Parents share objections to school boundary changes in Hyattsville and Upper Marlboro areas

[Anonymous]

From the Gazette: http://www.gazette.net/article/20140219/NEWS/140219117/1029/parents-say-proposed-school-boundary-changes-will-hurt-community&template=gazette

Parents of students attending Cesar Chavez and Perrywood elementary schools spoke out against proposed boundary changes Tuesday night, asking officials not to break apart the school communities they have built.

“I don’t believe that this change is necessary,” said Elisa Aragon of Hyattsville, parent of a first-grader at Chavez Elementary in Hyattsville. Aragon spoke out against the proposed conversion of Chavez from a neighborhood school to a specialty dual-language Spanish immersion school, with a lottery held for seats.

“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. And Cesar Chavez’s Spanish immersion program isn’t broken; it’s just gone unnoticed,” Aragon said.

Under the proposed conversion, students currently attending the school will continue to do so, said Johndel Jones-Brown, director of pupil accounting and boundaries, but future kindergarten seats will be available only through a countywide lottery. Incoming students who would have attended Chavez as their neighborhood school will instead be zoned for Rosa Parks or Chillum elementary schools.

Aragon said parents are very active in the school community and proud of its existing Spanish-English immersion program.

“With the possible phasing out process that you are considering, you are tearing apart our family,” Aragon said.

Liliana Cruz, president of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization and parent of a fourth-grader at the school, said families with pre-school-aged children have relocated to the neighborhood because they want their child to attend Chavez and should not have to be asked to lottery into the program.

“What we want is for the younger siblings of the upper grade students currently attending our school to be given the right to attend our school in the hope of keeping siblings together,” Cruz said.

Jones-Brown said that under the current proposal, no preference in the lottery would be given to students with siblings already attending the school.

Amanda Stewart, PTA president at Perrywood Elementary in Largo and parent of first- and fifth-graders, also expressed concern that under current plans, her children and others in her neighborhood will now be zoned for Kettering Elementary in Upper Marlboro, as more students are moved to Perrywood to relieve overcrowding at Barack Obama Elementary in Upper Marlboro.

“Perrywood has been our neighborhood’s school since it first opened its doors 14-plus years ago. My neighbors and I have expressed a strong connection to Perrywood over all those years,” Stewart said. “We as parents and you as a school board have a shared responsibility to strengthen these connections and not to shuffle kids around for the sake of numbers.”

The school board is scheduled to vote on the proposed boundary changes at its Feb. 25 meeting. Individuals may sign up to speak at the meeting or may email comments to the school system.

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[Anonymous]

I agree that families should be kept together and families should get sibling preference.

I've heard from several county education officials that the existing Spanish program really isn't a true immersion program so perhaps the Gazette should include more information about how the program is designed and supported by the county and run on a daily basis.

[Anonymous]

Seems like the sibling preference should be kept -- the other language immersion schools have sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I don't think this is the way to improve PG schools.

Here's the thing, families with children will continue to move out of PG and people will avoid moving into PG if their kid's education all hinges on a lottery.

If PG wants to improve, so that people keep their kids in the school system and don't flee, PG has to improve neighborhood schools.

I don't think converting neighborhood schools with active and engaged parents into a lottery-based schools is going to help PG County schools. In fact, I think it will make the problem worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't think this is the way to improve PG schools.

Here's the thing, families with children will continue to move out of PG and people will avoid moving into PG if their kid's education all hinges on a lottery.

If PG wants to improve, so that people keep their kids in the school system and don't flee, PG has to improve neighborhood schools.

I don't think converting neighborhood schools with active and engaged parents into a lottery-based schools is going to help PG County schools. In fact, I think it will make the problem worse.

My guess is that you live in a neighborhood with a decent elementary that's worried that some of your parents might chose to send their kid to an immersion program.

So how would you suggest improving neighborhood schools? If PG doesn't do anything or offer anyone any options, charter schools and more private schools will naturally rise to fill that need. That's what's happened in DC years ago. Now families are reinvesting in DC because of all the charters and choices, property values are going up and there are the beginnings of a reverse migration back into DC from PG.

How sure are you that the converted neighborhood schools have active and engaged parents? Just because the article says so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't think this is the way to improve PG schools.

Here's the thing, families with children will continue to move out of PG and people will avoid moving into PG if their kid's education all hinges on a lottery.

If PG wants to improve, so that people keep their kids in the school system and don't flee, PG has to improve neighborhood schools.

I don't think converting neighborhood schools with active and engaged parents into a lottery-based schools is going to help PG County schools. In fact, I think it will make the problem worse.

My guess is that you live in a neighborhood with a decent elementary that's worried that some of your parents might chose to send their kid to an immersion program.

So how would you suggest improving neighborhood schools? If PG doesn't do anything or offer anyone any options, charter schools and more private schools will naturally rise to fill that need. That's what's happened in DC years ago. Now families are reinvesting in DC because of all the charters and choices, property values are going up and there are the beginnings of a reverse migration back into DC from PG.

How sure are you that the converted neighborhood schools have active and engaged parents? Just because the article says so?

Chavez does not have an active and engaged community, is not a neighborhood school, and the program is not a true Spanish Immersion program.

[Anonymous]

Heather hills all over again.

So frustrating. Take an average or poorly performing school amd make it TAG. Force them to bring the standards up combined with bringing in kids who likely have families that will push for reform and keep their kids on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heather hills all over again.

So frustrating. Take an average or poorly performing school amd make it TAG. Force them to bring the standards up combined with bringing in kids who likely have families that will push for reform and keep their kids on track.

I'm not sure how this is the same thing. Heather Hills is all TAG and it changing it forced a bunch of walkers out. This school is not. It is Dual Spanish Immersion, half the kids will be Spanish speakers the other half English speakers. It is currently a small school (at 60% capacity) with a lot of busing and it's had a Spanish program (not well done, though) on the books for 15 years. Also with the two other large schools down the street, they needed students to fill the two schools and the school system most likely wasn't going to move kids from either University Park or Hyattsville Elementary to fill those seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heather hills all over again.

So frustrating. Take an average or poorly performing school amd make it TAG. Force them to bring the standards up combined with bringing in kids who likely have families that will push for reform and keep their kids on track.

I'm not sure how this is the same thing. Heather Hills is all TAG and it changing it forced a bunch of walkers out. This school is not. It is Dual Spanish Immersion, half the kids will be Spanish speakers the other half English speakers. It is currently a small school (at 60% capacity) with a lot of busing and it's had a Spanish program (not well done, though) on the books for 15 years. Also with the two other large schools down the street, they needed students to fill the two schools and the school system most likely wasn't going to move kids from either University Park or Hyattsville Elementary to fill those seats.

Not an identical situation- but both fit the trend of taking a good school and making it lottery only instead of a neighborhood school as it originally was. Still think they should instead choose underperforming schools and introduce the programs there rather than messing with the good schools.

[Anonymous]

PP, I think you need to redefinte good school.

Do you go there and have information that conflicts with the school test scores? Cesar Chavez test results have been lower than the county's scores on average and haven't been improving over time.