Cheh letter to OSSE on Ellington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the pp in general, but I know more than 6 students (good students, not particularly artsy) from the class of 2020 in Ward 6 who applied to either the museum studies or writing programs, as a way to not go to Eastern. All but one did not get in. I do not think that the other 6 should have been accepted just because they were DC residents. Would rather have out of state actually talented students pay tuition.

+1. So long as tuition payment is enforced and possibly even raised. Heck, they could even implement a sliding scale based on income sliding up to say, $20K. I'd be happy with that, as long as it's actually paid by families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to see some very basic data which should be super easy for Ellington to provide. For the last four years, How many DC applicants were there for Ellington? How many auditioned and for which programs? And how many were not accepted? I want to see how they justify turning away child of District tax-paying residents while knowingly letting in outnod state kids. DUKE ELLINGTON IS A DC PUBLIC SCHOOL. it isn’t a private school. It isn’t a regional magnet. It’s a DCPS. It is all so maddening. So we built a palace that was $100 million over budget so kids from MD and VA can benefit. Enough.

It is actually a regional magnet in the sense that people from around the region may attend by paying tuition. People seem to miss the point that cheaters appears to be DC residents, so this was not a case of intentionally letting in out of town students. As for who applies, I've been at auditions and they are fairly blind. While you do apply beforehand to get a scheduled audition time, your audition is purely talent based. Nobody asks you where you are from before you sing/dance/act/play. You can either do those things with talent or potential or not.

And there in lies the rub. you make it sound like you're shrugging your shoulders when you basically say Ellington is a regional school essentially by default. But it's not supposed to be. It is a District of Columbia Public School. Period. I get that DCPS has created a path for students from MD and VA to attend by paying tuition (that is set way too low) but so long as children of District taxpayers are getting turned away, allowing out of states students in is bull.

NP. I think it should become a regional magnet.

Run it the way Thomas Jefferson is managed. Multiple counties pay into the school and students from each jurisdiction can apply. Those that get in on the merits attend (no quota by county).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad that Mary Cheh is finally paying attention to the schools. Someone needs to and clearly the Mayor and Grosso are not up to the task.

I'm sure she'l GAF about Ward 3 schools and the rest can pound sand . . . of course that's fine for a certain share of posters here

Isn't a big part of her job to represent her constituency? What an odd and vitriolic comment.

+1. I’m not a huge Cheh fan but it seems really odd to fault her for representing the interests of her constituency, who elected her.

sure -- that's what she does. Some Ward 3 residents may be surprised to hear that "paying attention to the schools" requires a holistic all Wards approach. She couldn't find 80% of DC schools without a map

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad that Mary Cheh is finally paying attention to the schools. Someone needs to and clearly the Mayor and Grosso are not up to the task.

I'm sure she'l GAF about Ward 3 schools and the rest can pound sand . . . of course that's fine for a certain share of posters here

Isn't a big part of her job to represent her constituency? What an odd and vitriolic comment.

+1. I’m not a huge Cheh fan but it seems really odd to fault her for representing the interests of her constituency, who elected her.

sure -- that's what she does. Some Ward 3 residents may be surprised to hear that "paying attention to the schools" requires a holistic all Wards approach. She couldn't find 80% of DC schools without a map

and she could easily join Education Committee, but that requires an interest in the broader system and not the narrow interests of Ward 3

[Anonymous]

These comments about Cheh's interests in the schools beginning and ending with Ward 3 are absurd - is there a Ward in the city that has more out of boundary/Ward kids coming into their boundary to attend school every day?

And it isn't just Deal, Wilson & Ellington that have lots of non Ward 3 kids - Hardy, Hearst & Eaton also have decent percentage of non Ward 3 kids.

Ward 3 can't forever be the DCPS/Council solution to under performing schools - in fact that solution has been one of the obstacles to schools getting better elsewhere because there are too many high SES kids in Ward 3, many of whom could be helping to lift schools elsewhere and are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d like to see some very basic data which should be super easy for Ellington to provide. For the last four years, How many DC applicants were there for Ellington? How many auditioned and for which programs? And how many were not accepted? I want to see how they justify turning away child of District tax-paying residents while knowingly letting in outnod state kids. DUKE ELLINGTON IS A DC PUBLIC SCHOOL. it isn’t a private school. It isn’t a regional magnet. It’s a DCPS. It is all so maddening. So we built a palace that was $100 million over budget so kids from MD and VA can benefit. Enough.

It is actually a regional magnet in the sense that people from around the region may attend by paying tuition. People seem to miss the point that cheaters appears to be DC residents, so this was not a case of intentionally letting in out of town students. As for who applies, I've been at auditions and they are fairly blind. While you do apply beforehand to get a scheduled audition time, your audition is purely talent based. Nobody asks you where you are from before you sing/dance/act/play. You can either do those things with talent or potential or not.

And there in lies the rub. you make it sound like you're shrugging your shoulders when you basically say Ellington is a regional school essentially by default. But it's not supposed to be. It is a District of Columbia Public School. Period. I get that DCPS has created a path for students from MD and VA to attend by paying tuition (that is set way too low) but so long as children of District taxpayers are getting turned away, allowing out of states students in is bull.

Particularly since all of the surrounding schools are overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These comments about Cheh's interests in the schools beginning and ending with Ward 3 are absurd - is there a Ward in the city that has more out of boundary/Ward kids coming into their boundary to attend school every day?

And it isn't just Deal, Wilson & Ellington that have lots of non Ward 3 kids - Hardy, Hearst & Eaton also have decent percentage of non Ward 3 kids.

