learn? Part of the issue is a complete lack of middle school planning and a complete lack of understanding what middle school students actually need.

[Anonymous]

One thing I did find interesting about kaya's testimony- AP academy. She mentioned that she was looking into establishing an AP academy for students of all HS to attend. Since she could not justify full AP classes at some of the under enrolled HS, it would be beneficial to have a stand alone academy with different subject matters. I hope this materializes.

[Anonymous]

Deal is good but it's also too big and that's part of the problem. It's been allowed to get huge rather than create smaller versions of it around the city. Yes, we need socio-economic and racial diversity in all of our middle schools, but many charters don't have that great a balance either so what are they doing right? Many of them are small and they give strong personal attention to their students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So frustrated with Kaya Henderson right now. At yesterday's hearing she claimed that DC kids should be 'funneled' to charters for Middle School because they do Middle School so well? WTF? Yes, there are some great charters that do middle school ok...I'd say that this is a small minority. But instead of saying...we could learn from some of the charters, or that we need to really focus on this aspect of DCPS...she sounds like she wants to give up.

I have a student in a DC middle school and I'm not remotely ready to give up.

I agree that her comments are completely unacceptable. If she can't conceptualize ways to improve middle school education in DCPS she should be removed from her position.

[Anonymous]

PP- completely agree. If she can't find a way to make better MS options, how can she be chancellor of the system?
Deal became better under Kim and because of that many in the neighborhood viewed it as an option. Before Kim, many peeled off for private or start-up charters. MS need to have a decent amount of students to ensure they offer enough clubs, classes etc for all. A small school just can't afford the offerings. What Deal does best is break the grades into teams, so the size is more manageable. Not sure how Hardy is set-up, but this model works well. Other options to consider are magnet/ application MS that emulate some of the application HS like Banneker, Ellington and SWW. Giving up on non-charter MS options is pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I did find interesting about kaya's testimony- AP academy. She mentioned that she was looking into establishing an AP academy for students of all HS to attend. Since she could not justify full AP classes at some of the under enrolled HS, it would be beneficial to have a stand alone academy with different subject matters. I hope this materializes.

Exactly how is it a good idea to take AP classes away from underenrolled high schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I've lived in a few different cities in this country and am a middle school educator. It's not that hard. Really. Even with socio-economic diversity, with neighborhood boundary issues etc....we can do this. Partly it's making it a real priority and not just shrugging when it looks difficult. I agree that some charters can do it well, but what are they doing? What could DCPS learn? Part of the issue is a complete lack of middle school planning and a complete lack of understanding what middle school students actually need.

No, really, it is that hard.

If it wasn't there would be scores of success stories around the country of turn arounds instead there are few and those get the media attention because they are so few. If it was a common occurrence, it wouldn't make the news.

The schools can not compensate for a child's upbringing and life circumstances.

The reason schools with upper middle class students do well is that those schools do not need to split their energies. They only need to focus on education. The other schools need to split their focus on education and social services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I've lived in a few different cities in this country and am a middle school educator. It's not that hard. Really. Even with socio-economic diversity, with neighborhood boundary issues etc....we can do this. Partly it's making it a real priority and not just shrugging when it looks difficult. I agree that some charters can do it well, but what are they doing? What could DCPS learn? Part of the issue is a complete lack of middle school planning and a complete lack of understanding what middle school students actually need.

No, really, it is that hard.

If it wasn't there would be scores of success stories around the country of turn arounds instead there are few and those get the media attention because they are so few. If it was a common occurrence, it wouldn't make the news.

The schools can not compensate for a child's upbringing and life circumstances.

The reason schools with upper middle class students do well is that those schools do not need to split their energies. They only need to focus on education. The other schools need to split their focus on education and social services.

Exactly. Well said.
At the elementary level, the kids are still little and highly supervised so that behavior doesn't spiral out of control.
Middle school is another story entirely. The same kids have more freedom and are expected to have some age appropriate self-discipline. This is where the rubber meets the road and many kids from lower ses situations cannot keep up. This is when the behavior spirals out of control because the kids are bigger and the nature of middle school is that kids are more responsible for themselves.
Melissa Kim understood this and set up a system without too much wiggle room, but enough to allow the kids to find their independence. In the case of infractions, she put in clear disciplinary policies with actual consequences for the kids and maybe more importantly, the parents.
Let's talk about the missing piece here, kids from poverty may need to learn more life skills, let's help them.

[Anonymous]

perhaps it's less about it being hard or easy and more about the fact that it's just not an option to NOT do it. To say as School's Chancellor that you're going to funnel middle schoolers to charters is to basically say you've given up. Middle schoolers have always existed in education, it's not like this age group just suddenly arrived in the city or the planet. They are here to stay and to throw your hands up is pretty rediculous.

[Anonymous]

Part of the issue is about what it means to be a 'successful' middle school. It's not all about test scores, but about keeping kids safe and engaged during this particularly difficult developmental period. There are lots of different ways to do this but DCPS seems to be stagnated in old models with few new or interesting ideas.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. After engaging with DCPS on the middle schools in Ward 6 I came away with the impression that they just don't have the expertise and vision on staff to tackle the tricky middle school years. It seems indicative of weakness in DCPS administration in general.

[Anonymous]

I watched the hearing. She seemed out of her depth.