Inspired Teaching?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Is there a school in DC - either DCPS or DCPCS that handles bullying and behavioral issues well?

I have heard Latin is great with this but who knows? We have had no problems at all with this at ITDS but I have talked to other families who have. It just seems like the admin is new and still learning the "rules" about how to appropriately handle things. That and they are listening, making you feel heard, and then not following through with anything. Again, I do see the later in small things but haven't had any big issues thankfully.

The weird thing is the Head of School and also the principal were recently hired from two very different schools, both of which have a lot of kids with special needs and behavior issues. So it's not like they lack experience with it. I really, really, really don't want ITS middle to end up like Two Rivers, though of course I'd never say that to the principal's face.

But right. Two Rivers is a mess...I have heard terrible things about not only academics but absolute lack of behavior control. I think the HOS is from Breakthrough Montessori? I know fewer details about that school but I don't think it is/was highly thought of either. The school just doesn't feel as "Inspired" as it used to. I am hoping my younger child has the positive experience my older has but I am not so sure that will happen. I am still hopeful though!

Oh yes...I just read her bio. It's very impressive actually. I do not like many of the changes that have happened since she started and I don't know how directly she has been involved. The principal structure prior to covid really worked well. ESP in the middle school where there was a dedicated principal for the 7th-8th grades. I do hear rumors of the staff being unhappy now while before I heard staff say that they stayed because the school made it such a nice environment for them. I am happy enough with the VP for the middle school now (spans 5-8th though) but the VP for the elementary age kids is just vacant. No emails from her the entire school year, and aside from her photo in the staff directory I do not think I have seen her once. The middle school VP is at least very present and knows the kids and their families. We are staying but it does seem less ideal than it used to. It's starting to feel more like a DCPS than an inspired charter.

Funny, I super disliked the prior HOS, and I know the elementary level AP well and think she knows my kids as well as can be expected. I agree she seldom emails, though.

Shows how everyone's experience is different! Glad you know her and maybe I am in the minority. Even copied her on a few emails throughout the year where she didn't chime in. Maybe I'll get to know her next year.

[Anonymous]

I think the problem with having so many principals and APs was just the cost. The org chart became less top-heavy under the new HOS and I hope that enabled them to spend more on teacher salaries and other important stuff.

I must say the list of high school matches is excellent this year. Normally they email it out, but you can read some of them in the yearbook. Many to Walls and a few each to Banneker and Ellington.

[Anonymous]

What do you think the appropriate school response is to a kid with repeated acts of violence? You’re not allowed to kick them out unless they use a weapon I believe? But obviously they are a danger to other students and staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think the appropriate school response is to a kid with repeated acts of violence? You’re not allowed to kick them out unless they use a weapon I believe? But obviously they are a danger to other students and staff.

Yeah - that's the fault of the DC City Council. Way bigger issue than a single charter school can solve.

[Anonymous]

It's interesting that you have no homework. My 4th grader at ITS had homework weekly all year (not very much, but consistently).

I agree the administration's handling of behavior/bullying is a consistent theme of dissatisfied parents, and I believe the parents, but I wish I had a more specific understanding of what the problem is.

In the lower grades through 4th, my child did have homework. In middle school it has completely gone away with th exception of a rare occasional project.

[Anonymous]

My 5th grader had math homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader had math homework.

A homework-giving 4th grade teacher is moving up to teach 5th/6th next year, so I'm hoping for the same consistent but moderate workload.

[Anonymous]

We have a child in MS and one in ES. ITS is not perfect, and we certainly don’t agree with all of the administration’s approaches over our many years at the school. But our children have had overwhelmingly positive experiences - academically, emotionally, and socially. They enjoy going to school each day, are engaged with learning, and have made great friends. We feel fortunate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a child in MS and one in ES. ITS is not perfect, and we certainly don’t agree with all of the administration’s approaches over our many years at the school. But our children have had overwhelmingly positive experiences - academically, emotionally, and socially. They enjoy going to school each day, are engaged with learning, and have made great friends. We feel fortunate.

YES! Same experience for us.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:There were a lot of unresolved behavior issues with the old administration. This year has been a lot better. The teachers and principal contact families If there are issues. There have been no behavior issues that I have heard of in middle school since the beginning of school.

This 5th grade parent begs to differ.

I'm sorry you've had a different experience. We had similar struggles at a school we attended before Inspired so I have a lot of empathy and I hope you all find healing soon. I hope it's helpful to a prospective family to know these experiences seem to be isolated, even if the affected families have had a difficult time.

