interesting DCI and Washington Latin news

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK but still not equitable. Charters have to use the per pupil facilities $ for renovations and repairs whereas DCPS renovations come from the City's Capital budget, not the education budget.

Charters use their per pupil facilities to pay the debt service on the renovation cost. This means depending on the # of students they can invest tes of millions for those renovations and repay over 15 - 30 years.

[Anonymous]

If Ward 4 elects the Bowser man for their council seat, can we expect DCI to be shut out of Walter Reed?

[Anonymous]

Obviously $6 million is a lot of money, but with the number of schools and parents involved, could we (I have a K kid at one of the feeders) do a super fundraiser for the money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone whose child is in a feeder and has a vested interest in it coming to fruition,

My understanding is that DCI was offered a building fully renovated, but that they insisted on the location they want that needs a renovation. This was stupid, and I agree, they shouldn't get the funding. They should have taken a ready building that needs to be occupied...

No, they were offered shared space at Roosevelt once renovated. The condition is that they would have to expand and allow in more DC studnts. DCI turned the offer down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK but still not equitable. Charters have to use the per pupil facilities $ for renovations and repairs whereas DCPS renovations come from the City's Capital budget, not the education budget.

Charters use their per pupil facilities to pay the debt service on the renovation cost. This means depending on the # of students they can invest tes of millions for those renovations and repay over 15 - 30 years.

Right. And this is why charters are always touting long waitlists. They reassure investors that the city will continue making these payments for decades to come.

If you read this article on the Amos shutdown, http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-charter-school-board-revokes-charter-for-community-academy/2015/02/19/47f0d424-b83f-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html, you'll see that who took over the bond (Friendship) was a big issue for the one campus not on city property. (And the Amos attorney attacked the deal as a "land grab.")

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone whose child is in a feeder and has a vested interest in it coming to fruition,

My understanding is that DCI was offered a building fully renovated, but that they insisted on the location they want that needs a renovation. This was stupid, and I agree, they shouldn't get the funding. They should have taken a ready building that needs to be occupied...

Ever heard location, location, location?

A nice building in the middle of nowhere is a failed proposition. I trust the leaders of a new school to know best the location they need to make it all work.

Where is the nice building. At this point, Walter Reed is merely an idea. It is yet a reality. By the way, has the environmental problems beneath the proposed site been remedied yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone whose child is in a feeder and has a vested interest in it coming to fruition,

My understanding is that DCI was offered a building fully renovated, but that they insisted on the location they want that needs a renovation. This was stupid, and I agree, they shouldn't get the funding. They should have taken a ready building that needs to be occupied...

Ever heard location, location, location?

A nice building in the middle of nowhere is a failed proposition. I trust the leaders of a new school to know best the location they need to make it all work.

Walter Reed is in the middle of nowhere, no?

Perhaps yes, perhaps not. What matters is the plan by the charter school to attract and retain students. Walter Reed is pretty convenient from upper NW and upper/ mid NE.

I agree that it is convenient for upper NW, but from someone who lives in mid-NE, during rush hour, WR is definitely not convenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Ward 4 elects the Bowser man for their council seat, can we expect DCI to be shut out of Walter Reed?

Perhaps I misunderstood who allocated that space to YY and Lamb. I thought the Feds decided to give that space to the two schools, and not DC government. If that's true, the new council member would not have any say.

[Anonymous]

This is really disappointing news. So what happens next for DCI?

[Anonymous]

Agree it's very disappointing. There seems to be little interest in providing an environment here where the city wants to keep families vested. There seems to be an undercurrent of apathy about that though the effects of flight from the city by concerned parents would be problematic for the city. I think some of the apathy comes from parents themselves. People who aren't in feeders or don't have a desire to lottery for DCI have a sort of Not In My Backyard attitude where they could care a less about the funding for this great effort. Granted many parents, myself included, have been wary of news about the tech focus of the school, but I still think we all need to be supporting the school. Many children will lose if DCI doesn't succeed. Sadly, I don't have the mindset that things will turn out well. My DH and I decided we will continue in our feeder school until the youngest finishes K (the oldest will be in third grade by then) and then we'll sell our DC house.

[Anonymous]

I think I would be more willing to advocate for DCI but the tech focus and attitude of the administration makes us unlikely to attend. However, I do feel for the administration who can't rely on DC to make a commitment to provivde needed funds.

[Anonymous]

Both Latin and DCI are delivering good education for all.
Latin is teaching every student, not to the top 8-10% of the incoming 5th graders. DCI is still new, and so far parents and students seem to be happy. These schools do not need to rely solely on corporation money because almost every parent will donate as much as they can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree it's very disappointing. There seems to be little interest in providing an environment here where the city wants to keep families vested. There seems to be an undercurrent of apathy about that though the effects of flight from the city by concerned parents would be problematic for the city. I think some of the apathy comes from parents themselves. People who aren't in feeders or don't have a desire to lottery for DCI have a sort of Not In My Backyard attitude where they could care a less about the funding for this great effort. Granted many parents, myself included, have been wary of news about the tech focus of the school, but I still think we all need to be supporting the school. Many children will lose if DCI doesn't succeed. Sadly, I don't have the mindset that things will turn out well. My DH and I decided we will continue in our feeder school until the youngest finishes K (the oldest will be in third grade by then) and [/b]then we'll sell our DC house.

[b]

If you sell your house, especially to a DINK, it's a financial gain to the city. I agree with an earlier poster who said that people constantly make this threat, so what. As people move out, more people move in. I know I am constantly getting unsolicited inquiries asking to purchase my home.

As for this controversy, and as a parent with a kid in a DCI feeder, I really don't know how to feel about this setback. I obviously was happy for my kid when it was first allocated. However, Honestly, if DC government set the precedent of allocation of building funds to individual schools, they need to make equal funds available to all charter schools. What sets the renovations at Latin and DCI apart from IT, KIPP, Paul, CMI, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree it's very disappointing. There seems to be little interest in providing an environment here where the city wants to keep families vested. There seems to be an undercurrent of apathy about that though the effects of flight from the city by concerned parents would be problematic for the city. I think some of the apathy comes from parents themselves. People who aren't in feeders or don't have a desire to lottery for DCI have a sort of Not In My Backyard attitude where they could care a less about the funding for this great effort. Granted many parents, myself included, have been wary of news about the tech focus of the school, but I still think we all need to be supporting the school. Many children will lose if DCI doesn't succeed. Sadly, I don't have the mindset that things will turn out well. My DH and I decided we will continue in our feeder school until the youngest finishes K (the oldest will be in third grade by then) and [/b]then we'll sell our DC house.

[b]

If you sell your house, especially to a DINK, it's a financial gain to the city. I agree with an earlier poster who said that people constantly make this threat, so what. As people move out, more people move in. I know I am constantly getting unsolicited inquiries asking to purchase my home.

As for this controversy, and as a parent with a kid in a DCI feeder, I really don't know how to feel about this setback. I obviously was happy for my kid when it was first allocated. However, Honestly, if DC government set the precedent of allocation of building funds to individual schools, they need to make equal funds available to all charter schools. What sets the renovations at Latin and DCI apart from IT, KIPP, Paul, CMI, etc.

It seems the difference was that Latin and DCI had Catania's support while the others didn't. Oops. Would make more sense to me to increase the facility contribution across the board rather than picking and choosing favorite schools.

[Anonymous]

I love the idea of the eyesore Shaw middle school going to DCI. Much. Much closer for us than Walter reed. Bikeable from Capitol Hill.