What will Closing D.G. General Mean for DCPS Elementary Schools?

[Anonymous]

With the D.G. General families on track to be scattered throughout the city, how will schools be impacted? Will Payne ES finally turn? What do you think.

[Anonymous]

I think you are a disgusting vulture. I am glad all those families will get to live in better shelters.

[Anonymous]

The Director of Health and Human Services explained that the family shelters being set up around the city are temporary shelters. Families have the right to stay in their home schools and DC will provide transportation. Most are expected to continue to make that choice (they overwhelming do now). Of course, they also have the right to switch to the IB school where the shelter is located and could finish out the school year there if they moved, but would have to switch schools thereafter (unless they moved IB to that school). Since very few families at DC General choose Payne as their IB school (something like 12 of the couple hundred), it is not clear it would have much implication for Payne.

[Anonymous]

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Signed
disgusting vulture who wants to see the D.G. General kids served well by DCPS, along with other in-boundary kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Signed
disgusting vulture who wants to see the D.G. General kids served well by DCPS, along with other in-boundary kids

Well, Ms. D. Vulture, that sure is not the way your first post sounded!

[Anonymous]

I think the closing of DC general will have a positive effect on Payne even though only a small percentage of the 100s of kids at the shelter actually go to Payne. Payne has already started to turn in the preschool years I expect that will slowly start to trickle into some of the other grades. The neighborhood is really starting to support Payne and a lot of neighbors see its potential. Payne will also be getting a new principal next year and I hope the new principal has an eye for the future and a vision for the next steps for Payne.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Signed
disgusting vulture who wants to see the D.G. General kids served well by DCPS, along with other in-boundary kids

Well, Ms. D. Vulture, that sure is not the way your first post sounded!

+1, especially the bit about Payne turning. OP you really sound like a bleeding heart looking out for the homeless kids.

[Anonymous]

On another note about Payne - what if Brent and Maury adopted Payne as a sister school and shared some of their generous fundraising mojo? I admit to being a little sickened by the idea of parents spending $500 each at an auction, while a school 6 blocks away doesn't get anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On another note about Payne - what if Brent and Maury adopted Payne as a sister school and shared some of their generous fundraising mojo? I admit to being a little sickened by the idea of parents spending $500 each at an auction, while a school 6 blocks away doesn't get anything.

Or I guess geographically, Brent would adopt Tyler and Maury would adopt Payne?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Signed
disgusting vulture who wants to see the D.G. General kids served well by DCPS only if they don't impact higher SES other in-boundary kids

Fixed that for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Signed
disgusting vulture who wants to see the D.G. General kids served well by DCPS, along with other in-boundary kids

If that is what you want, I'd suggest not saying things like "Will Payne finally turn?" which implies that the reason that has not happened is that the D.C. General kids who go there are preventing that "turning" and that when they go elsewhere, it will happen.

To answer your question more specifically, children who are homeless - which is not a designation that just anyone can claim, you have to actually be homeless and receiving services - have certain educational guarantees. The right to attend the school that their temporary housing is zoned for, as well as the right to stay in their previous school despite moving out of the boundary, are two of those rights. There is also transportation assistance available, school supply assistance, uniform assistance, etc. These things are guaranteed under the McKinney-Vento Act, which is the general legislation describing homeless services.

I have my own concerns, as someone who works with homeless families, about dropping a bunch of kids who need special services into a school that is not accustomed to providing those services. Our EOTP school has several shelters within its boundary (smaller family shelters, transitional family housing, etc.), and last year, we hired an extra social worker because we needed more social services staff with an increased number of kids who get services. The funding for those positions were based entirely on having children who needed them. My concern is not that the homeless students will ruin the schools, but that the schools will not be equipped to provide the support those students need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On another note about Payne - what if Brent and Maury adopted Payne as a sister school and shared some of their generous fundraising mojo? I admit to being a little sickened by the idea of parents spending $500 each at an auction, while a school 6 blocks away doesn't get anything.

That school gets both at risk funding from DCPS and Title 1 funds. whether that's enough to meet the needs is another question altogether, but the local system and federal government provides additional funding for schools serving more impoverished communities. Except for the NW powerhouse fundraisers like Mann and Janney this exceeds what other schools raise independently.

[Anonymous]

40% of kids in DC shelters are under age 2. Like, babies and 1 year olds. Most kids in shelter are not elementary school aged. The new shelters are probably going to have no more than about 100 kids, so about 1 or 2 per grade will likely enroll in the IB elementary school.

I live in an area where a shelter is planned and our school is already about 10% homeless and about 1/4 have IEPs (not necessarily an overlap but in many cases it is). We need more support already, but this will only be a very small increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

Signed
disgusting vulture who wants to see the D.G. General kids served well by DCPS, along with other in-boundary kids

If that is what you want, I'd suggest not saying things like "Will Payne finally turn?" which implies that the reason that has not happened is that the D.C. General kids who go there are preventing that "turning" and that when they go elsewhere, it will happen.

To answer your question more specifically, children who are homeless - which is not a designation that just anyone can claim, you have to actually be homeless and receiving services - have certain educational guarantees. The right to attend the school that their temporary housing is zoned for, as well as the right to stay in their previous school despite moving out of the boundary, are two of those rights. There is also transportation assistance available, school supply assistance, uniform assistance, etc. These things are guaranteed under the McKinney-Vento Act, which is the general legislation describing homeless services.

I have my own concerns, as someone who works with homeless families, about dropping a bunch of kids who need special services into a school that is not accustomed to providing those services. Our EOTP school has several shelters within its boundary (smaller family shelters, transitional family housing, etc.), and last year, we hired an extra social worker because we needed more social services staff with an increased number of kids who get services. The funding for those positions were based entirely on having children who needed them. My concern is not that the homeless students will ruin the schools, but that the schools will not be equipped to provide the support those students need.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On another note about Payne - what if Brent and Maury adopted Payne as a sister school and shared some of their generous fundraising mojo? I admit to being a little sickened by the idea of parents spending $500 each at an auction, while a school 6 blocks away doesn't get anything.

That school gets both at risk funding from DCPS and Title 1 funds. whether that's enough to meet the needs is another question altogether, but the local system and federal government provides additional funding for schools serving more impoverished communities. Except for the NW powerhouse fundraisers like Mann and Janney this exceeds what other schools raise independently.

Well I doubt that Title I money can go for extras like teaching aids and after school enrichment?