What is your first choice bilingual program?

[Anonymous]

Please elaborate PP. What is IB and what are the problems at Jefferson?

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and IB is expensive. Ward 6 parents think that an IB program will somehow make Jefferson acceptable for their progeny, but I don't think they exactly "get" what IB is and what it offers.

It's going to take a whole lot more than an IB-MYP program to fix Jefferson and the Chinese they are going to offer promises to be weak, in true DCPS fashion.

I predict the whole IB thing will go up in smoke once the budget gets whacked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and IB is expensive. Ward 6 parents think that an IB program will somehow make Jefferson acceptable for their progeny, but I don't think they exactly "get" what IB is and what it offers.

It's going to take a whole lot more than an IB-MYP program to fix Jefferson and the Chinese they are going to offer promises to be weak, in true DCPS fashion.

I predict the whole IB thing will go up in smoke once the budget gets whacked.

Yes. Not to mention that it's the last two years (11th & 12th grade) of IB, when students have the opportunity to do the IB Diploma, that are the point of the whole enterprise. Honestly, just doing it for middle school is something of a "who cares?" The diploma itself is truly impressive, but I'll believe that DCPS can qualify and implement that when pigs fly. Even if the kids are leaving Jefferson for Banneker or WIS (the only HS IB Diploma Programmes in the district) it's not like it's going to put them ahead of their peers in any way, shape, or form.

http://www.ibo.org/diploma/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IB_Diploma_Programme

[Anonymous]

I don't think most Ward 6 parents are naive enough to believe that an IB MYP is all it will take to get Jefferson to become a great place to go to school. But it is a building block. And certainly all the attention on Jefferson can't help but improve the sorry state it was already in. Plummeting enrollment, crumbling building, frequent chaos.

Most ward 6 parents are cautiously skeptical about the middle school situation around here as in " I will watch and see what develops, it would be great if it works out, but I am meanwhile making other plans"

It is really just a starry-eyed, vociferous few doing the active boosting of a "renewed" Jefferson. And they are really hoping all the stars and budgets will align.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and IB is expensive. Ward 6 parents think that an IB program will somehow make Jefferson acceptable for their progeny, but I don't think they exactly "get" what IB is and what it offers.

It's going to take a whole lot more than an IB-MYP program to fix Jefferson and the Chinese they are going to offer promises to be weak, in true DCPS fashion.

I predict the whole IB thing will go up in smoke once the budget gets whacked.

Yes. Not to mention that it's the last two years (11th & 12th grade) of IB, when students have the opportunity to do the IB Diploma, that are the point of the whole enterprise. Honestly, just doing it for middle school is something of a "who cares?" The diploma itself is truly impressive, but I'll believe that DCPS can qualify and implement that when pigs fly. Even if the kids are leaving Jefferson for Banneker or WIS (the only HS IB Diploma Programmes in the district) it's not like it's going to put them ahead of their peers in any way, shape, or form.

http://www.ibo.org/diplom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IB_Diplma_Programme

Blah blah blah. It's really not about getting your individual child "ahead". It is about if an IB muddle years program has value un focusing administration, teachers, parents and students in one direction. It's about the value the program may have in creating confidence in a school within a broken system and about an outside entity requiring well rounded curriculum at a school that otherwise may only drill for standardized tests. These ate all benefits of having IB at Deal and should also be applied other middle schools in the city. Y

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and IB is expensive. Ward 6 parents think that an IB program will somehow make Jefferson acceptable for their progeny, but I don't think they exactly "get" what IB is and what it offers.

It's going to take a whole lot more than an IB-MYP program to fix Jefferson and the Chinese they are going to offer promises to be weak, in true DCPS fashion.

I predict the whole IB thing will go up in smoke once the budget gets whacked.

Yes. Not to mention that it's the last two years (11th & 12th grade) of IB, when students have the opportunity to do the IB Diploma, that are the point of the whole enterprise. Honestly, just doing it for middle school is something of a "who cares?" The diploma itself is truly impressive, but I'll believe that DCPS can qualify and implement that when pigs fly. Even if the kids are leaving Jefferson for Banneker or WIS (the only HS IB Diploma Programmes in the district) it's not like it's going to put them ahead of their peers in any way, shape, or form.

http://www.ibo.org/diplom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IB_Diplma_Programme

Blah blah blah. It's really not about getting your individual child "ahead". It is about if an IB muddle years program has value un focusing administration, teachers, parents and students in one direction. It's about the value the program may have in creating confidence in a school within a broken system and about an outside entity requiring well rounded curriculum at a school that otherwise may only drill for standardized tests. These ate all benefits of having IB at Deal and should also be applied other middle schools in the city. Y

Unintentionally perfect.

