MacArthur

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

It's foolish to pretend that all of us, in the context of school choice in DC, aren't trying our best to find a good school for our children (whether we bought in zone for Jackson Reed or not). If you bought in Moco, Fairfax, or Arlington or a different county in this region with more uniformly good schools, then I'm not interested in hearing from you on this, because you don't understand the choice people in DC are making.

I bought in DC, and we chose to avoid the areas WOTP in our housing search despite the good schools because it continues to be highly segregated. Is that what you wanted to know before taking my comment seriously?

I wasn't questioning you. I was supporting you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

It's foolish to pretend that all of us, in the context of school choice in DC, aren't trying our best to find a good school for our children (whether we bought in zone for Jackson Reed or not). If you bought in Moco, Fairfax, or Arlington or a different county in this region with more uniformly good schools, then I'm not interested in hearing from you on this, because you don't understand the choice people in DC are making.

I bought in DC, and we chose to avoid the areas WOTP in our housing search despite the good schools because it continues to be highly segregated. Is that what you wanted to know before taking my comment seriously?

I wasn't questioning you. I was supporting you.

Sorry, it's a touchy topic and I misread you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

Assuming this is the ITS person. Then why didn't you send your kids to your neighborhood DCPS?

(This is the fundamental hypocrisy at play at ITS, btw. You can't have it both ways.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

Assuming this is the ITS person. Then why didn't you send your kids to your neighborhood DCPS?

(This is the fundamental hypocrisy at play at ITS, btw. You can't have it both ways.)

Not the ITS person, did send kids to the neighborhood DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

Assuming this is the ITS person. Then why didn't you send your kids to your neighborhood DCPS?

(This is the fundamental hypocrisy at play at ITS, btw. You can't have it both ways.)

I am not that poster, but agree with their sentiment.

The reason i didn't send my children to my zoned school is because in my zoned school fewer than twenty students total earned 4s or 5s on their PARCC scores in the 22-23 school year.

That school is LaSalle Backus
https://www.myschooldc.org/schools/profile/61

That does not add up to a cohort of high performing students.

At ITDS, there is a cohort of high performing students and it is diverse.
44% of students earned a 4 or 5 on the PARCC test in the 22-23 school year.

https://www.myschooldc.org/schools/profile/192

It's possible to want both diverse schools, especially in a city that is as diverse as ours, and want a high performing cohort for our children. As a parent, it's my job to get my children a good education. The choice I made gave them that. To send my children to their zoned school would have meant sending them to a school where they would be atypical in terms of educational achievement.

To be clear, relates to MacArthur at all, which seems like a great school and which I certainly included on my child's application for high schools, even though the commute would have been horrible for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

if you assess schools based on the percentage of black poor kids you’re not really trying …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

It's foolish to pretend that all of us, in the context of school choice in DC, aren't trying our best to find a good school for our children (whether we bought in zone for Jackson Reed or not). If you bought in Moco, Fairfax, or Arlington or a different county in this region with more uniformly good schools, then I'm not interested in hearing from you on this, because you don't understand the choice people in DC are making.

exactly. except with PP it’s a whole f’in psychodrama intended to have her social justice cake and eat it to

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

Assuming this is the ITS person. Then why didn't you send your kids to your neighborhood DCPS?

(This is the fundamental hypocrisy at play at ITS, btw. You can't have it both ways.)

“We tried our IB school - it just wasn’t a good fit! ITS is so wonderfully DIverse and welcoming.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

Assuming this is the ITS person. Then why didn't you send your kids to your neighborhood DCPS?

(This is the fundamental hypocrisy at play at ITS, btw. You can't have it both ways.)

I am not that poster, but agree with their sentiment.

The reason i didn't send my children to my zoned school is because in my zoned school fewer than twenty students total earned 4s or 5s on their PARCC scores in the 22-23 school year.

That school is LaSalle Backus
https://www.myschooldc.org/schools/profile/61

That does not add up to a cohort of high performing students.

