Breakthrough Montessori Family Orientation
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
They should be doing outreach to help families apply. Location also matters too - I know that Breakthrough was considering a location near Capitol Heights metro which prob would have changed the application pool. But ultimately the charter board approved their application, which expressly stated they wanted to locate in Ward 1. |
Anonymous
It's well established that different cultures and classes have different child-rearing and educational preferences/styles. The idea that you would give your kid so many choices and so much decision making power (what do you want to work on today?) is antenimical (sp?) to many classes, including my husbands factory-working, military family. Montessori then will appeal to certain segments of the population. BUT 1) if you think that will eliminate hard social problems you kids might face, think again. My kid is a problem in the classroom despite two professional parents and lot of money for therapy. The biggest problem at his last preschool was a very troubled boy from two sweet and concerned but hapless high SES parents 2) The educational/therapy community has caught on to Montessori and are channeling "problem" boys from all social-economic classes to Montessori schools thinking it will be a better fit. I love Montessori, but it is what it is. And what it isn't is a private school. Go YY for that. |
Anonymous
Shocking how predictable that was. I'm sure if I were smarter or more bored, I could find myself saying that when they first put their application in. |
Anonymous
Some schools do mean it though when they submit it - e.g. Rocketship, which is opening next fall in Ward 8. |
Anonymous
It makes it even easier to see the ones who pay lip service, such as Breakthrough. |
Anonymous
Why is so wrong to have a charter that appeals to high SES families? Why do people think its a good idea for high sES families and their often high achieving kids to leave the disctrict? the rising tide lifts all boats. The more DCPS or Charters can do recruit high SES families to all schools not just in Ward 3, the better off all the kids will be. |
Anonymous
There is NOTHING wrong with it. Just be upfront about it. Don't pretend to be concerned about the plight of the poor in the city if your true target audience is the wealthy in Ward 3. The fact that high SES families continue to enroll in these schools and shrug it all off is pathetic. |
Anonymous
|
FYI, the Breakthrough proposal is here:
http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/Breakthrough%20Montessori%20-%20Redacted%20Application%20-%202015-03-09.pdf No lip service to EOTR. The preferred location for our school is Ward 1. The ward has a sizable percentage of children with high needs and it contains neighborhoods that can provide a rich integrated experience. We would consider Wards 4 or 5 if a suitable building site cannot be found in Ward 1. These two additional wards are somewhat similar to Ward 1 in their demographic profile; they both have deeply diverse populations. We are casting a wider net beyond Ward 1 because our research into potential school sites has convinced us that, due to demand and cost, we should be flexible. Our partner during our incubation phase, Building Hope, has expressed a similar view with us. |
Anonymous
|
"Demographic Analysis
Ward 1 is one of the most diverse wards in the District (Table 3). Since one of our key enrollment aims is to decrease racial and economic isolation, we view this diversity already present as a positive element. On the other hand, we are well aware that the current charter and district Montessori programs tend to be overrepresented by middle class families. As we will explain in the recruiting and marketing section that follows, we have developed a robust strategy designed to reach our goal of a racially and economically diverse school. Race/Ethnicity Low Income (FARM) Black Hispanic / Latino White Asian Other Ward 1 32% 20% 48% 4% 6% 75% Ward 4 58% 18% 24% 1% 14% 82% Ward 5 76% 6% 16% 1% 5% 87% Table 3: 2012-2013 Selected Population Demographics, Wards 1, 4, 5" "Diverse" = "Lots of white peoples" |
Anonymous
So high SES families should be the ones to put their kids in shitty DCPS so more FARMS kids can attend breakthrough? That is dumb too. |
Anonymous
|
Anonymous
Montessori teachers claim that Montessori classes work more smoothly and effectively if they are larger. |
Anonymous
My understanding is that the organization behind Breakthrough offers some kind of accreditation and training. Did they not mention this at the orientation? |
Anonymous
| Not all children of high SES parents, are great students.IJS |
Anonymous
|
Ok folks, I'm not the OP but gonna make a request: a number of us are checking and contributing to this thread because we have a big decision to make about our kids. We want to make the right choice for us so many of the contributions have been really useful so thank you for that.
However, some contributions seem like they might belong more on threads where snarky fights about some dog whistle issues are being debated. I'm sure some will rip my head off but it's getting a bit challenging to wade through the fighting on things only tangentially related to Breakthrough. Could you please kindly consider focusing on topics that can help parents with this decision? Thank you for your consideration. |