LAMB closing its existing campuses and consolidating to one campus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's quite clear that the reason the Board and administration at LAMB want to move now on Kingsbury is that it is available now, wasn't before and won't be in the future. So that leaves now. Happens to coincide with the school's need for a consolidated space. Also happens to coincide with a criminal investigation of a faculty member. However, the fact remains that the school needs to consolidate for obvious administrative reasons and the purpose of keeping kids together with their friends and teachers, and there is a terrific space suddenly coming available in Ward 4. I wouldn't read any great administrative conspiracy into this; it's pretty cut and dried.

How is it keeping kids together if several families have already said they can't make such a huge distance work?

How is the place "available" if it will require both doubling the occupancy number as well as extensive renovations to a historic building?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's quite clear that the reason the Board and administration at LAMB want to move now on Kingsbury is that it is available now, wasn't before and won't be in the future. So that leaves now. Happens to coincide with the school's need for a consolidated space. Also happens to coincide with a criminal investigation of a faculty member. However, the fact remains that the school needs to consolidate for obvious administrative reasons and the purpose of keeping kids together with their friends and teachers, and there is a terrific space suddenly coming available in Ward 4. I wouldn't read any great administrative conspiracy into this; it's pretty cut and dried.

How is it keeping kids together if several families have already said they can't make such a huge distance work?

How is the place "available" if it will require both doubling the occupancy number as well as extensive renovations to a historic building?

Also colocating for 6 years with 150 kids from the private school aged 3 to 17?

[Anonymous]

Imagine if LAMB had found a new location by St. Elizabeth Hospital in Anacostia. I bet the sentiment on this board would be all reversed.... There's also been faint speculation over the years that LAMB might just lease more space at SD and eventually consolidate everyone over there. Certainly many in Ward 4 would be outraged, and maybe justifiably so!

The point is that there seems to be this unexamined chauvinism by some that LAMB is somehow really a "Ward 4" neighborhood school and everyone else has to just deal with it. LAMB went city-wide a long time ago. My guess is that Kingsbury probably will be the best option at the end of the day, but that doesn't mean that students from other parts of the city don't have legitimate concerns.

Not trying to fan further flames here, just asking for a little more mutual understanding.

[Anonymous]

They talked about the River Terrace school and Young Campus as options at the Kingsbury meetings. I think that they were seriously considering a move east of the river. To be totally fair to the administration. But the attitude of the meeting was very much against anyone they perceived as a "gentrifier". Diane even made some crack about how "we didn't expect DC to gentrify so quickly".

However from the beginning there were "gentrifier" families interested in the school. Not sure why the attitude seems so against people they perceive to be recent arrivals to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They talked about the River Terrace school and Young Campus as options at the Kingsbury meetings. I think that they were seriously considering a move east of the river. To be totally fair to the administration. But the attitude of the meeting was very much against anyone they perceived as a "gentrifier". Diane even made some crack about how "we didn't expect DC to gentrify so quickly".

However from the beginning there were "gentrifier" families interested in the school. Not sure why the attitude seems so against people they perceive to be recent arrivals to DC.

Can you elaborate on the gentrifier comment? I am not sure I understand what you are saying. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They talked about the River Terrace school and Young Campus as options at the Kingsbury meetings. I think that they were seriously considering a move east of the river. To be totally fair to the administration. But the attitude of the meeting was very much against anyone they perceived as a "gentrifier". Diane even made some crack about how "we didn't expect DC to gentrify so quickly".

However from the beginning there were "gentrifier" families interested in the school. Not sure why the attitude seems so against people they perceive to be recent arrivals to DC.

The problem is when people arrived but the wealth. Diane and Cristina founded an elementary school in hopes of serving the kinds of children they worked with as teens at LAYC. But that would allow them to catch them earlier and give them a high quality education in hopes of preventing some of the issues those teens faced. They wanted to reach poor, underserved kids. Middle and upper middle class families of all races and ethnicities were never their target audience although they've been there since year one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine if LAMB had found a new location by St. Elizabeth Hospital in Anacostia. I bet the sentiment on this board would be all reversed.... There's also been faint speculation over the years that LAMB might just lease more space at SD and eventually consolidate everyone over there. Certainly many in Ward 4 would be outraged, and maybe justifiably so!

The point is that there seems to be this unexamined chauvinism by some that LAMB is somehow really a "Ward 4" neighborhood school and everyone else has to just deal with it. LAMB went city-wide a long time ago. My guess is that Kingsbury probably will be the best option at the end of the day, but that doesn't mean that students from other parts of the city don't have legitimate concerns.

Not trying to fan further flames here, just asking for a little more mutual understanding.