I think it's really just the luck of the draw whether your kid's class happens to have a child who struggles with behavior. If you do, the school doesn't deal with it very well. But some people don't think it's a problem because they haven't personally experienced it. A lot of the parents at ITS want to believe it's a really great school because they don't have a better option other than moving.

I'm a PP who shared my kids haven't experienced these issues (we've now been there for all grades, and multiple times). I believe that you've had the experiences you describe, and I also know from talking with many families over many years, that they don't seem to be the norm. Through no special interventions from us, our kids have both been academically accelerated, and meaningfully challenged and engaged throughout their time. They've had positive social experiences including into and through MS with a lot of new students matriculating. I'm not sure why it's been better for some than for others, but I do know that both can be true. While that's lousy if your kid is not having a good experience, it doesn't mean that the good isn't happening too, and not just because we didn't have other options. If you stay on, I hope your child's experience improves.

The cohort that just finished 5th grade is the one that has a lot of trouble with behavior. Also the cohort that just finished 3rd. It's not really a mystery why some people have these experiences and others don't. Probably it has been better for your kids because you just haven't happened to get a classmate with those issues, or your child isn't the one who has been personally targeted. Or your child just doesn't report as much of what happened at home. Though it doesn't happen often, when it does happen, the school handles it poorly. The incidents may be isolated (they aren't really, they're all the same few kids and the same types of incidents) but the pattern of the administration handling it poorly is a running theme. With so many kids leaving and entering for middle school, it's hard to predict how next year will go. But this may be your year to have a difficult classmate and see a very different side of ITS. I hope it is not, I wish you all the best, but the administration handling these incidents and problems poorly absolutely *is* the norm.

Can you give an example of what has occurred and how the administration has handled it?

The one with the throwing of chairs early this past year in 5th, which they totally hushed up and refuse to answer questions about.

The one with the kid getting throttled and they deny it ever happened. Also 5th this year.

How they talk about "restorative justice" and give you an equity scolding if you question its effectiveness at reducing violence.

Concur. I know of at least four children who were assaulted by the chair tosser. As mentioned earlier, third grade was also a mess. My child was punched by another kid after beating him at a game and administration told him that my son should try to be his friend. We left DCPS. ITDS is still a great school for early ed, but I’d bail at 1st or 2nd.

Is that the so-called "restorative justice" in action?

We were in the 5th grade class and are no longer with ITS. I believe in restorative justice but it was not the answer in this situation. You can’t ask a 10 year old to take responsibility for being choked or having a chair thrown at their head (on multiple occasions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a lot of unresolved behavior issues with the old administration. This year has been a lot better. The teachers and principal contact families If there are issues. There have been no behavior issues that I have heard of in middle school since the beginning of school.

This 5th grade parent begs to differ.

I'm sorry you've had a different experience. We had similar struggles at a school we attended before Inspired so I have a lot of empathy and I hope you all find healing soon. I hope it's helpful to a prospective family to know these experiences seem to be isolated, even if the affected families have had a difficult time.

I think it's really just the luck of the draw whether your kid's class happens to have a child who struggles with behavior. If you do, the school doesn't deal with it very well. But some people don't think it's a problem because they haven't personally experienced it. A lot of the parents at ITS want to believe it's a really great school because they don't have a better option other than moving.

I'm a PP who shared my kids haven't experienced these issues (we've now been there for all grades, and multiple times). I believe that you've had the experiences you describe, and I also know from talking with many families over many years, that they don't seem to be the norm. Through no special interventions from us, our kids have both been academically accelerated, and meaningfully challenged and engaged throughout their time. They've had positive social experiences including into and through MS with a lot of new students matriculating. I'm not sure why it's been better for some than for others, but I do know that both can be true. While that's lousy if your kid is not having a good experience, it doesn't mean that the good isn't happening too, and not just because we didn't have other options. If you stay on, I hope your child's experience improves.

The cohort that just finished 5th grade is the one that has a lot of trouble with behavior. Also the cohort that just finished 3rd. It's not really a mystery why some people have these experiences and others don't. Probably it has been better for your kids because you just haven't happened to get a classmate with those issues, or your child isn't the one who has been personally targeted. Or your child just doesn't report as much of what happened at home. Though it doesn't happen often, when it does happen, the school handles it poorly. The incidents may be isolated (they aren't really, they're all the same few kids and the same types of incidents) but the pattern of the administration handling it poorly is a running theme. With so many kids leaving and entering for middle school, it's hard to predict how next year will go. But this may be your year to have a difficult classmate and see a very different side of ITS. I hope it is not, I wish you all the best, but the administration handling these incidents and problems poorly absolutely *is* the norm.

