Funding for Coolidge

[Anonymous]

I think there are too many kids in that area to fit into one HS. Coolidge and Roosevelt themselves were under-enrolled, but iirc, the ECs like Truesdale and Brightwood are actually overcrowded.

/Fake Edit.

[Anonymous]

problem with Brightwood as a source of enrollment is that the core of Brightwood is 14th Street corridor Spanish-speaking families - the natural constituency of CHEC. That and they are very close to Paul, much closer than Coolidge.

Either you build a high school based on Takoma, Whittier, and LaSalle's small eighth grade enrollments or you give up for now and try again in ten years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:problem with Brightwood as a source of enrollment is that the core of Brightwood is 14th Street corridor Spanish-speaking families - the natural constituency of CHEC. That and they are very close to Paul, much closer than Coolidge.

Either you build a high school based on Takoma, Whittier, and LaSalle's small eighth grade enrollments or you give up for now and try again in ten years.

All four schools have about 50 kids in their 8th grade classes. Some have bigger classes in 3rd or 4th (60-70).

Still not a huge high school population since, in addition to CHEC, Coolidge has to compete with the application high schools. Lots of kids from teh neighborhood attend McKinley.

Every charter could close tomorrow and DCOS still has too many high school seats.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send all the kids to Roosevelt...the Petworth people just fainted. Talking about neighborhood fights...blood shed up and down Georgia Avenue, if the Coolidge and Roosevelt student are mixed. Who are you?

This is always what I hear when this subject comes up. But, I really don't understand it. Are these two school populations raised like Arabs and Israelis or something? Are they genetically predisposed to hate each other? I find it hard to believe that two very small groups of children (and in the case of Roosevelt, a group heavily made up of immigrants with no historical attachment to the school) can't get along. I think these problems are more relevant to the adults who probably need to work out their own issues outside of the school environment.

Agreed that it is ridiculous, but that doesn't mean it should be discounted. Residents of two public housing developments in my neighborhood (not IB for Coolidge or Roosevelt) have been shooting at each other for years. The shooters are the same age, same race, same quadrant of the city, same sex, zoned for the same schools, and at the same economic level. It is a fluke of history that DCHA placed their families into one housing project versus another. They live literally a quarter mile apart. And yet they kill each other over this distinction. Another example of this would be the 5th & O vs. 7th & O Street crews. Dudes, you live TWO BLOCKS from each other; how diametrically opposed can your world views be?

This is not a DC-specific issue though. cf Hatfields and McCoys, or, fictionally, Montagues and Capulets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send all the kids to Roosevelt...the Petworth people just fainted. Talking about neighborhood fights...blood shed up and down Georgia Avenue, if the Coolidge and Roosevelt student are mixed. Who are you?

This is always what I hear when this subject comes up. But, I really don't understand it. Are these two school populations raised like Arabs and Israelis or something? Are they genetically predisposed to hate each other? I find it hard to believe that two very small groups of children (and in the case of Roosevelt, a group heavily made up of immigrants with no historical attachment to the school) can't get along. I think these problems are more relevant to the adults who probably need to work out their own issues outside of the school environment.

Agreed that it is ridiculous, but that doesn't mean it should be discounted. Residents of two public housing developments in my neighborhood (not IB for Coolidge or Roosevelt) have been shooting at each other for years. The shooters are the same age, same race, same quadrant of the city, same sex, zoned for the same schools, and at the same economic level. It is a fluke of history that DCHA placed their families into one housing project versus another. They live literally a quarter mile apart. And yet they kill each other over this distinction. Another example of this would be the 5th & O vs. 7th & O Street crews. Dudes, you live TWO BLOCKS from each other; how diametrically opposed can your world views be?

This is not a DC-specific issue though. cf Hatfields and McCoys, or, fictionally, Montagues and Capulets.

And we wonder why parents are looking for other options?

[Anonymous]

And please remember that some of these feuds/ beefs extend far out into the city. It isn't just kids who live a couple blocks from one another. These schools have been heavily OOB for a couple decades now.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:And please remember that some of these feuds/ beefs extend far out into the city. It isn't just kids who live a couple blocks from one another. These schools have been heavily OOB for a couple decades now.

Sorry, but I'm still not convinced that it is worth spending $160 million because kids can't be taught not to fight with each other. If these feuds are actually as strong as is suggested -- and I'm not convinced they are -- I think a lot of folks might want to start questioning whether or not they are actually contributing as enablers.

[Anonymous]

NP. I agree the numbers just don't make sense to renovate Coolidge. Redirect those students to Roosevelt, which is more centrally located. Perhaps consider giving the Coolidge space to a couple charters.

The only hesitation I have about this plan is that the Brightwood/Takoma/Manor Park area seems likely to be the next spot for gentrification and population growth, and other EOTP areas will continue to see population growth with more young families. So DCPS would want to check into whether Roosevelt has enough capacity to handle (1) the existing population, plus (2) the redirected Coolidge students, plus (3) the OOB students likely to be redirected from Wilson as the grandfathering winds down in 5-7 years, plus (4) the expected new growth in population EOTP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I agree the numbers just don't make sense to renovate Coolidge. Redirect those students to Roosevelt, which is more centrally located. Perhaps consider giving the Coolidge space to a couple charters.

