Shake Up at SSMA?
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Anonymous
We like Montessori, so will keep trying for Lee, Logan and maybe Breakthrough. I'm hoping Lee expanding next year opens up some Montessori space in general, even though we are entering Lower El. |
Anonymous
Back to our IB, somewhat sheepishly. |
Anonymous
Moving to VA for us. Know multiple other families that plan to move in the spring too. |
Anonymous
Lottery or private...came to the conclusion that moving wouldn't guarantee anything. Know families that moved and they have not gotten the experience they expected... |
Anonymous
It’s sad. There’s so much potential there. This is a black eye for DCPSCB as well. |
Anonymous
Why? Their job is to allow people to innovate and try to new / better ways to educate children and hold them accountable for the educational outcomes. SSMA appears to have had a good plan and has been given a chance to succeed. It is on their board to hire people who can execute the plan. If they fail, the school should and will be shut down. Families voting with their feet will hasten that process. |
Anonymous
+1 from SSMA to DCPS, saving money in a DC 529 for private middle school. |
Anonymous
You are right -- holding charter schools accountable is not a "black eye" for the DCPCSB. With the DCPCSB, we have many more options for types of schools than ever before. Which, IMO, is a good thing. The DCPCSB has shown over and over that they will hold schools accountable. But... the DCPCSB doesn't judge whether a school/board is executing on a plan. Most schools are narrowly judged on whether they meet their goals with the majority of charters in DC selecting the PMF as their goals. Get 50 or above on the PMF and be fiscally responsible, and a school will remain open. If SSMA had a re-enrollment rate of 0, it would still show adequate performance on the PMF. Until new families stop showing up and low enrollment impacts finances or academics, SSMA doesn't seem to be in danger of being shut down. |
Anonymous
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Dr. R sent out an email today telling parents that they have an interim head of school lined up. It's Gail Jenkins who has been a consultant at Shining Stars and knows the school pretty well.
This is good news in terms of stabilizing the situation. The bad news is that she has no Montessori credentials at all. So, although she might help keep the test scores up to help the PMI keep SSMA as a Tier 2 school, we are moving further away from Montessori principles here. My beef is that SSMA is supposed to be an accredited Montessori school. And that's an imprimatur that can't be taken lightly. It's Shining Stars' calling card, for goodness sakes. Is it even kosher for an accredited school to have no credentialed Montessorian as principal? At least Dr. R moves fast. Would love to hear any reactions to the latest news. |
Anonymous
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From what I see on the AMI website, certification relates to teachers being Montessori-trained, not administrators. Perhaps there are more details about the process somewhere less accessible?
https://amiusa.org/becoming-an-ami-school/ |
Anonymous
Shining Stars is AMS accredited. AMI doesn’t accredit schools. It only certifies teachers. What you’re talking about is the need for AMI credentialed guides in the classroom for schools that follow the AMI Montessori standard. But that’s not the issue here because SSMA is an AMS school. Shining Stars does need a credentialed director of education to remain accredited. See here under section 5 for personnel standards: https://amshq.org/-/media/Files/School-Resources/AMS-Member-Schools/AMS-School-Accreditation-Standards--Criteria-2013.ashx?la=en “A school that employs more than one lead teacher shall designate an educational supervisor/coordinator who holds a qualifying Montessori administrator or teacher credential. The coordinator will oversee the consistency of educational quality and serve as a resource to other staff members.” |
Anonymous
Because the Charter Board has been informed of all the ish going on there, and they could care less. |
Anonymous
Who is she? I get nothing on google mixing in her name, DC, Montessori, schools, consultant or anything else |
Anonymous
| Gail Jenkins is a consultant who works for Caroline Trice. Jenkins is not staff, but a paid consultant, so apparently Dr. R can appoint consultants on interim basis, and not actual staff to the position. |
Anonymous
Caroline Trice who used to work for the DCPCSB? Do they do Montessori support or just general school consulting. It's probably easier and faster to put a consultant in place while looking for the permanent hire. |