Can you give an example of what has occurred and how the administration has handled it?

The one with the throwing of chairs early this past year in 5th, which they totally hushed up and refuse to answer questions about.

The one with the kid getting throttled and they deny it ever happened. Also 5th this year.

How they talk about "restorative justice" and give you an equity scolding if you question its effectiveness at reducing violence.

Concur. I know of at least four children who were assaulted by the chair tosser. As mentioned earlier, third grade was also a mess. My child was punched by another kid after beating him at a game and administration told him that my son should try to be his friend. We left DCPS. ITDS is still a great school for early ed, but I’d bail at 1st or 2nd.

Is that the so-called "restorative justice" in action?

We were in the 5th grade class and are no longer with ITS. I believe in restorative justice but it was not the answer in this situation. You can’t ask a 10 year old to take responsibility for being choked or having a chair thrown at their head (on multiple occasions).

What did the school actually do about it (if anything)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a lot of unresolved behavior issues with the old administration. This year has been a lot better. The teachers and principal contact families If there are issues. There have been no behavior issues that I have heard of in middle school since the beginning of school.

This 5th grade parent begs to differ.

I'm sorry you've had a different experience. We had similar struggles at a school we attended before Inspired so I have a lot of empathy and I hope you all find healing soon. I hope it's helpful to a prospective family to know these experiences seem to be isolated, even if the affected families have had a difficult time.

I think it's really just the luck of the draw whether your kid's class happens to have a child who struggles with behavior. If you do, the school doesn't deal with it very well. But some people don't think it's a problem because they haven't personally experienced it. A lot of the parents at ITS want to believe it's a really great school because they don't have a better option other than moving.

I'm a PP who shared my kids haven't experienced these issues (we've now been there for all grades, and multiple times). I believe that you've had the experiences you describe, and I also know from talking with many families over many years, that they don't seem to be the norm. Through no special interventions from us, our kids have both been academically accelerated, and meaningfully challenged and engaged throughout their time. They've had positive social experiences including into and through MS with a lot of new students matriculating. I'm not sure why it's been better for some than for others, but I do know that both can be true. While that's lousy if your kid is not having a good experience, it doesn't mean that the good isn't happening too, and not just because we didn't have other options. If you stay on, I hope your child's experience improves.

The cohort that just finished 5th grade is the one that has a lot of trouble with behavior. Also the cohort that just finished 3rd. It's not really a mystery why some people have these experiences and others don't. Probably it has been better for your kids because you just haven't happened to get a classmate with those issues, or your child isn't the one who has been personally targeted. Or your child just doesn't report as much of what happened at home. Though it doesn't happen often, when it does happen, the school handles it poorly. The incidents may be isolated (they aren't really, they're all the same few kids and the same types of incidents) but the pattern of the administration handling it poorly is a running theme. With so many kids leaving and entering for middle school, it's hard to predict how next year will go. But this may be your year to have a difficult classmate and see a very different side of ITS. I hope it is not, I wish you all the best, but the administration handling these incidents and problems poorly absolutely *is* the norm.

Can you give an example of what has occurred and how the administration has handled it?

The one with the throwing of chairs early this past year in 5th, which they totally hushed up and refuse to answer questions about.

The one with the kid getting throttled and they deny it ever happened. Also 5th this year.

How they talk about "restorative justice" and give you an equity scolding if you question its effectiveness at reducing violence.

Concur. I know of at least four children who were assaulted by the chair tosser. As mentioned earlier, third grade was also a mess. My child was punched by another kid after beating him at a game and administration told him that my son should try to be his friend. We left DCPS. ITDS is still a great school for early ed, but I’d bail at 1st or 2nd.

Is that the so-called "restorative justice" in action?

We were in the 5th grade class and are no longer with ITS. I believe in restorative justice but it was not the answer in this situation. You can’t ask a 10 year old to take responsibility for being choked or having a chair thrown at their head (on multiple occasions).

What did the school actually do about it (if anything)?

I don’t think legally they’re allowed to tell you what they are doing to the other kid. So from the other parent’s perspective all you see is restorative Justice approach snd then whatever they are doing not working to solve this other child’s clear emotional issues. But I have no insider info on what the school has tried. I’m assuming whatever the most serious consequences are in the tiers of discipline. Which they did revise this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a lot of unresolved behavior issues with the old administration. This year has been a lot better. The teachers and principal contact families If there are issues. There have been no behavior issues that I have heard of in middle school since the beginning of school.

