Horace Mann: K-5?

[Anonymous]

I know that Horace Mann was appealing to Rhee to keep its 6th grade, even though most of the other DCPS elementary schools are switching to K-5. Does anyone know whether Mann succeeded or failed in its appeal? Thanks for any info.

[Anonymous]

Not successful so far. But I hear they are still trying.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP. That's hard on the 5th grade parents there, I'm sure.

[Anonymous]

does anyone know of a public announcement of this, either specific to Horace Mann or generally for the DCPS elementary schools?

[Anonymous]

I also heard they are making Janney move from k-6 to k-5; I think it is a system-wide project to make all the elementary and middle schools uniform in terms of grade levels, but it sucks for those of us who may have to shell out for an extra year of private school because of it.

[Anonymous]

, "but it sucks for those of us who may have to shell out for an extra year of private school because of it.


I have a 5th grader in DCPS and even though I thought we would never consider Deal (my husband went there in the 70s and swore he would never send his kids there), we have gone to open houses for the past 3-4 years, and honestly can say we are looking forward to sending our child there for 6th grade next year. I am only speaking from my thoughts after visiting, speaking with Melissa Kim many times, and talking to many families with kids there now-- not from actual experience- But I do think its worth a look--it is so different from the school it was that you really have to check it out. Also, look at the weekly bulletins to get a feel for how much goes on at the school http://www.dealpta.org/

[Anonymous]

What I would like, is a better understanding of why this is supposed to be a good idea.

BTW, I apologize for asking a remedial question. This may be one of those things that everyone except me already knows and accepts to be true. In which, I apologize for wasting your time.

It's just that a "system-wide project" is not - to my mind at least - a sufficient answer. That's just a chicken-and-egg/which came first question, and doesn't address what benefit 6th graders receive by being in middle school instead of elementary school. Or do we not give a d*mn about the 6th graders, we just think this is better for the 5th graders? Or the 7th graders? I mean, what is the philosophical, educational, and/or pedagogical justification for this system-wide change, anyway?

[Anonymous]

PP-I think there are a few reasons which I have heard in my dealings with DCPS-- I do not know if any of them are the "official" reason but here they are:
1. The system needed to be uniform for practical reasons- for example Wilson HS had kids entering at 9th and 10th grades and that was a strain of resources- to have 2 grades needing support as new to HS students. (Some feeder schools to HS were middle schools (6-8) and some were jr highs (7-9)).
2. DCPS has more students in elementary schools- DCPS tends to lose kids as the grades go up, and the ES are very crowded (at least the ward 3 ES-thats where I am so its what I know)- some are overcrowded so moving to a middle school format eases that.

I have a child who is in 5th grade and I was initially very skeptical/concerned about him moving to middle school- that he would not get to have grade 6 at his ES. Well now that he is in 5th grade I feel really differently and feel like he is very ready for middle school (or will be by next fall). So I guess I am saying that perhaps you cannot tell with a 2nd grader what s/he'll be ready for by 5th grade. Its hard to imagine them as old enough- but they may be!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the time and effort to clarify, PP.

For the record, it still sounds like it's more about the benefits to the SYSTEM (i.e., convenience of the administrators) then to the students. I guess I'd feel better about that if the "system" as an entity had done more to engender my trust.

As it is, for a conscientious parent who prioritizes her DC, I feel like it's occasionally my duty to work around and out-fox the system (YMMV).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the time and effort to clarify, PP.

For the record, it still sounds like it's more about the benefits to the SYSTEM (i.e., convenience of the administrators) then to the students. I guess I'd feel better about that if the "system" as an entity had done more to engender my trust.

As it is, for a conscientious parent who prioritizes her DC, I feel like it's occasionally my duty to work around and out-fox the system (YMMV).

I disagree that it's about the "system." The idea is in part that the elementary students are better served by a smaller school that's not overcrowded. The elementary kids therefore benefit. The middle school kids benefit because the middle schools are made uniform, which in part means that more out-of-boundaries lottery people have more choices/flexibility. The high school kids benefit from all being newbies at once because then new 10th-graders aren't catching up/left to their own clicques or narrower group because the school social and academic scene was established before they got there.

THe schools need help. To the extent that the admin can streamline the types of schools that are in the system, attempts at reform can be more uniform, and successful models can be applied to more schools.

Not everyone loves this chancellor, but from day one she has been shaking up the "system" by firing administrators, principals, and teachers, to the chagrin of the school establishment. Whether the changes benefit the children is an open question, but the system stakeholders will be the first to tell you that the chancellor is not focused on them.

[Anonymous]

I'm so confused. I thought the move now was to switch all the elementary schools to K-8????

Or is it to switch some to K-8 and others to K-6????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm so confused. I thought the move now was to switch all the elementary schools to K-8????

Or is it to switch some to K-8 and others to K-6????

Sorry, I meant K-5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so confused. I thought the move now was to switch all the elementary schools to K-8????

Or is it to switch some to K-8 and others to K-6????

Sorry, I meant K-5

Some are going to K-8. My understanding is that they want all high schools to be 9-12, which means that you can either feed a K-8 or a K-5 and a 6-8 into them. Some people really favor the K-8 model because there is a growing feeling that junior high schools and middle schools are not a great idea. The transition to K-8 is not a simple one, though, and can't be done everywhere at once. So now there will be two parallel but compatible models in play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the time and effort to clarify, PP.

For the record, it still sounds like it's more about the benefits to the SYSTEM (i.e., convenience of the administrators) then to the students. I guess I'd feel better about that if the "system" as an entity had done more to engender my trust.

As it is, for a conscientious parent who prioritizes her DC, I feel like it's occasionally my duty to work around and out-fox the system (YMMV).

I disagree that it's about the "system." The idea is in part that the elementary students are better served by a smaller school that's not overcrowded. The elementary kids therefore benefit. The middle school kids benefit because the middle schools are made uniform, which in part means that more out-of-boundaries lottery people have more choices/flexibility. The high school kids benefit from all being newbies at once because then new 10th-graders aren't catching up/left to their own clicques or narrower group because the school social and academic scene was established before they got there.

THe schools need help. To the extent that the admin can streamline the types of schools that are in the system, attempts at reform can be more uniform, and successful models can be applied to more schools.

Not everyone loves this chancellor, but from day one she has been shaking up the "system" by firing administrators, principals, and teachers, to the chagrin of the school establishment. Whether the changes benefit the children is an open question, but the system stakeholders will be the first to tell you that the chancellor is not focused on them.

I am the 15:01 PP. Thank you for your well-reasoned answer, specifically your effort to present the benefits to the students. I appreciate that.

[Anonymous]

It was announced today that Mann will keep its 6th grade.