Actually no. A number of parents at MO have discussed what we do if our kids were assigned to SD at some point bc once that campus opened it became clear the school might have to adjust who goes where bc of capacity/balancing etc. We agreed we'd explore a way to organize a car pool and research a bus if possible. What we didn't do was make demands the administration accommodate us when they're focused on building this school.

Also, my closest friends at LAMB are from BOTH campuses and I often forget who's where bc we live in different wards and it's not actually an exact link of ward to closest school. People in our group cross the city every day to get their kids to the campus they're assigned to.

My last note is we enrolled in LAMB at AD even though it was a 45 minute commute. I was willing to make that sacrifice so my kids could be at LAMB.

[Anonymous]

WOW. Calling someone a b*tch? Racist? I gasped when I read that. That does not reflect the community I know and love at LAMB and it's awful how the cover of anonymity brings out the worst in people. Although not so sure how anonymous those posts are given a lot mirror posts on the list serv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They talked about the River Terrace school and Young Campus as options at the Kingsbury meetings. I think that they were seriously considering a move east of the river. To be totally fair to the administration. But the attitude of the meeting was very much against anyone they perceived as a "gentrifier". Diane even made some crack about how "we didn't expect DC to gentrify so quickly".

However from the beginning there were "gentrifier" families interested in the school. Not sure why the attitude seems so against people they perceive to be recent arrivals to DC.

The problem is when people arrived but the wealth. Diane and Cristina founded an elementary school in hopes of serving the kinds of children they worked with as teens at LAYC. But that would allow them to catch them earlier and give them a high quality education in hopes of preventing some of the issues those teens faced. They wanted to reach poor, underserved kids. Middle and upper middle class families of all races and ethnicities were never their target audience although they've been there since year one.

Even assuming this is true, what is the point of making this comment now, to make everyone else feel unwelcome? The real strength of LAMB from the get-go has been its broad diversity, both ethnic and socioeconomic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine if LAMB had found a new location by St. Elizabeth Hospital in Anacostia. I bet the sentiment on this board would be all reversed.... There's also been faint speculation over the years that LAMB might just lease more space at SD and eventually consolidate everyone over there. Certainly many in Ward 4 would be outraged, and maybe justifiably so!

The point is that there seems to be this unexamined chauvinism by some that LAMB is somehow really a "Ward 4" neighborhood school and everyone else has to just deal with it. LAMB went city-wide a long time ago. My guess is that Kingsbury probably will be the best option at the end of the day, but that doesn't mean that students from other parts of the city don't have legitimate concerns.

Not trying to fan further flames here, just asking for a little more mutual understanding.

Actually no. A number of parents at MO have discussed what we do if our kids were assigned to SD at some point bc once that campus opened it became clear the school might have to adjust who goes where bc of capacity/balancing etc. We agreed we'd explore a way to organize a car pool and research a bus if possible. What we didn't do was make demands the administration accommodate us when they're focused on building this school.

Also, my closest friends at LAMB are from BOTH campuses and I often forget who's where bc we live in different wards and it's not actually an exact link of ward to closest school. People in our group cross the city every day to get their kids to the campus they're assigned to.

My last note is we enrolled in LAMB at AD even though it was a 45 minute commute. I was willing to make that sacrifice so my kids could be at LAMB.

Glad that this works out for your family. It doesn't work out for all families to make those arrangements.

But maybe you can stop lying online? Because the "facts" you posted are bold faced lies.

If the school moves to another campus which is suitable for only some families, they have an obligation to explore ways of keeping those families, and not just those who can afford the time and money to bring them there. The shuttle bus to SD has been in the works for some time, has been entirely parent run, and up until this misguided Kingsbury move, has not requested anything of the school. If the school moves to Kingsbury, the school should find a way to help these families continue at lamb. This has been done by other schools as mentioned before. I guess you want to make sure it is only the rich kids who get to lamb.

The hatred and vitriol and LIES that have been posted here are just disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Cowards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WOW. Calling someone a b*tch? Racist? I gasped when I read that. That does not reflect the community I know and love at LAMB and it's awful how the cover of anonymity brings out the worst in people. Although not so sure how anonymous those posts are given a lot mirror posts on the list serv.

Are you done with your personal attacks?

This forum is full of prospective students as well who can't post on the lamb listserv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They talked about the River Terrace school and Young Campus as options at the Kingsbury meetings. I think that they were seriously considering a move east of the river. To be totally fair to the administration. But the attitude of the meeting was very much against anyone they perceived as a "gentrifier". Diane even made some crack about how "we didn't expect DC to gentrify so quickly".

