Child crying over DCPS letter to cut Fillmore

[Anonymous]

Get this Troll outta here: s/he seems to be ignoring the fact that DCPS has made sure (up to this point) that DCPS students have their own arts spaces, with arts equipment and supplies to fill those spaces. The "end Fillmore" decision creates unfair conditions for the 1700 kids who currently use Fillmore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get this Troll outta here: s/he seems to be ignoring the fact that DCPS has made sure (up to this point) that DCPS students have their own arts spaces, with arts equipment and supplies to fill those spaces. The "end Fillmore" decision creates unfair conditions for the 1700 kids who currently use Fillmore.

Gosh! The same way DC underfunds charter schools to the tune of $5,000 per student every year?

You're right, that sounds like true injustice and a dire emergency!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a parent at one of the Fillmore schools. I'm ready to let it go. I can't in good conscience say it's okay for the city to spend $1100 on my kid's arts education, while spending $450 per capita on kids in the rest of the city. Add to that the mixed reviews, the revolving door of teachers who are not trained in classroom management, and instructional time lost to transit, and I:m ready to try an in school model.

As an aside, the 600 K for busing works out to $8.80 per kid per trip (assuming 1700 kids and 40 weeks of instruction). More expensive than a city bus, but you'd expect to pay more than a city bus for the door to door service and the short term use. That would be SOP for any transit contract. Thus, you could reduce the busing costs, but not by enough.

So, you would rather your kid do limited art in homeroom, rather than in a proper arts classroom like every other kid in the City? Or do you think DCPS is going to build you an addition in order to keep it fair? Are you really a parent?

FYI: the bloated bus contract ends this year and would go down to around $250,000 next year, as it should have been all along.

Our school doesn't have such dire space constraints. As I noted, though, if the quality of instruction can be improved by an in school model, I am willing to try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a parent at one of the Fillmore schools. I'm ready to let it go. I can't in good conscience say it's okay for the city to spend $1100 on my kid's arts education, while spending $450 per capita on kids in the rest of the city. Add to that the mixed reviews, the revolving door of teachers who are not trained in classroom management, and instructional time lost to transit, and I:m ready to try an in school model.

As an aside, the 600 K for busing works out to $8.80 per kid per trip (assuming 1700 kids and 40 weeks of instruction). More expensive than a city bus, but you'd expect to pay more than a city bus for the door to door service and the short term use. That would be SOP for any transit contract. Thus, you could reduce the busing costs, but not by enough.

So, you would rather your kid do limited art in homeroom, rather than in a proper arts classroom like every other kid in the City? Or do you think DCPS is going to build you an addition in order to keep it fair? Are you really a parent?

FYI: the bloated bus contract ends this year and would go down to around $250,000 next year, as it should have been all along.

Our school doesn't have such dire space constraints. As I noted, though, if the quality of instruction can be improved by an in school model, I am willing to try.

Which school are you at? I was told none of 5 Fillmore schools have spare classrooms in which to begin an arts or music program. Of course, you understand, you would have to find extra money -- maybe $40,000 or so -- to properly begin an arts and music program where you don't have one? Where will you get the necessary funds to do that? Or, you could just support Fillmore, which has a 42-year legacy of building and supporting such programming. You won't get any of Fillmore's scraps once it ends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a parent at one of the Fillmore schools. I'm ready to let it go. I can't in good conscience say it's okay for the city to spend $1100 on my kid's arts education, while spending $450 per capita on kids in the rest of the city. Add to that the mixed reviews, the revolving door of teachers who are not trained in classroom management, and instructional time lost to transit, and I:m ready to try an in school model.

As an aside, the 600 K for busing works out to $8.80 per kid per trip (assuming 1700 kids and 40 weeks of instruction). More expensive than a city bus, but you'd expect to pay more than a city bus for the door to door service and the short term use. That would be SOP for any transit contract. Thus, you could reduce the busing costs, but not by enough.

So, you would rather your kid do limited art in homeroom, rather than in a proper arts classroom like every other kid in the City? Or do you think DCPS is going to build you an addition in order to keep it fair? Are you really a parent?

FYI: the bloated bus contract ends this year and would go down to around $250,000 next year, as it should have been all along.

Our school doesn't have such dire space constraints. As I noted, though, if the quality of instruction can be improved by an in school model, I am willing to try.