[Anonymous]

PP-yes

[Anonymous]

I had high hopes for Thomson. It is close to my office and home and occupies a beautiful newly renovated facility. However, I have taken two tours (one last year and one this year) and have not been impressed - especially past 3rd grade. Also, the new principal seemed detached and disinterested and had his staff handle the majority of the open house - including Q & A's. I'm almost in boundary so this is very frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Any votes for LAMB? I thought it looked pretty good at the open house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's my concern about Yu Ying: While it currently has a retention rate pushing 90%, it hasn't yet hit the upper elementary / middle school years when "everybody leaves" the other well regarded charters in town that continue past the elementary level (e.g., Cap City and Haynes). And if Yu Ying experiences a similar exodus of its highest SES famlies (for whom private school is a realistic option), it seems like its relatively small size (What are there this year, 44 second graders?) plus its policy of not taking in new kids past second grade would present a real death-spiral threat. I mean, with 150 kids in 6th-8th, you can offer all the sports and music and drama that parents expect for their middle schoolers after school (not to mention dedicated science, music, art, etc. teachers during the school day). With 100 kids, too, probably, with a few corners cut. But with 60? And no endowment? I don't see how. And then I don't see why those last 60 stay.

I think that this a concern in every school in the city. But, I think it would be too difficult to have new kids entering the school after everyone else has had a few years of Chinese. 2nd grade may even be a bit too late. I have two children at Yu Ying and we are commited to staying through 8th. If need be, I am willing to take the smaller classes and supplement with after school extra curriculars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had high hopes for Thomson. It is close to my office and home and occupies a beautiful newly renovated facility. However, I have taken two tours (one last year and one this year) and have not been impressed - especially past 3rd grade. Also, the new principal seemed detached and disinterested and had his staff handle the majority of the open house - including Q & A's. I'm almost in boundary so this is very frustrating.

Me too. I am inbounds, and I was leaning heavily towards sending my child there next year. And then I went to the open house with the new principal. Now my husband won't even consider DC Publics -he believes that if this is the type of improvement DCPS is seeking, he will stick to charters or endure the pain of private. I think that might be going too far, but I see exactly what he is talking about. What a travesty!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any votes for LAMB? I thought it looked pretty good at the open house.

From what I can tell, there are lots of votes for LAMB. Way more than the amount of slots that are open, which may be none.

[Anonymous]

13:56, would you be willing to elaborate on what you saw at the open house at Thomson?

[Anonymous]

13:56 here. I saw an unhappy place. The principal did not address the parents; instead, he sat in a corner and criticized the speakers. The speakers were uninformed, and the meeting was run poorly. The teachers were obviously unhappy. And, the PTA representatives were not enthusiastic. Standing alone, I would say that this was just a bad open house, and I wouldn't think much about it. However, as I had gone to several other events while the prior principal was still in place, it was very obvious that this was a very different place. Although the school obviously had a long way to go, previously there was a lot of energy, pride and enthusiasm before, which made me (and I believe others) believe that it could succeed if enough parents put their energy into it. That hope seemed to have disappeared.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for elaborating. You should send this email to Kaya Henderson. It's terrible what's happened to Thomson. It used to have a lot going for it, despite high poverty and high ESL numbers. Now it's just sad.

[Anonymous]

Wow, how sad about Thomson. Seen it me-self in many-a- DCPS since Rhee!! I think the missing ingredient that Rhee took away, that used to result in the enthusiasm and pride our schools used to have, is that our communities used to feel empowered to shape our local schools to reflect the unique place each school is. Rhee's people are top-down drones, and pta and lsrt's are just formalities with no real influence. That is, unless you're talking about a previously strong and successful program that has managed to escape Rhee's hatchet. The ones she lasered in on are indeed unhappy.