J.O. Wilson or Ludlow Taylor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IB LT parents -- you should reach out on MOTH to other families who are thrilled (yes, thrilled) with the school. We would be glad to chat with you about everything we love about the school. Our family turned down Peabody earlier this year b/c the ECE kids at LT seem to be MUCH happier than many at Peabody, which seems to have some pretty hit-or-miss teachers. And then you end up at Watkins!

What is ECE?

Early Childhood Education

[Anonymous]

Curious what your other pocked were

[Anonymous]

Sorry th was "picks" and was directed at 11:33

[Anonymous]

LT Parent here. For those of you on the fence about the school here is my take on it (in no particular order).

1. The teachers are great. They have pushed our child to do more things than I thought was possible for a 4 year old to do. I am referring to all the teachers - art, drama, music, science, as well as the student's primary teachers.

2. The physical plant of the school has improved dramatically and is only going to get better. The parents and administration (the dreaded Principal Cobbs) have secured a significant grant for the outdoor space. We are hoping to parlay that and another grant into something even better. The plans for all the green space as outlined by the architectural firm who did the interior are amazing.

3. There is a disconnect between many of the families who live nearby and those who don't. Unfortunately a lot of those difference seem to fall along racial lines and can make it challenging to arrange for activities outside of school with some classmates.

4. There are people from MD who are cheating and sending their child/children to LTES.

5. It has the potential to be another great neighborhood school - test scores have continued to improve. The more involved families we have the more likely this trend is to continue.

6. Principal Cobbs is not the warm and fuzzy principal that I remember from my youth but I don't believe she is an impediment to my child's education.

People can continue to play the lottery and travel all over the city for their child's primary education and I'm sure they will. However, I can tell you that it is awesome to be able to walk to/from school every day. We hope to build lasting relationships with families in the community where our children all attend the same school. That is how I was raised in the 'burbs and how I want to raise my kid.

That is all. Good night and everyone have a drink and a good weekend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
4. There are people from MD who are cheating and sending their child/children to LTES.

Current parent, thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated.

Regarding the MD cheaters... does the principal support efforts to remove them from the school once they are identified? And how do the teachers seem to feel about it?

It's worth noting the MD cheater history for those not familiar. When DC parents did not want to enroll there kids in DCPS, the principals relied on MD parents who did - otherwise, they would lose much needed money or worse get closed down. Now that DC parents WANT to enroll their kids in DCPS (their neighborhood schools) they are seeing MD kids in their class.

FWIW, I personally know of three (yes 3!) Maryland parents who work in DC but are planning to enroll their kids in a DCPS or charter school. It frustrates me because they plan to apply to the same schools that I'm applying to. They are each using a DC address from a family member and it will be difficult to track them down (especially since they each plan a believable and elaborate story). These families do not know each other but they all frequent the DC Urban Mom boards.

I'm just wondering if there's anything that can be done about it. I guess unless the parents, teachers and principals are all of the same page, it will be a challenge to change this direction. I guess some MD students in DCPS and charters are inevitable?

(Note: I've read - but never responded to - previous discussions about MD cheaters and I hope this doesn't turn into one of those heated debates. I genuinely want to know what can be done and/or if it's even possible given school administration/teacher's perspective on whether it's even an issue or not)

[Anonymous]

*their kids (not there kids), sorry

[Anonymous]

The only thing I think that can be done is a home visit situation? To truly confirm the child's place of residence.

[Anonymous]

^ Unfortunately, a home visit wouldn't work. The MD cheaters either own homes in DC that they are renting out (while they live in big houses with yards in suburban Maryland) OR they have relatives in DC who allow them to use their address.

The folks I know plan to "set up" the appearance of the child living in the house even though they plan to go home to Maryland everyday.

They are learning how the system works and then covering their tracks.

[Anonymous]

I think the only way is to make it clear that the city takes cheating seriously and go after families that cheat.

Then, use tax records to prove that the family address corresponds to who is claiming the child as a dependent.

Since this would likely occur AFTER school starts, they would demand that these families pay tuition or get out.

Hopefully, this would deter families from doing it. I don't know how you prevent the families from entering it in the first place.

But it's frustrating that I will have to complete with MD families in addition DC families.

[Anonymous]

The My School DC website needs to put a prominent legal statement that says something like:

I verify that I am currently a DC resident living in the District of Columbia (define)....

Check Yes or No

[Anonymous]

...and include how they will be prosecuted or fined if they are found to be lying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IB LT parents -- you should reach out on MOTH to other families who are thrilled (yes, thrilled) with the school. We would be glad to chat with you about everything we love about the school. Our family turned down Peabody earlier this year b/c the ECE kids at LT seem to be MUCH happier than many at Peabody, which seems to have some pretty hit-or-miss teachers. And then you end up at Watkins!

Former Watkins parent here (DC aged out) -- my child got a very good education at Watkins. We are IB for LT and had no regrets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the only way is to make it clear that the city takes cheating seriously and go after families that cheat.

Then, use tax records to prove that the family address corresponds to who is claiming the child as a dependent.

Since this would likely occur AFTER school starts, they would demand that these families pay tuition or get out.

Hopefully, this would deter families from doing it. I don't know how you prevent the families from entering it in the first place.

But it's frustrating that I will have to complete with MD families in addition DC families.

Yeah they would have to do more investigations.

I only know of one incidence where a MD student got removed and it was because a social worker was working with the family because of some domestic violence issues.

[Anonymous]

It also depends on the principals vantage point.

The principal at JO Wilson acknowledged that she has Maryland families enrolled, but she said that her goal is to teach kids (regardless of where they come from).

I think this is driven by the fact that her classrooms do not fill up. If they did fill up with inbound and there was a waiting list perhaps she'd feel differently.

Anyone know what the principal at LT thinks about Maryland families?

[Anonymous]

How can the Wilson principal openly acknowledge that she supports fraud? I understand that the LT principal is also supporting tax payer fraud, but how can it be acceptable for an administrator to openly admit that she supports fraud? There must be something fundamentally broken in the chain of accountability in DCPS.