Boundary Review December town halls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know who rg is but I agree that Bancroft should go to MacFarland, like the other bilingual programs do/should..I think oyster-adams should feed to Roosevelt, or become elementary only and feed to MacFarland. It makes sense to have bilingual elementary schools feed to a bilingual jr high and high school, and deal/he is not that.

Glad they are considering getting rid of oob feeder rights. How often do you hear people say they like their elementary school but are doing the lottery for a better feeder pattern? It would be good if they stayed at their in bounds school longer and then decided on middle school when their kids were in 4th or 5th grade.

But they wouldn't actually go to MacFarland. 22% of the IB students go to MacFarland, and the kids from Bancroft or Oyster-Adams would go at even lower rates. You mean, they should be assigned to MacFarland, and then they would actually go someplace else. Which I mean, I don't have much of a dog in this particular fight, but rezoning students to a school they're not going to actually go to because you think it makes sense for them to go to that school...I'm not sure what anyone is getting from that. The problem here is the total inadequacy of most DCPS middle schools. Changing feeder rights or zoning is just rearranging the deck chairs there.

+1

MacFarland is already a potential MS feeder for Bancroft. Based on historical data, Bancroft families (Latino AND non-Latino) have not elected to send their kids to MacFarland.

There is another thread dedicated to Bancroft: Bancroft-Specific Boundary Study Thread

[Anonymous]

If DCPS eliminates feeder rights or makes it difficult for middle and UMC families to continue in their feeder (ie, introduces more uncertainty), the wheels will completely come off DCPS within two years of the policy change.

Middle and UMC people will vote with their feet and wallets. And it will probably set back DCPS back 30 years in terms of progress.

I can't think of a single dumber policy with equally awful outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know who rg is but I agree that Bancroft should go to MacFarland, like the other bilingual programs do/should..I think oyster-adams should feed to Roosevelt, or become elementary only and feed to MacFarland. It makes sense to have bilingual elementary schools feed to a bilingual jr high and high school, and deal/he is not that.

Glad they are considering getting rid of oob feeder rights. How often do you hear people say they like their elementary school but are doing the lottery for a better feeder pattern? It would be good if they stayed at their in bounds school longer and then decided on middle school when their kids were in 4th or 5th grade.

But they wouldn't actually go to MacFarland. 22% of the IB students go to MacFarland, and the kids from Bancroft or Oyster-Adams would go at even lower rates. You mean, they should be assigned to MacFarland, and then they would actually go someplace else. Which I mean, I don't have much of a dog in this particular fight, but rezoning students to a school they're not going to actually go to because you think it makes sense for them to go to that school...I'm not sure what anyone is getting from that. The problem here is the total inadequacy of most DCPS middle schools. Changing feeder rights or zoning is just rearranging the deck chairs there.

+1

MacFarland is already a potential MS feeder for Bancroft. Based on historical data, Bancroft families (Latino AND non-Latino) have not elected to send their kids to MacFarland.

There is another thread dedicated to Bancroft: Bancroft-Specific Boundary Study Thread

A large number of the Latino kids at Bancroft actually choose CHEC because it is across the street.

[Anonymous]

If anyone was able to attend the Janney town hall tonight, how did that go? Anything new/interesting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS eliminates feeder rights or makes it difficult for middle and UMC families to continue in their feeder (ie, introduces more uncertainty), the wheels will completely come off DCPS within two years of the policy change.

Middle and UMC people will vote with their feet and wallets. And it will probably set back DCPS back 30 years in terms of progress.

I can't think of a single dumber policy with equally awful outcomes.

Right - the alternative status quo where everyone just attends Deal and J-R is better?

If you move a critical mass of middle and upper middle class kids to a new school that school will immediately improve - the SES make-up of the kids at a school is more determinative of how good a school is than anything else.

This process doesn't need to include more uncertainty - hell the current process is filled with uncertainty for lots of families who spend years scrambling around for charter and OOB slots rather than having a sure path to a good neighborhood based public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A woman "RG" was irate that Shepherd to the already over enrolled Wells/Coolidge to make things fair for Takoma and then all Bancroft should be zoned for a Macfarland for language. I'm surprised people don't even make an attempt to hide their racism. Roosevelt and Coolidge are more overcrowded than Jackson Reed but Ms RG insists that any brown or Black kids "go where they belong". I'm even further surprised that she's an attorney. I bet she has a "we welcome all people" yard sign. Smh.

Lol - no Roosevelt and Coolidge are not more overcrowded than J-R.

Both are at about 750 students in larger facilities and FWIW have way better student to teacher ratios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A woman "RG" was irate that Shepherd to the already over enrolled Wells/Coolidge to make things fair for Takoma and then all Bancroft should be zoned for a Macfarland for language. I'm surprised people don't even make an attempt to hide their racism. Roosevelt and Coolidge are more overcrowded than Jackson Reed but Ms RG insists that any brown or Black kids "go where they belong". I'm even further surprised that she's an attorney. I bet she has a "we welcome all people" yard sign. Smh.

Lol - no Roosevelt and Coolidge are not more overcrowded than J-R.

Both are at about 750 students in larger facilities and FWIW have way better student to teacher ratios.

Citation?

