Jay Mathews Points Readers in Wrong Direction on Top Charters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Matthews and Martel that some of those numbers are way out of wack.

Washington Latin Lower School (41.7 percent)
BASIS Middle School (33.9?percent)
Washington Latin High School (23.9 percent)
Washington Yu Ying elementary school (22.2 percent)

If the pool of students is only 5 - 10% white, it takes some heavy duty self-selection (probable) or something nefarious (unlikely) to get to those percentages. Reminds me of SWS, another school with miraculously high white enrollment (67%).

If nothing else, this could shed some light on comparisons between HRCS and DCPS. If HRCS's have a built in 20-30% boost in high SES enrollment, then those average DC-CAS scores should be that much higher than DCPS, not slightly above par.

I don't think you are looking at the numbers in the right way. Enrollment should match the population of the city not the kids enrolled in public schools. Point being that many families (black and white) have enrolled their children in these schools but would not consider their neighborhood public school. if excluded from these charters yhey would either move or go private. So if you kick these kids out of the charters, the numbers across the city are not going to re-balance.

Thank you. Are you people really that dense? How can you not get it? I guarantee you that if a white family did not get into Basis or Latin for middle school, they will not be attending any other charter in the city. These schools should be praised for being an acceptable alternative for what would otherwise be fleeing students. These school represent the city's population and is doing so organically.

The original premise of charter schools was that they would bring an opportunity higher educational standards for every child, especially "inner city" youth. Now, some of them seem to be morphing into publically funded enclaves for connected families. I'm a big fan of the common lottery, but some of these demographic trends seem to have been baked into the cake before the lottery was implemented.

Isn't there a contradiction in saying "for every child/especially..." How bout we stick.with for every child?

This is how charter school lobbyists sell their bills. Smiling black and brown faces. Same with "Opportunity Scholarships", etc.

[Anonymous]

That's because there ARE smiling brown and black faces there and in some cases those brown and black faces are getting their quality public education right beside white faces. What the heck is wrong with that?

[Anonymous]

One of these schools that is being accused of cheating on a lottery to admit white students has 19% white kids. That means over 80% are AA at the school.

There is a weird perception in DC that a school has "gone white" if there are any white students at all in the building. We are a damaged city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Matthews and Martel that some of those numbers are way out of wack.

Washington Latin Lower School (41.7 percent)
BASIS Middle School (33.9?percent)
Washington Latin High School (23.9 percent)
Washington Yu Ying elementary school (22.2 percent)

If the pool of students is only 5 - 10% white, it takes some heavy duty self-selection (probable) or something nefarious (unlikely) to get to those percentages. Reminds me of SWS, another school with miraculously high white enrollment (67%).

If nothing else, this could shed some light on comparisons between HRCS and DCPS. If HRCS's have a built in 20-30% boost in high SES enrollment, then those average DC-CAS scores should be that much higher than DCPS, not slightly above par.

I don't think you are looking at the numbers in the right way. Enrollment should match the population of the city not the kids enrolled in public schools. Point being that many families (black and white) have enrolled their children in these schools but would not consider their neighborhood public school. if excluded from these charters yhey would either move or go private. So if you kick these kids out of the charters, the numbers across the city are not going to re-balance.

Thank you. Are you people really that dense? How can you not get it? I guarantee you that if a white family did not get into Basis or Latin for middle school, they will not be attending any other charter in the city. These schools should be praised for being an acceptable alternative for what would otherwise be fleeing students. These school represent the city's population and is doing so organically.

The original premise of charter schools was that they would bring an opportunity higher educational standards for every child, especially "inner city" youth. Now, some of them seem to be morphing into publically funded enclaves for connected families. I'm a big fan of the common lottery, but some of these demographic trends seem to have been baked into the cake before the lottery was implemented.

But there is nothing "connected" about it. All families apply by lottery - either you're lucky or unlucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The original premise of charter schools was that they would bring an opportunity higher educational standards for every child, especially "inner city" youth. Now, some of them seem to be morphing into publically funded enclaves for connected families. I'm a big fan of the common lottery, but some of these demographic trends seem to have been baked into the cake before the lottery was implemented.