Which school are you at? I was told none of 5 Fillmore schools have spare classrooms in which to begin an arts or music program. Of course, you understand, you would have to find extra money -- maybe $40,000 or so -- to properly begin an arts and music program where you don't have one? Where will you get the necessary funds to do that? Or, you could just support Fillmore, which has a 42-year legacy of building and supporting such programming. You won't get any of Fillmore's scraps once it ends.

If DCPS really insists on ending funding for Fillmore, I would hope they could give schools more time (at least one full academic year). How can theses schools be expected to launch an in-school arts program by August?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh please. As a former Fillmore parent I'm not surprised this day has finally come for this mediocre, overpriced program. There are more financially responsible ways to deliver art and music to elementary schools. Your kid will be fine. You need to get a grip and start working with your ES to get art and music directly to your child's class.

+1. When my DC was in the strings class at Fillmore, the teacher spent almost entirely in every class period tuning each student's instruments. I was always thinking what a waste of time for everyone that it was not even worth the money or time doing this program. So, I think it's time to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please. As a former Fillmore parent I'm not surprised this day has finally come for this mediocre, overpriced program. There are more financially responsible ways to deliver art and music to elementary schools. Your kid will be fine. You need to get a grip and start working with your ES to get art and music directly to your child's class.

+1. When my DC was in the strings class at Fillmore, the teacher spent almost entirely in every class period tuning each student's instruments. I was always thinking what a waste of time for everyone that it was not even worth the money or time doing this program. So, I think it's time to go.

How would you know that the teacher spent most of the class tuning the instruments? Were you there? The beginning strings students from our child's school played surprisingly well at the mini concert in January, so the teacher must be doing something right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh please. As a former Fillmore parent I'm not surprised this day has finally come for this mediocre, overpriced program. There are more financially responsible ways to deliver art and music to elementary schools. Your kid will be fine. You need to get a grip and start working with your ES to get art and music directly to your child's class.

+1. When my DC was in the strings class at Fillmore, the teacher spent almost entirely in every class period tuning each student's instruments. I was always thinking what a waste of time for everyone that it was not even worth the money or time doing this program. So, I think it's time to go.

How would you know that the teacher spent most of the class tuning the instruments? Were you there? The beginning strings students from our child's school played surprisingly well at the mini concert in January, so the teacher must be doing something right.

Agree. My daughter was in advanced strings, and those lessons were a great complement to her private lessons, and she learned to work as part of a team, work hard to excel, and FOCUS. I witnessed strings rehearsals, and tuning goes quickly; teacher engages apt pupils to help listen to the tones as she tuned.

I was always moved by the diversity of the strings group. Children all colors, varying SES (from what I could tell). And the teacher pushed them all hard.

Strange to me that this Fillmore program is cut, while Ellington is a flagship program. To me, Fillmore is Ellington, Jr. DCPS can grow serious musicians, serious performers. Children who do not necessarily find their calling everyday within the classroom get a chance to discover an arts avocation under the guidance of actual artists.

[Anonymous]

The fact that Bowser will throw millions at Ellington but condemn the Fillmore kids to crayons is more than a bit odd.

[Anonymous]

Let's count and describe the spare rooms the 5 schools have for arts.

I will go first for Ross: 0 spare rooms. Classes for music, dance, art would need to be in the grade classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's count and describe the spare rooms the 5 schools have for arts.

I will go first for Ross: 0 spare rooms. Classes for music, dance, art would need to be in the grade classroom.

I would add to that no spare storage space. Even the library spills over into the hallway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's count and describe the spare rooms the 5 schools have for arts.

I will go first for Ross: 0 spare rooms. Classes for music, dance, art would need to be in the grade classroom.

I would add to that no spare storage space. Even the library spills over into the hallway.

Key - 0 spare rooms. AP office in a broom closet. Parking lot full of trailers. School bought special partitions so the could teach targeted groups in a hallway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's count and describe the spare rooms the 5 schools have for arts.

I will go first for Ross: 0 spare rooms. Classes for music, dance, art would need to be in the grade classroom.

I would add to that no spare storage space. Even the library spills over into the hallway.

Key - 0 spare rooms. AP office in a broom closet. Parking lot full of trailers. School bought special partitions so the could teach targeted groups in a hallway.

Plus the stage part of the cafeteria is already used as a teaching area. Even though the kids eat lunch in three shifts. And Key has already been renovated.

[Anonymous]

And Hyde-Addison - in trailers for the next two years ...

[Anonymous]

Stoddert has 0 spare rooms, too. The new unfunded LEAP requirements further restricted the school's ability to make new space or do anything more to fund arts programming and certainly not start up a new arts program at the school.