The only hesitation I have about this plan is that the Brightwood/Takoma/Manor Park area seems likely to be the next spot for gentrification and population growth, and other EOTP areas will continue to see population growth with more young families. So DCPS would want to check into whether Roosevelt has enough capacity to handle (1) the existing population, plus (2) the redirected Coolidge students, plus (3) the OOB students likely to be redirected from Wilson as the grandfathering winds down in 5-7 years, plus (4) the expected new growth in population EOTP.

All those things will take a while. A 15-20 year charter lease would give the city an insurance policy against that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I agree the numbers just don't make sense to renovate Coolidge. Redirect those students to Roosevelt, which is more centrally located. Perhaps consider giving the Coolidge space to a couple charters.

The only hesitation I have about this plan is that the Brightwood/Takoma/Manor Park area seems likely to be the next spot for gentrification and population growth, and other EOTP areas will continue to see population growth with more young families. So DCPS would want to check into whether Roosevelt has enough capacity to handle (1) the existing population, plus (2) the redirected Coolidge students, plus (3) the OOB students likely to be redirected from Wilson as the grandfathering winds down in 5-7 years, plus (4) the expected new growth in population EOTP.

All those things will take a while. A 15-20 year charter lease would give the city an insurance policy against that.

Good point. So convert Coolidge to a charter with a 15-20yr lease, and make Roosevelt the go-to high school for that part of town.

[Anonymous]

A 15 year lease would make people think it is permanent. Just think about the "Bruce Monroe Park" site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I agree the numbers just don't make sense to renovate Coolidge. Redirect those students to Roosevelt, which is more centrally located. Perhaps consider giving the Coolidge space to a couple charters.

The only hesitation I have about this plan is that the Brightwood/Takoma/Manor Park area seems likely to be the next spot for gentrification and population growth, and other EOTP areas will continue to see population growth with more young families. So DCPS would want to check into whether Roosevelt has enough capacity to handle (1) the existing population, plus (2) the redirected Coolidge students, plus (3) the OOB students likely to be redirected from Wilson as the grandfathering winds down in 5-7 years, plus (4) the expected new growth in population EOTP.

Roosevelt and Coolidge's current combined enrollment is already at 900 and that is with two decrepit buildings under the most absurd feeder situation possible. With MacFarland coming back online and the door to Wilson slowly closing for many, your suggested configuration would not be sustainable for long and certainly not long enough to justify a long term lease of the Coolidge site to a charter school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. I agree the numbers just don't make sense to renovate Coolidge. Redirect those students to Roosevelt, which is more centrally located. Perhaps consider giving the Coolidge space to a couple charters.

The only hesitation I have about this plan is that the Brightwood/Takoma/Manor Park area seems likely to be the next spot for gentrification and population growth, and other EOTP areas will continue to see population growth with more young families. So DCPS would want to check into whether Roosevelt has enough capacity to handle (1) the existing population, plus (2) the redirected Coolidge students, plus (3) the OOB students likely to be redirected from Wilson as the grandfathering winds down in 5-7 years, plus (4) the expected new growth in population EOTP.

Roosevelt and Coolidge's current combined enrollment is already at 900 and that is with two decrepit buildings under the most absurd feeder situation possible. With MacFarland coming back online and the door to Wilson slowly closing for many, your suggested configuration would not be sustainable for long and certainly not long enough to justify a long term lease of the Coolidge site to a charter school.

Roosevelt is 33% OOB; Coolidge is 47%. Plenty of excess capacity there for IB families.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And please remember that some of these feuds/ beefs extend far out into the city. It isn't just kids who live a couple blocks from one another. These schools have been heavily OOB for a couple decades now.

Sorry, but I'm still not convinced that it is worth spending $160 million because kids can't be taught not to fight with each other. If these feuds are actually as strong as is suggested -- and I'm not convinced they are -- I think a lot of folks might want to start questioning whether or not they are actually contributing as enablers.

Wo- sorry! I wasn't suggesting that as a reason to not bring the two schools together. I was just responding to the PPs who suggested that there couldn't be issues between the two schools. The problems NEED to be solved and $160 million is ridiculous amount of money with which to not solve the underlying social issues.
On the same vein, the idea of a middle-high is terrible. Until they can get B'land middle up to standards it just feels like throwing good money after bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And please remember that some of these feuds/ beefs extend far out into the city. It isn't just kids who live a couple blocks from one another. These schools have been heavily OOB for a couple decades now.

Sorry, but I'm still not convinced that it is worth spending $160 million because kids can't be taught not to fight with each other. If these feuds are actually as strong as is suggested -- and I'm not convinced they are -- I think a lot of folks might want to start questioning whether or not they are actually contributing as enablers.

Wo- sorry! I wasn't suggesting that as a reason to not bring the two schools together. I was just responding to the PPs who suggested that there couldn't be issues between the two schools. The problems NEED to be solved and $160 million is ridiculous amount of money with which to not solve the underlying social issues.
On the same vein, the idea of a middle-high is terrible. Until they can get B'land middle up to standards it just feels like throwing good money after bad.

What does Brookland Middle School have to do with two different high schools?