I am loving the support Shepherd is receiving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I have nothing against Shepherd Elementary, and I have several friends who live in the neighborhood and enjoy it, but I do really dislike a couple of Shepherd boosters who post on threads like these. They often make up facts about their own school.neighborhood, and also enjoy trashing other schools/neighborhood. Because I have friends in Shepherd Park, I know most people in the neighborhood aren't like that. But these boosters really make Shepherd Park look bad, IMHO.

NP and not Shepherd affiliated. I have never seen a Shepherd booster put down another school, it's usually the other way around, any time there is a pro Shepherd thread other, more affluent school posters put Shepherd down. Do you have any links to substantiate this?

I'll spend some time pulling up a few examples for you this afternoon. There are lots of them. I've developed my annoyance at the Shepherd boosters over the course of a few years now.

But as one easy example, take a look at how this thread started. OP began with a not-so-subtle dig at the JKLM schools, and then doubled-down at 9:48 and 9:56 with further comparisons. I've got only minor annoyance with boosters who constantly tout their schools, neighborhoods, etc. But it gets under my skin when that boosterism evolves into a need to attack others.

And one of the Shepherd boosters jabs at me, I'm not a JKLM parent either, so you can't wave off my views by saying I'm just threatened by Shepherd. My annoyance is pure.

[Anonymous]

should be "And before one of the Shepherd boosters jabs ..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I have nothing against Shepherd Elementary, and I have several friends who live in the neighborhood and enjoy it, but I do really dislike a couple of Shepherd boosters who post on threads like these. They often make up facts about their own school.neighborhood, and also enjoy trashing other schools/neighborhood. Because I have friends in Shepherd Park, I know most people in the neighborhood aren't like that. But these boosters really make Shepherd Park look bad, IMHO.

NP and not Shepherd affiliated. I have never seen a Shepherd booster put down another school, it's usually the other way around, any time there is a pro Shepherd thread other, more affluent school posters put Shepherd down. Do you have any links to substantiate this?

I'll spend some time pulling up a few examples for you this afternoon. There are lots of them. I've developed my annoyance at the Shepherd boosters over the course of a few years now.

But as one easy example, take a look at how this thread started. OP began with a not-so-subtle dig at the JKLM schools, and then doubled-down at 9:48 and 9:56 with further comparisons. I've got only minor annoyance with boosters who constantly tout their schools, neighborhoods, etc. But it gets under my skin when that boosterism evolves into a need to attack others.

And one of the Shepherd boosters jabs at me, I'm not a JKLM parent either, so you can't wave off my views by saying I'm just threatened by Shepherd. My annoyance is pure.

This statement is total bull#h*t, what jab was taken by the OP as a jab to JKLM????? The OP just stated how proud he/she was of the support the school was receiving. My god people.....what is wrong with you all. I recall threads boosting about "This is what support looks like as Murch" and I don't feel like thats a jab at other schools. Why not give credit to a group of parents putting their schools academics and support on the map rather than tearing it down.

[Anonymous]

Back on topic, I'm happy to see the supporting coming from the community as well. Building a philanthropic culture is a multi-step, multi-year process. Hopefully the work that is being done this year (by some insanely dedicated parent volunteers) will spark relationships and yield benefits for the entire school body for years to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back on topic, I'm happy to see the supporting coming from the community as well. Building a philanthropic culture is a multi-step, multi-year process. Hopefully the work that is being done this year (by some insanely dedicated parent volunteers) will spark relationships and yield benefits for the entire school body for years to come.

amen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back on topic, I'm happy to see the supporting coming from the community as well. Building a philanthropic culture is a multi-step, multi-year process. Hopefully the work that is being done this year (by some insanely dedicated parent volunteers) will spark relationships and yield benefits for the entire school body for years to come.

amen

+2. Shepherd more than doubled ticket sales compared to last year and sold out their venue (which is where I think OP was going with the comparison to JKLM--I read this as OP noting that Shepherd is much smaller than some schools with 700+ kids yet still managed to sell a lot of tickets, not as a disparagement of these schools, which are excellent in their own right). Their efforts included:


1) forming a separate gala committee, so that parent volunteers who aren't currently on the PTA board could also participate. This drew on the talents of even more parents, with backgrounds in marketing, finance, event planning, etc.

