Please explain relevance of "OOB crowding" to the DCPS boundary review process

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01/26/2014 10:47

Subject: Please explain relevance of "OOB crowding" to the DCPS boundary review process

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

I would characterize your understanding of MS and HS in DC as limited and/or dated. Deal is no longer considered borderline by most WOTP parents. Hence the overcrowding. More and more WOTP families are choosing Wilson (again causing the crowding issue) and interest in School Without Walls continues to be high. Banneker has great scores but has not yet received a vote of confidence from WOTP families. Many chalk this up to racism but others point to low SAT scores. Finally, things are looking up for Hardy which, according to a recent post, is expecting an influx of in-boundary students. Personally, I'm really rooting for that school to succeed.

OP here - on reflection I have heard good things about School Without Walls - fair point. Banneker I am unfamiliar. I just looked it up and it's 60% free lunch, yet 99% graduation and college attendance. That's some impressive value-added. I don't know enough to express any solid opinion on it. I'll just say that the free lunch number worries me and a school that gives "N/A" as the white percentage (presumably 99% black/hispanic?) does not meet my standards for diversity. Nor does a school that is 99% white non-hispanic, for the record.

When I say Deal and Wilson are "borderline yes", I know people IB for these schools who are considering moving to MoCo, Arlington, Fairfax (or paying private if that's an option for them). The public opinion ranking seems to be: Deal first, then Wilson, then Hardy. But no-one raves about any of them. It is more of a careful calculus that weighs school quality against commute time and urban amenities vs. suburban life, etc. Most people I know would prefer to live in DC, other things held equal, and they may be willing to compromise on schools in order to "stay urban".

But other things are not equal. I have never heard a single negative thing about the best MD and VA schools except "they're too rich/white", and people put up with crappy commutes and pay for expensive houses for the privilege of sending their kids there.

This is what I mean by borderline. Maybe it's not the best word choice as it suggests a more negative view than what I intend.

I agree that I am outdated/uninformed about east-of-park schools, but I think this is a pretty fair assessment of where Hardy/Deal/Wilson stand in the eyes of most parents I talk to on this stuff.

I suspect you either have very young children or you don't live in the Deal school zone. Your information sounds gossipy and second-hand (i.e. the comment that no one raves about them makes me doubt you've actually spoken to a Deal parent). That you know parents thinking about leaving for the suburbs doesn't speak to true indicators of quality in these schools. I'd also like to see how many of those families actually pull the plug. Talking about leaving is a time-honored NWDC parlor game. I smile when I think about all of the preschool events I went to where there was so much hand-wringing about Lafayette, Murch or Janney. Admitting that you will be sending your child to DCPS can be hard for some parents, particularly when you have friends/family/colleagues who make pointed remarks about how you'll have to "move or go private." However, most families that take the plunge are pleasantly surprised. Similarly, many parents of young elementary school students see Deal as a deal-breaker. However, as your children age you see older siblings go off and do well and you hear parents express their approval. Before you know it, your child is at Deal and you realize that the school is far from "borderline." In fact, Deal is a fabulous school that has my admiration for pulling off the difficult feat of addressing the academic needs of a very diverse student body. I have friends with kids at Westland and Pyle and I really don't see much of a difference in terms of academic press.

That brings me to my second point. I would argue that you are also incorrect when you say that there is nary a bad word to be said about the best MoCo schools. People love to tell you that academic nirvana lies in the suburbs. However, I was a k-12 lifer in the Wootton pyramid and I can articulate a myriad of reasons why my DC won't be following in my footsteps. I don't know what the future holds for my DC but I do know it will not include attendance at a W school.