But there is nothing "connected" about it. All families apply by lottery - either you're lucky or unlucky.

PP is confusing charters with WOTP OOB schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My children live in NE less than a mile from the center of the city. Let's stop the term "inner city youth" if what you actually mean is "poor black and brown youth".

I'm tired of hearing how Washington DC should be for all the people in all 8 wards and all children should have high quality education -- when the people who say that really mean we should only focus resources on the least among us and screw anyone who is white and/or moderately successful.

The new middle class in DC is not necessarily all AA and not able to afford $40k a year for private school, but we have bought homes and pay our taxes. If you don't want us to stay, block us out of the charters that keep us here, because our IB options are bad. We will flee to the suburbs and Martel can have his educational utopia of ensconced rich kids in private schools/ward 3 DCPS and hard-case kids in the charters.

No one is saying new residents shouldn't have good schools, access to charters, whatever.

The reactions here have me womder if the numbers in the Matthews article are less accidental than I first thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Matthews and Martel that some of those numbers are way out of wack.

Washington Latin Lower School (41.7 percent)
BASIS Middle School (33.9?percent)
Washington Latin High School (23.9 percent)
Washington Yu Ying elementary school (22.2 percent)

If the pool of students is only 5 - 10% white, it takes some heavy duty self-selection (probable) or something nefarious (unlikely) to get to those percentages. Reminds me of SWS, another school with miraculously high white enrollment (67%).

If nothing else, this could shed some light on comparisons between HRCS and DCPS. If HRCS's have a built in 20-30% boost in high SES enrollment, then those average DC-CAS scores should be that much higher than DCPS, not slightly above par.

I don't think you are looking at the numbers in the right way. Enrollment should match the population of the city not the kids enrolled in public schools. Point being that many families (black and white) have enrolled their children in these schools but would not consider their neighborhood public school. if excluded from these charters yhey would either move or go private. So if you kick these kids out of the charters, the numbers across the city are not going to re-balance.

Thank you. Are you people really that dense? How can you not get it? I guarantee you that if a white family did not get into Basis or Latin for middle school, they will not be attending any other charter in the city. These schools should be praised for being an acceptable alternative for what would otherwise be fleeing students. These school represent the city's population and is doing so organically.

The original premise of charter schools was that they would bring an opportunity higher educational standards for every child, especially "inner city" youth. Now, some of them seem to be morphing into publically funded enclaves for connected families. I'm a big fan of the common lottery, but some of these demographic trends seem to have been baked into the cake before the lottery was implemented.

But there is nothing "connected" about it. All families apply by lottery - either you're lucky or unlucky.

Now they do. In the past it was a bit murkier, which is why Matthews wrote the article in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Matthews and Martel that some of those numbers are way out of wack.

Washington Latin Lower School (41.7 percent)
BASIS Middle School (33.9?percent)
Washington Latin High School (23.9 percent)
Washington Yu Ying elementary school (22.2 percent)

If the pool of students is only 5 - 10% white, it takes some heavy duty self-selection (probable) or something nefarious (unlikely) to get to those percentages. Reminds me of SWS, another school with miraculously high white enrollment (67%).

If nothing else, this could shed some light on comparisons between HRCS and DCPS. If HRCS's have a built in 20-30% boost in high SES enrollment, then those average DC-CAS scores should be that much higher than DCPS, not slightly above par.

Whoah whoah whoah. Where are you getting this 5-10% white? Most recent Census data shows that DC is now 43.4% white. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html

That's what should be "normal" in terms of a citywide distribution. Any number under that is disproportionately low.

[Anonymous]

What are the demographics of school aged children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Matthews and Martel that some of those numbers are way out of wack.