Ward 3 can't forever be the DCPS/Council solution to under performing schools - in fact that solution has been one of the obstacles to schools getting better elsewhere because there are too many high SES kids in Ward 3, many of whom could be helping to lift schools elsewhere and are not.

In fact, the majority of kids who attend public schools in Ward 3 don't live in Ward 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the pp in general, but I know more than 6 students (good students, not particularly artsy) from the class of 2020 in Ward 6 who applied to either the museum studies or writing programs, as a way to not go to Eastern. All but one did not get in. I do not think that the other 6 should have been accepted just because they were DC residents. Would rather have out of state actually talented students pay tuition.

+1. So long as tuition payment is enforced and possibly even raised. Heck, they could even implement a sliding scale based on income sliding up to say, $20K. I'd be happy with that, as long as it's actually paid by families.

Why is it in the interest of DC to provide education for the surrounding counties when their own kids go lacking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the pp in general, but I know more than 6 students (good students, not particularly artsy) from the class of 2020 in Ward 6 who applied to either the museum studies or writing programs, as a way to not go to Eastern. All but one did not get in. I do not think that the other 6 should have been accepted just because they were DC residents. Would rather have out of state actually talented students pay tuition.

+1. So long as tuition payment is enforced and possibly even raised. Heck, they could even implement a sliding scale based on income sliding up to say, $20K. I'd be happy with that, as long as it's actually paid by families.

Why is it in the interest of DC to provide education for the surrounding counties when their own kids go lacking?

Because students need a cohort of peers to help them succeed. That's what everyone says when they want to go to school in Ward 3 -- and it is true for students who wish to pursue careers in the arts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the pp in general, but I know more than 6 students (good students, not particularly artsy) from the class of 2020 in Ward 6 who applied to either the museum studies or writing programs, as a way to not go to Eastern. All but one did not get in. I do not think that the other 6 should have been accepted just because they were DC residents. Would rather have out of state actually talented students pay tuition.

Well gosh, then doesn't this example cry out for the need to increase the number of seats in such programs as Museum Studies and Writing? Certainly there are a lot of students in DC who could perform well in subjects like this, and I don't begrudge ANY family seeking out a means to escape from a sentence at Eastern. If Ellington were to revise its standards a bit, it could become more of a haven for kids who are interested in an arts education. They all shouldn't have to be experts in playing an instrument or dancing, for goodness' sake.

This conversation shows that the full potential of Ellington to serve D.C. students is simply not being met.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These comments about Cheh's interests in the schools beginning and ending with Ward 3 are absurd - is there a Ward in the city that has more out of boundary/Ward kids coming into their boundary to attend school every day?

And it isn't just Deal, Wilson & Ellington that have lots of non Ward 3 kids - Hardy, Hearst & Eaton also have decent percentage of non Ward 3 kids.

Ward 3 can't forever be the DCPS/Council solution to under performing schools - in fact that solution has been one of the obstacles to schools getting better elsewhere because there are too many high SES kids in Ward 3, many of whom could be helping to lift schools elsewhere and are not.

they are absurd -- she barely GAF about the WARD 3 schools, let alone the system, half of which includes charters which don't even exist in her ward. I've interacted with most of the Council on school issues and I was surprised to find Cheh so out of touch on schools in relation to her peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the pp in general, but I know more than 6 students (good students, not particularly artsy) from the class of 2020 in Ward 6 who applied to either the museum studies or writing programs, as a way to not go to Eastern. All but one did not get in. I do not think that the other 6 should have been accepted just because they were DC residents. Would rather have out of state actually talented students pay tuition.

Well gosh, then doesn't this example cry out for the need to increase the number of seats in such programs as Museum Studies and Writing? Certainly there are a lot of students in DC who could perform well in subjects like this, and I don't begrudge ANY family seeking out a means to escape from a sentence at Eastern. If Ellington were to revise its standards a bit, it could become more of a haven for kids who are interested in an arts education. They all shouldn't have to be experts in playing an instrument or dancing, for goodness' sake.

This conversation shows that the full potential of Ellington to serve D.C. students is simply not being met.

Not necessarily --

2017-18 distribution of 9th grade students across the 8 disciplines offered at Ellington

Dance 22
Instrumental Music 31
Literary, Media and Comms 16
Tech/Production 12
Museum Studies 14
Theatre 18
Visual Arts 24
Vocal Music 32

[Anonymous]

If Ellington can't fill its space with qualified DC residents in grades 9-12, it should start serving middle school students too.

[Anonymous]

How many non-DC residents were enrolled in Literary, Tech, or Museum studies? Or even Theatre or Visual Arts? I'd say another real scandal lies in waiting there. You can at least make the case that Tuba players are scarce, so bring one over from McLean if you have to; but outside of the skill-in-team positions ("Instrumental Music" is about it, or perhaps a male ballet dancer) I think Duke would be ashamed to make an argument that it was necessary to bring in foreigners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm glad that Mary Cheh is finally paying attention to the schools. Someone needs to and clearly the Mayor and Grosso are not up to the task.

I'm sure she'l GAF about Ward 3 schools and the rest can pound sand . . . of course that's fine for a certain share of posters here

Isn't a big part of her job to represent her constituency? What an odd and vitriolic comment.

+1. I’m not a huge Cheh fan but it seems really odd to fault her for representing the interests of her constituency, who elected her.

The dynamic of DC politics is that the Ward 3 councilmember can never be seen to be advocating for her constituents.

Is the dynamic of DC politics that she will also be criticized for concern that DC taxpayers seem to be paying to educate a large number of children from PG County?!