However from the beginning there were "gentrifier" families interested in the school. Not sure why the attitude seems so against people they perceive to be recent arrivals to DC.

The problem is when people arrived but the wealth. Diane and Cristina founded an elementary school in hopes of serving the kinds of children they worked with as teens at LAYC. But that would allow them to catch them earlier and give them a high quality education in hopes of preventing some of the issues those teens faced. They wanted to reach poor, underserved kids. Middle and upper middle class families of all races and ethnicities were never their target audience although they've been there since year one.

Even assuming this is true, what is the point of making this comment now, to make everyone else feel unwelcome? The real strength of LAMB from the get-go has been its broad diversity, both ethnic and socioeconomic.

It is true. Read the founding charter and early annual reports.

I shared because someone asked why Diane talked about gentrification in a negative way. For every gentrified family that moves into a neighborhood, another family leaves and communities change. Whether that is good or bad depends on your perspective.

In most of DC to be called a gentrifier is an insult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WOW. Calling someone a b*tch? Racist? I gasped when I read that. That does not reflect the community I know and love at LAMB and it's awful how the cover of anonymity brings out the worst in people. Although not so sure how anonymous those posts are given a lot mirror posts on the list serv.

Are you done with your personal attacks?

This forum is full of prospective students as well who can't post on the lamb listserv.

I assume you're referring to the poster who called someone a b*tch? Or a racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Imagine if LAMB had found a new location by St. Elizabeth Hospital in Anacostia. I bet the sentiment on this board would be all reversed.... There's also been faint speculation over the years that LAMB might just lease more space at SD and eventually consolidate everyone over there. Certainly many in Ward 4 would be outraged, and maybe justifiably so!

The point is that there seems to be this unexamined chauvinism by some that LAMB is somehow really a "Ward 4" neighborhood school and everyone else has to just deal with it. LAMB went city-wide a long time ago. My guess is that Kingsbury probably will be the best option at the end of the day, but that doesn't mean that students from other parts of the city don't have legitimate concerns.

Not trying to fan further flames here, just asking for a little more mutual understanding.

Actually no. A number of parents at MO have discussed what we do if our kids were assigned to SD at some point bc once that campus opened it became clear the school might have to adjust who goes where bc of capacity/balancing etc. We agreed we'd explore a way to organize a car pool and research a bus if possible. What we didn't do was make demands the administration accommodate us when they're focused on building this school.

Also, my closest friends at LAMB are from BOTH campuses and I often forget who's where bc we live in different wards and it's not actually an exact link of ward to closest school. People in our group cross the city every day to get their kids to the campus they're assigned to.

My last note is we enrolled in LAMB at AD even though it was a 45 minute commute. I was willing to make that sacrifice so my kids could be at LAMB.

Glad that this works out for your family. It doesn't work out for all families to make those arrangements.

But maybe you can stop lying online? Because the "facts" you posted are bold faced lies.

If the school moves to another campus which is suitable for only some families, they have an obligation to explore ways of keeping those families, and not just those who can afford the time and money to bring them there. The shuttle bus to SD has been in the works for some time, has been entirely parent run, and up until this misguided Kingsbury move, has not requested anything of the school. If the school moves to Kingsbury, the school should find a way to help these families continue at lamb. This has been done by other schools as mentioned before. I guess you want to make sure it is only the rich kids who get to lamb.

The hatred and vitriol and LIES that have been posted here are just disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Cowards.

1) what facts am I lying about?

2) the hatred and vitriol seems pretty one-sided.

3) I have nothing to be ashamed about because everything you're assuming about me and my intent is false.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They talked about the River Terrace school and Young Campus as options at the Kingsbury meetings. I think that they were seriously considering a move east of the river. To be totally fair to the administration. But the attitude of the meeting was very much against anyone they perceived as a "gentrifier". Diane even made some crack about how "we didn't expect DC to gentrify so quickly".

However from the beginning there were "gentrifier" families interested in the school. Not sure why the attitude seems so against people they perceive to be recent arrivals to DC.

The problem is when people arrived but the wealth. Diane and Cristina founded an elementary school in hopes of serving the kinds of children they worked with as teens at LAYC. But that would allow them to catch them earlier and give them a high quality education in hopes of preventing some of the issues those teens faced. They wanted to reach poor, underserved kids. Middle and upper middle class families of all races and ethnicities were never their target audience although they've been there since year one.

It sounds like it might be time for Diane and Cristina to move on. Leaving aside the pedophile scandal, they have obvious animosity toward gentrifiers and because of the way HRCS work (middle and upper middle class people lottery for them in huge numbers), LAMB will just continue to be whiter and wealthier. Seems like it's time to turn the reins over to people who don't have obvious distain for those people.