ludlow-taylor

[Anonymous]

I've been to several PTA meetings, and I'm not at all clear where those that think the PTA is too PC or controlled by white guilt are coming from. There is only one white person on the PTA executive board. There are other white parents that are doing some (perhaps most) of the heavy lifting of course such as grant writing. If anything, the PTA is 'controlled' by black parents who don't want white people coming in and taking over - just listen to the VP talk. And even that sentiment is somewhat shifting course thankfully.

Ludlow-Taylor struggles because 1) its principal is not an all-star, 2) there haven't been enough parents who 'committed' to the school like at Maury, Tyler SI, or Brent, and 3) it got a later start with its renaissance than the other CH schools so there is a much higher bar now, many more alternatives, and the school didn't get as much help from Tommy Wells when he was a Board of Ed member to help force change along. Maury, Tyler SI and Brent have gone through several principals - a few of which were helped out the door by Wells and other parents.

There are a group of parents who are really committed to the school and seeing it thrive. I agree that the principal is an easy target. But - some of the things that happen at LT unfortunately happen at other well-established schools; it's just that parents don't have enough reasons yet to cut it some slack. It's kind of like the Cluster in the sense that you don't hear parents rave about it like they do with Maury, Tyler SI or Brent. But the Cluster is more established so people are more likely to overlook the fact that Watkins is 1-2 percentage points away from being Title I, has a majority of students that are out of bounds from Wards 7 and 8, etc.

Brent, Tyler SI and Maury all looked like LT once upon a time. The school can become the first choice for in-bounds families, but it's not going to get there without the help of parents and community. As Brent, Tyler SI and Maury parents all struggle with what middle school holds for them, the fact that LT feeds into Stuart-Hobson at some point will become a big plus - if not just for the safety school aspect.

[Anonymous]

15:03 I think you've got some misinformation. Watkins does not have an accelerated learning program. Talk to Watkins parents and you'll hear them fret about their above grade level child not being challenged.

Other CH schools look great such as Brent, Tyler and Maury because they've been modernized with DC taxpayer dollars. Now the outside classroom aspect is parent-funded through grants and outright donations. But the actual school facilities look good because of modernization and LT will have its turn next year.

I say these things so that others can realize that LT is not so far off-track and so that others can see what parent effort can reap - helped by good school leadership or in spite of it - ask Maury about the principal prior to Ms. Garvey or the first principal Brent parents worked with.

[Anonymous]

Some of the posts about other Cap Hill schools brought up the issue of after care. Are the kids at LTs aftercare all together, or are they separated by age group?

[Anonymous]

Is the Payne PTA talking about closing down? I hope not, they have wonderful preschool teachers and a frantastic, high energy principal. I think the school has a lot of potential - it's also a very welcoming environment to all families. I think the principal sets the positive tone.

[Anonymous]

No, nobody's talking about getting rid of the solid and gentrification friendly (dare I say it!) Payne principal - the PTA, just formed 2 years ago, is behind her. What many IB parents want is a school whose demographics mirror the neighborhood's, not a failing school (1/3 of kids testing proficient, worst on the Hill) that's 99% AA and almost entirely OOB. According to the 2010 census data, the Payne district is nearlyhalf white - it's a preposterous arrangement, like that at LT. Shutting the school down and starting over would be a lot more efficient than chipping away for years and years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:03 I think you've got some misinformation. Watkins does not have an accelerated learning program. Talk to Watkins parents and you'll hear them fret about their above grade level child not being challenged.

Other CH schools look great such as Brent, Tyler and Maury because they've been modernized with DC taxpayer dollars. Now the outside classroom aspect is parent-funded through grants and outright donations. But the actual school facilities look good because of modernization and LT will have its turn next year.

I say these things so that others can realize that LT is not so far off-track and so that others can see what parent effort can reap - helped by good school leadership or in spite of it - ask Maury about the principal prior to Ms. Garvey or the first principal Brent parents worked with.

All true, if you don't waiting around for more than a decade for even half of a Pre-K 3 IB group to reach 5th (Brent, at the head of the pack, continues to wait). What's worrying about LT is that it's slipping, losing many hard won IB families even before K. It's a lot to ask IB parents to get behind a school whose prospects don't seem very good in the medium-term. I come from Central Florida, where progressive cities like Gainesville turn around schools where students are overwhelmingly low-income, like LT, Payne and Miner, fast by adding school-within-a-school test-in talented and gifted programs. Within just 2 or 3 years, middle-class parents are beating down the door to get their kids in, and raising money like crazy to improve facilities. At the same time, bright poor kids get a path to IB middle school and high school programs which feed them into U of FL tuition free (seriously, get a full IB diploma and/or 700+ on all sections of the SAT and you are automatically admitted to UFL paying no tuition, no matter who you are). I see lack of innovation as a real problem on CH - almost everybody acts as though schools have years and years to slowly improve. But IB parents need appropriate schools much sooner than that, or many will vote with their feet. And they do. The exodus hurts our CH neighborhoods on so many levels.

[Anonymous]

Brent, Tyler SI and Maury all looked like LT once upon a time. The school can become the first choice for in-bounds families, but it's not going to get there without the help of parents and community. As Brent, Tyler SI and Maury parents all struggle with what middle school holds for them, the fact that LT feeds into Stuart-Hobson at some point will become a big plus - if not just for the safety school aspect.

