PK3 Pilot Program - Any news on expansion?

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard whether/when there is a plan to extend to pilot program to other schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard whether/when there is a plan to extend to pilot program to other schools?

I only heard through the grapevine that Van Ness plans on extending it into the next school year as well.

[Anonymous]

Thought it was part of the new boundary plan - that all Title I schools were supposed to get the guaranteed spots?? Granted, I'm not sure there was a deadline for that...

[Anonymous]

Van Ness can't have it both ways. Some posters on here feel very confident that it won't be a Title I school next year. If that's the case, it won't have guaranteed PK.

There are a few Title I schools that are really going to struggle to implement the guaranteed PK--they just don't have the space. Powell waitlisted 40 IB PK3 kids last year--not all of them would have wanted to use the guarantee, but you'd definitely need an extra classroom or two to accommodate those who did. And the next year, you'd need an extra PK4 classroom or two to handle the kids as they moved up. Does Powell have any extra classrooms, let alone three or four?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Van Ness can't have it both ways. Some posters on here feel very confident that it won't be a Title I school next year. If that's the case, it won't have guaranteed PK.

There are a few Title I schools that are really going to struggle to implement the guaranteed PK--they just don't have the space. Powell waitlisted 40 IB PK3 kids last year--not all of them would have wanted to use the guarantee, but you'd definitely need an extra classroom or two to accommodate those who did. And the next year, you'd need an extra PK4 classroom or two to handle the kids as they moved up. Does Powell have any extra classrooms, let alone three or four?

I worried about this myself, when the program was announced. We are not at Powell, but it seems like the only options if you're going to implement this program are to have more classes or expand class sizes. The latter is not permitted, as I understand it, so the former is what will have to happen.

[Anonymous]

Powell admitted all its IB PK3 lottery applicants this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Van Ness can't have it both ways. Some posters on here feel very confident that it won't be a Title I school next year. If that's the case, it won't have guaranteed PK.

There are a few Title I schools that are really going to struggle to implement the guaranteed PK--they just don't have the space. Powell waitlisted 40 IB PK3 kids last year--not all of them would have wanted to use the guarantee, but you'd definitely need an extra classroom or two to accommodate those who did. And the next year, you'd need an extra PK4 classroom or two to handle the kids as they moved up. Does Powell have any extra classrooms, let alone three or four?

IIUC, Powell's boundary area was reduced in the boundary review, plus its waiting list was much smaller this year.

I am also curious about plans to expand the pilot. I hope they announce another set of schools soon.

[Anonymous]

Well Powell is adding a whole wing. Surely there is room for at least a couple years.

[Anonymous]

according to the round 1 results linked at http://dcps.dc.gov/page/my-school-dc-lottery, Powell had 40 IB kids on its waitlist. If it's true that they've gotten through that whole list by now, it may not be as hard for DCPS to give them guaranteed PK.

Tubman had 22 IB PK3+4 kids waitlisted at the end of Round 1 so that's another tough one. I hope they add more schools to the list of those with a guarantee. It's easier for parents not to have to take their toddlers across town, and it encourages community support for a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:according to the round 1 results linked at http://dcps.dc.gov/page/my-school-dc-lottery, Powell had 40 IB kids on its waitlist. If it's true that they've gotten through that whole list by now, it may not be as hard for DCPS to give them guaranteed PK.

Tubman had 22 IB PK3+4 kids waitlisted at the end of Round 1 so that's another tough one. I hope they add more schools to the list of those with a guarantee. It's easier for parents not to have to take their toddlers across town, and it encourages community support for a school.

The link doesn't work, but the 40 applicants at Powell was from the 2014-2015 school years unless it was 40 on this years list as well.

[Anonymous]

I downloaded the DCPS results from this year's round 1 (good since I can't find them online anymore!). Here are some Title I schools that had longish IB PK waitlists. Not sure how far they moved.

Bancroft: 33 PK3, 15 PK4
Brightwood: 14 PK4
Marie Reed: 11 PK3, 5 PK4
Tubman: 5 PK3, 22 PK4

So there might be some schools that would have a challenge with accommodating all the IB kids who want a guaranteed spot, but it would really only be a few. DCPS would have to find a way to deal with those kids, though--open another classroom? do portables? transport kids to another school? combine PK3 and 4, or a different set of grades? offer space at a more desirable school? They are probably hesitant until they have a good plan, but I hope they figure it out quickly and the DME pushes them to do so.