[Anonymous]

Will the at-risk set aside for OOB seats affect current students attending OOB? Like will they kick my OOB kids out if they are attending say Janney or Lafayette but not at risk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will the at-risk set aside for OOB seats affect current students attending OOB? Like will they kick my OOB kids out if they are attending say Janney or Lafayette but not at risk?

I highly doubt they will kick out any enrolled students from their current school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will the at-risk set aside for OOB seats affect current students attending OOB? Like will they kick my OOB kids out if they are attending say Janney or Lafayette but not at risk?

I highly doubt they will kick out any enrolled students from their current school.

Agreed. That has never been the MO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS eliminates feeder rights or makes it difficult for middle and UMC families to continue in their feeder (ie, introduces more uncertainty), the wheels will completely come off DCPS within two years of the policy change.

Middle and UMC people will vote with their feet and wallets. And it will probably set back DCPS back 30 years in terms of progress.

I can't think of a single dumber policy with equally awful outcomes.

Right - the alternative status quo where everyone just attends Deal and J-R is better?

If you move a critical mass of middle and upper middle class kids to a new school that school will immediately improve - the SES make-up of the kids at a school is more determinative of how good a school is than anything else.

This process doesn't need to include more uncertainty - hell the current process is filled with uncertainty for lots of families who spend years scrambling around for charter and OOB slots rather than having a sure path to a good neighborhood based public school.

You cannot "move" students anywhere. The kinds of parents who would go through years of planning and a lot of inconvenience to avoid their IB schools are not going to just say "gosh, you've got us" and do what you want them to do here. Feeder rights are just one mechanism by which families avoid their IB schools, but the reason they avoid them is that the schools are bad. And, yes, there is a collective action problem here, but because of the presence of charters (and the ability to move out of DC), it's not solvable like this. If DCPS wants more IB families, they have to actually make middle and high schools attractive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If DCPS eliminates feeder rights or makes it difficult for middle and UMC families to continue in their feeder (ie, introduces more uncertainty), the wheels will completely come off DCPS within two years of the policy change.

Middle and UMC people will vote with their feet and wallets. And it will probably set back DCPS back 30 years in terms of progress.

I can't think of a single dumber policy with equally awful outcomes.

Right - the alternative status quo where everyone just attends Deal and J-R is better?

If you move a critical mass of middle and upper middle class kids to a new school that school will immediately improve - the SES make-up of the kids at a school is more determinative of how good a school is than anything else.

This process doesn't need to include more uncertainty - hell the current process is filled with uncertainty for lots of families who spend years scrambling around for charter and OOB slots rather than having a sure path to a good neighborhood based public school.

You cannot "move" students anywhere. The kinds of parents who would go through years of planning and a lot of inconvenience to avoid their IB schools are not going to just say "gosh, you've got us" and do what you want them to do here. Feeder rights are just one mechanism by which families avoid their IB schools, but the reason they avoid them is that the schools are bad. And, yes, there is a collective action problem here, but because of the presence of charters (and the ability to move out of DC), it's not solvable like this. If DCPS wants more IB families, they have to actually make middle and high schools attractive.

Of course you can move students anywhere.

You haven't sent your kids to the schools you fear - so enlighten us about what is wrong with them?

[Anonymous]

I'm firmly of the belief that the boundaries just need to be reset. Bowser will never do it. Doesn't have the guts. But it's just pulling off a bandaid. So the whiners send their kids to St. Albans. Those who are in these schools who aren't multigenerational poor will demand more from them and they will change quickly. Some people don't remember that Deal was this thing that people shunned not that long ago. And now it's got every program you can think of and is massively overfilled.

The right thing in my opinion is to make MacFarland the default MS for every student between Cardozo and Takoma west of Brookland, get rid of feeder rights to middle school, make Oyster-Adams' middle school another elementary and end dual language at Oyster, where no concentration of Spanish speakers live (yes, yes, World Bank blah blah blah, those people don't live inordinately near Oyster) add dual language at Brightwood and Dorothy Height, etc.

But it's NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. Good policy is subject to you all here, and DCUM says no, so Bowser obeys. The end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm firmly of the belief that the boundaries just need to be reset. Bowser will never do it. Doesn't have the guts. But it's just pulling off a bandaid. So the whiners send their kids to St. Albans. Those who are in these schools who aren't multigenerational poor will demand more from them and they will change quickly. Some people don't remember that Deal was this thing that people shunned not that long ago. And now it's got every program you can think of and is massively overfilled.

The right thing in my opinion is to make MacFarland the default MS for every student between Cardozo and Takoma west of Brookland, get rid of feeder rights to middle school, make Oyster-Adams' middle school another elementary and end dual language at Oyster, where no concentration of Spanish speakers live (yes, yes, World Bank blah blah blah, those people don't live inordinately near Oyster) add dual language at Brightwood and Dorothy Height, etc.

But it's NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN. Good policy is subject to you all here, and DCUM says no, so Bowser obeys. The end.

Agreed.

And Hardy was also shunned - just 5 years ago.

They need to rip the bandage off and start over.

There is still a political price to be paid for all of this tinkering around the edges too - people are pissed and political capital is being spent and they aren't even solving the problem.

But here is the real political problem - in order to wholesale re-do the boundaries you need to take on two very powerful lobbies in DC - the charter school lobby and the real estate lobby both of whom benefit enormously from the current clusterfu(k of DCPS boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, flattered that you think DCUM has any power. This runs much deeper than a few noisy neighbors.