Big plus? Why should we believe that? The police were at SH a few days ago breaking up another playground fight (I live across the street). The Cluster's been going since the early 90s, but SH just started teaching algebra in 8th grade. Algebra has been a 7th grade subject in suburban TAG programs for two decades, the sort that many CH kids of all races would qualify for in Mo. Co. or Fairfax. Yes, SH will always attract an adventurous minority of IB families. But at this rate, most upper-middle-class parents--the majority in these pricey neighborhoods--will continue to hit the road for privates, the burbs, charters for a very long time. I agree with PPs seeing a 10, or even a 15-year, wait before LT is feeding many IB families to SH, and even then it won't be most families. As long as DCPS resists accelerated learning programs and academic magnet middle school programs, robust change sounds like pie in the sky.

[Anonymous]

Brent, Tyler SI and Maury all looked like LT once upon a time. The school can become the first choice for in-bounds families, but it's not going to get there without the help of parents and community.

I don't agree entirely. Brent had politically astute senior Congressional staffers on the PTA who did yeoman's work to turn the school around, and didn't have IB housing projects, or much Section 8 housing like LT has. Tyler started a SWIS Spanish program, which, despite the apartheid dimension (kind of scary how few white kids are outside SI above PreK), has emerged as a cleverly devised tool to attract IB families. LT isn't moving in the Tyler SI direction. Maury, near Lincoln Park, is in a more affluent area that LT, with parents who don't seem afraid to go at PG County address cheaters. Haven't seen that at LT. First choice for IB families when Peabody, which is closer for many, has been good for years and years? Maybe in 30 years...Parents and community members with demanding jobs/lives need to pick their battles. Easier to move to another school (just your kid or your whole family) than battle without much to show for it.

[Anonymous]

Ludlow-Taylor struggles because 1) its principal is not an all-star, 2) there haven't been enough parents who 'committed' to the school like at Maury, Tyler SI, or Brent, and 3) it got a later start with its renaissance than the other CH schools so there is a much higher bar now, many more alternatives, and the school didn't get as much help from Tommy Wells when he was a Board of Ed member to help force change along.

So why fight? Why not think outside the box? Such a deep-rooted committment deficit cries out for innovation. How about shutting down LT and reopening it as a branch of Peabody or Maury, same leadership, same methods? Or bulldozing it, dispatching most of the students to Ward 8 and PG County and erecting a building of greater utility to the community on the site? Or starting the sort of city-wide test-in program advocated by the Florida PP at LT? When you attract many IB families to promising schools, great things happen - CH is spreading its IB families too thin. The status quo has a strangehold on LT, a limiting calculus that hurts the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

+1. Yea, somebody with private sector impulses who cares about the DCPS development arc on CH. Kudos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[b]LT isn't moving in the Tyler SI direction. Maury, near Lincoln Park, is in a more affluent area that LT,

I disagree. Having just moved from IB L-T to elsewhere on the Hill - I toured every single Hill school and would have no trouble sending my kid to L-T. And anyone who doesn't think that area around H st is just as affluent as Maury is not paying attention. While the Reggio Emilia curriculum might not be as trendy as the SI at Tyler, I think it is going to catch on as parents get more and more desperate for IB and OOB options on the Hill. The modernization this summer will do a lot for L-T's appeal.

L-T, Miner and J.O. are all going to be increasingly popular as people are shut out of Maury and Brent - everyone knows how the parental involvement plus a good principal can turn a school around quickly. PS, in my opinion, Miner is the way to go. Principal Bunch is amazing.

[Anonymous]

So why aren't you sending your kid to LT? I did, and bailed. It's still common for IB parents to move from the LT, J-O Wilson, Miner and Payne districts, if they don't get in OOB elsewhere, or into area charters. Sadly, our stretch of 7th Street with lose several neighbors over LT concerns this summer. I'd have agreed with you 2-3 years ago, but with more IB families leaving LT now, it's hard to see the light. Miner isn't gentrification friendly above PreK - I tutor there with the State Dept. The RE curriculum is fine for the small fry, but with so many low-performing kids in the ES grades and no AL programs in the works, middle class IB families planning to stay on the Hill tend to feel alienated. You will always have an arch liberal adventurous few happy with almost any DCPS school, at least in the lower grades, those who don't mind if their kid is one of the only middle class/white/Asian kids in a group, but most of us are middle of the road.

[Anonymous]

Touring a school isn't the same as enrolling your child in the school.

[Anonymous]

CH is spreading its IB families too thin.

Interesting observation, a concern getting little attention. More than a few of us would like to see 1-2 of these CH ES shut down, with Hill schools for Ward 6 kids, and their property tax paying parents, across the board. If you've been on the Hill since the 90s, as we have, you start to see that trying turn around every one of these schools serves to delay change. There are already enough schools for Ward 8/PG County kids. More power to the Payne PTA for opening the door to dialogue on a thorny issue. But Tommy Well isn't listening, you can trust me on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ludlow-Taylor struggles because 1) its principal is not an all-star, 2) there haven't been enough parents who 'committed' to the school like at Maury, Tyler SI, or Brent, and 3) it got a later start with its renaissance than the other CH schools so there is a much higher bar now, many more alternatives...

One significant factor you forgot to mention is that LT's momentum was delayed by the location of Two Rivers in its backyard. That's not where it was originally (namely at Eliot-Hine) but LT families were instrumental founders.

I had the pleasure of seeing the LT upper grades in action at the Folger Theater today. Great job!!