2) putting up yard signs in and around the neighborhood

3) outreach out to area businesses

4) outreach to Shepherd Park neighbors and Shepherd alumni (I haven't been in DC long, but apparently there's a strong network of Shepherd alumni who attended the school, still live in the area, and still very much support the school)

5) in an effort to be inclusive, translating gala flyers into languages spoken by current Shepherd families--Spanish, French, and Amharic

6) PTA coffee table before and after school encouraging parents to purchase gala tickets

7) a nationally recognized keynote speaker (former NASA astronaut and TV host), Ward 4 rep as honorary chair, etc.


I'm sure I'm missing some efforts. Not sure which strategy was most effective, but I think this was a very well-organized, all-out effort to leave no stone un-turned and try to encourage both current families and community members to attend. I'm sure there are some things that could've been done differently, but this is the first year they've attempted this sort of approach to the gala. I think these hardworking parent volunteers deserve props on their efforts this year.

[Anonymous]

See, I would agree with you IF there was no mention of JKLM in the original post....but OP put that in there. It WAS a dig since K & M are about the same size as Shepherd. But then OP couldn't help it and posted this:

Trust me, we really don't want to be JKLM. Shepherd's test scores are going up, and in just a few years they will likely be comparable with those schools, but the reason many of us are so passionate about the school is that it is a friendly, welcoming community, something that many of us find lacking at certain WOTP schools. You can keep your Janneys, et al., and we will stick with our great little school.


OP shouldn't have taken the bait. Because now it actually makes the Shepherd community look exactly like the parents she/he has a problem with at the JKLM schools. Such a shame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See, I would agree with you IF there was no mention of JKLM in the original post....but OP put that in there. It WAS a dig since K & M are about the same size as Shepherd. But then OP couldn't help it and posted this:

Trust me, we really don't want to be JKLM. Shepherd's test scores are going up, and in just a few years they will likely be comparable with those schools, but the reason many of us are so passionate about the school is that it is a friendly, welcoming community, something that many of us find lacking at certain WOTP schools. You can keep your Janneys, et al., and we will stick with our great little school.


OP shouldn't have taken the bait. Because now it actually makes the Shepherd community look exactly like the parents she/he has a problem with at the JKLM schools. Such a shame.

OP probably should not have mentioned JKLM. Noted. Moving on.

[Anonymous]

What did they buy with the 10k? Besides the drums. Did they spend 10k on drums?

And what is the gala money funding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What did they buy with the 10k? Besides the drums. Did they spend 10k on drums?

And what is the gala money funding?

Are you in the school? Did you donate? I don't understand why you're asking these question? Go to PTA meeting and ask the questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What did they buy with the 10k? Besides the drums. Did they spend 10k on drums?

And what is the gala money funding?

WTF is wrong with you? Do you apply this level of scrutiny to other schools' galas, or just Shepherd's gala?

[Anonymous]

All the schools I donate to, yes. I don't think they're complicated questions. There must be some fundraising goals. Tell us what they are so we can fund them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the schools I donate to, yes. I don't think they're complicated questions. There must be some fundraising goals. Tell us what they are so we can fund them.

If you were an actual Shepherd donor you would know that the gala website and flyer clearly state what the gala money is funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the schools I donate to, yes. I don't think they're complicated questions. There must be some fundraising goals. Tell us what they are so we can fund them.

http://www.shepherd-elementary.org/2015/wp-content/uploads/Gala-Flyer-4.10.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:See, I would agree with you IF there was no mention of JKLM in the original post....but OP put that in there. It WAS a dig since K & M are about the same size as Shepherd. But then OP couldn't help it and posted this:

Trust me, we really don't want to be JKLM. Shepherd's test scores are going up, and in just a few years they will likely be comparable with those schools, but the reason many of us are so passionate about the school is that it is a friendly, welcoming community, something that many of us find lacking at certain WOTP schools. You can keep your Janneys, et al., and we will stick with our great little school.


OP shouldn't have taken the bait. Because now it actually makes the Shepherd community look exactly like the parents she/he has a problem with at the JKLM schools. Such a shame.

OP probably should not have mentioned JKLM. Noted. Moving on.

This is the OP other than the first post I have not made any other comment so OP didn't take the bait for anything.