This 5th grade parent begs to differ.

I'm sorry you've had a different experience. We had similar struggles at a school we attended before Inspired so I have a lot of empathy and I hope you all find healing soon. I hope it's helpful to a prospective family to know these experiences seem to be isolated, even if the affected families have had a difficult time.

I think it's really just the luck of the draw whether your kid's class happens to have a child who struggles with behavior. If you do, the school doesn't deal with it very well. But some people don't think it's a problem because they haven't personally experienced it. A lot of the parents at ITS want to believe it's a really great school because they don't have a better option other than moving.

I'm a PP who shared my kids haven't experienced these issues (we've now been there for all grades, and multiple times). I believe that you've had the experiences you describe, and I also know from talking with many families over many years, that they don't seem to be the norm. Through no special interventions from us, our kids have both been academically accelerated, and meaningfully challenged and engaged throughout their time. They've had positive social experiences including into and through MS with a lot of new students matriculating. I'm not sure why it's been better for some than for others, but I do know that both can be true. While that's lousy if your kid is not having a good experience, it doesn't mean that the good isn't happening too, and not just because we didn't have other options. If you stay on, I hope your child's experience improves.

The cohort that just finished 5th grade is the one that has a lot of trouble with behavior. Also the cohort that just finished 3rd. It's not really a mystery why some people have these experiences and others don't. Probably it has been better for your kids because you just haven't happened to get a classmate with those issues, or your child isn't the one who has been personally targeted. Or your child just doesn't report as much of what happened at home. Though it doesn't happen often, when it does happen, the school handles it poorly. The incidents may be isolated (they aren't really, they're all the same few kids and the same types of incidents) but the pattern of the administration handling it poorly is a running theme. With so many kids leaving and entering for middle school, it's hard to predict how next year will go. But this may be your year to have a difficult classmate and see a very different side of ITS. I hope it is not, I wish you all the best, but the administration handling these incidents and problems poorly absolutely *is* the norm.

Can you give an example of what has occurred and how the administration has handled it?

The one with the throwing of chairs early this past year in 5th, which they totally hushed up and refuse to answer questions about.

The one with the kid getting throttled and they deny it ever happened. Also 5th this year.

How they talk about "restorative justice" and give you an equity scolding if you question its effectiveness at reducing violence.

Concur. I know of at least four children who were assaulted by the chair tosser. As mentioned earlier, third grade was also a mess. My child was punched by another kid after beating him at a game and administration told him that my son should try to be his friend. We left DCPS. ITDS is still a great school for early ed, but I’d bail at 1st or 2nd.

Is that the so-called "restorative justice" in action?

We were in the 5th grade class and are no longer with ITS. I believe in restorative justice but it was not the answer in this situation. You can’t ask a 10 year old to take responsibility for being choked or having a chair thrown at their head (on multiple occasions).

What did the school actually do about it (if anything)?

I don’t think legally they’re allowed to tell you what they are doing to the other kid. So from the other parent’s perspective all you see is restorative Justice approach snd then whatever they are doing not working to solve this other child’s clear emotional issues. But I have no insider info on what the school has tried. I’m assuming whatever the most serious consequences are in the tiers of discipline. Which they did revise this year.

But what did they actually do, as restorative justice? One of those "circles"?

I don't really get how the tiers of consequences thing meshes with restorative justice. They seem like opposite ideas.

[Anonymous]

I have a middle schooler at ITDS and saw some of the inner workings of restorative justice this year. My DC’s teacher reached out to me immediately following an incident and the child who caused the incident did not come back to school school for a few days. I was given a very detailed explanation of what happened from the school - but only about my child. They are very big on not exposing any “private info” (or ANY info at all) about other children.

My DC also told me of several occasions where DC was called in as a witness (because another kid said DC saw something occur). It definitely seems like the administration “acts on” the issues. Whether it resolves the problems is another story. Seems like they are trying to follow procedures that just don’t work.

We have had mostly positive experiences but I have heard of other classes that have not.

The teachers at ITDS are usually empowered to do things their own way (hence “inspired teaching”) but this means that the ITDS experience is teacher-dependent and varies widely.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you have the opportunity you could enroll in ITS to give it a try (because overall it’s a good school) but switch back to your inbound school if it doesn’t work out since you have that option.