Washington Latin Lower School (41.7 percent)
BASIS Middle School (33.9?percent)
Washington Latin High School (23.9 percent)
Washington Yu Ying elementary school (22.2 percent)

If the pool of students is only 5 - 10% white, it takes some heavy duty self-selection (probable) or something nefarious (unlikely) to get to those percentages. Reminds me of SWS, another school with miraculously high white enrollment (67%).

If nothing else, this could shed some light on comparisons between HRCS and DCPS. If HRCS's have a built in 20-30% boost in high SES enrollment, then those average DC-CAS scores should be that much higher than DCPS, not slightly above par.

Whoah whoah whoah. Where are you getting this 5-10% white? Most recent Census data shows that DC is now 43.4% white. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/11000.html

That's what should be "normal" in terms of a citywide distribution. Any number under that is disproportionately low.

And that census data is now out of date, plus, in many parts of the city the numbers of babies being born among predominantly white (though not exclusively) middle class families has sky rocketed. ANd those families are staying in DC and sending their kids to DCPS or charters. In my part of ward 5 the percentage of kids under 5 who are white is probably close to 70 percent. In fact, on my block alone there have been 15 kids born in the past 5 years. 3 of them are black, 2 are mixed race, 10 are white -- ALL are the children of middle class professionals.

[Anonymous]

"While the racial composition of the city has changed dramatically over the past decade, the racial composition of public schools has been slower to shift. In a city where 2 out of 3 school-age children are black, about 8 in 10 charter students and about 7 in 10 DCPS students are black. Compared with charters, DCPS has about three times the share of white students and about twice the share of Asian students."

http://datatools.urban.org/features/OurChangingCity/schools/index.html#diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Matthews and Martel that some of those numbers are way out of wack.

Washington Latin Lower School (41.7 percent)
BASIS Middle School (33.9?percent)
Washington Latin High School (23.9 percent)
Washington Yu Ying elementary school (22.2 percent)

If the pool of students is only 5 - 10% white, it takes some heavy duty self-selection (probable) or something nefarious (unlikely) to get to those percentages. Reminds me of SWS, another school with miraculously high white enrollment (67%).

If nothing else, this could shed some light on comparisons between HRCS and DCPS. If HRCS's have a built in 20-30% boost in high SES enrollment, then those average DC-CAS scores should be that much higher than DCPS, not slightly above par.

I don't think you are looking at the numbers in the right way. Enrollment should match the population of the city not the kids enrolled in public schools. Point being that many families (black and white) have enrolled their children in these schools but would not consider their neighborhood public school. if excluded from these charters yhey would either move or go private. So if you kick these kids out of the charters, the numbers across the city are not going to re-balance.

Thank you. Are you people really that dense? How can you not get it? I guarantee you that if a white family did not get into Basis or Latin for middle school, they will not be attending any other charter in the city. These schools should be praised for being an acceptable alternative for what would otherwise be fleeing students. These school represent the city's population and is doing so organically.

The original premise of charter schools was that they would bring an opportunity higher educational standards for every child, especially "inner city" youth. Now, some of them seem to be morphing into publically funded enclaves for connected families. I'm a big fan of the common lottery, but some of these demographic trends seem to have been baked into the cake before the lottery was implemented.

But there is nothing "connected" about it. All families apply by lottery - either you're lucky or unlucky.

Now they do. In the past it was a bit murkier, which is why Matthews wrote the article in the first place.

Whatever supposed "murkiness" of the past is not relevant to today. They system simply doesn't work the way Martel is trying to suggest.

[Anonymous]

I've got some cock-and-bull theory on schools. Why won't Jay Mathews publish disgruntled, fired little me? Oh, he'll go into it next time. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Now they do. In the past it was a bit murkier, which is why Matthews wrote the article in the first place.

Until the common lottery everything was murky. It used to be principals just decided who got in OOB. DCPS still has a lot more latitude than charters that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of these schools that is being accused of cheating on a lottery to admit white students has 19% white kids. That means over 80% are AA at the school.

There is a weird perception in DC that a school has "gone white" if there are any white students at all in the building. We are a damaged city.

Right... because none of the non-white students could possibly be Latino, Asian or multi-racial...