At ITDS, there is a cohort of high performing students and it is diverse.
44% of students earned a 4 or 5 on the PARCC test in the 22-23 school year.

https://www.myschooldc.org/schools/profile/192

It's possible to want both diverse schools, especially in a city that is as diverse as ours, and want a high performing cohort for our children. As a parent, it's my job to get my children a good education. The choice I made gave them that. To send my children to their zoned school would have meant sending them to a school where they would be atypical in terms of educational achievement.

To be clear, relates to MacArthur at all, which seems like a great school and which I certainly included on my child's application for high schools, even though the commute would have been horrible for him.

here you are STILL trying to get diversity brownie points. lololol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

Assuming this is the ITS person. Then why didn't you send your kids to your neighborhood DCPS?

(This is the fundamental hypocrisy at play at ITS, btw. You can't have it both ways.)

I am not that poster, but agree with their sentiment.

The reason i didn't send my children to my zoned school is because in my zoned school fewer than twenty students total earned 4s or 5s on their PARCC scores in the 22-23 school year.

That school is LaSalle Backus
https://www.myschooldc.org/schools/profile/61

That does not add up to a cohort of high performing students.

At ITDS, there is a cohort of high performing students and it is diverse.
44% of students earned a 4 or 5 on the PARCC test in the 22-23 school year.

https://www.myschooldc.org/schools/profile/192

It's possible to want both diverse schools, especially in a city that is as diverse as ours, and want a high performing cohort for our children. As a parent, it's my job to get my children a good education. The choice I made gave them that. To send my children to their zoned school would have meant sending them to a school where they would be atypical in terms of educational achievement.

To be clear, relates to MacArthur at all, which seems like a great school and which I certainly included on my child's application for high schools, even though the commute would have been horrible for him.

here you are STILL trying to get diversity brownie points. lololol

I don't want brownie points. I'm participating in a conversation, but all you want to do is shoot people down. I think it's worth talking about why we choose schools in DC. It's a tough decision that everyone makes, and those of us who share our thinking help those who come after us. But hey, you do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

if you assess schools based on the percentage of black poor kids you’re not really trying …

I'm not. I'm evaluating on percentage of white kids. If that number is near 100% in a city that is majority-minority, why? Is the school somehow excluding non-white families? Is it a legacy of Jim Crow housing policy? Does the school have policies or practices that are racist, whether intentionally or not? Are my kids going to run the risk of falling in with the wrong crowd and getting a Richard Spencer haircut?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

if you assess schools based on the percentage of black poor kids you’re not really trying …

I'm not. I'm evaluating on percentage of white kids. If that number is near 100% in a city that is majority-minority, why? Is the school somehow excluding non-white families? Is it a legacy of Jim Crow housing policy? Does the school have policies or practices that are racist, whether intentionally or not? Are my kids going to run the risk of falling in with the wrong crowd and getting a Richard Spencer haircut?

Are you talking about MacArthur? Because Hardy, the feeder school is 40 percent white, thus is 60 percent "other." I don't live there or send my kid to either school, but as a brown person I would absolutely be comfortable with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a huge, disproportionate overlap between the black group and poor group in DC. When people say too much Title 1 in a DC public school, what they are actually saying is too many blacks. Why track either stat in DC? It just feeds racism.

First of all, ignoring unequal outcomes eliminates the ability to track them and work towards decreasing the inequality in our system.

Secondly, I really don't think that people are primarily expressing anti-black racism when they express the desire to avoid a school that is largely Title 1. What they are trying to do is find a school with a decent cohort of high performers (which often correlates with high SES students). I don't think they necessarily care about what race those students are.

For example, ITDS is a popular school and has a large number of African American students as well as mixed students. It is not a Title 1 school. People are not necessarily against a large number of people of color. They are indeed trying to avoid being part of a school with a high percentage (especially a majority) of poor people.

I can endorse your anecdote. We're white and at ITDS for MS (the MS is less white than the lower grades). We are happy with the instruction and that DC is with enough other kids that come from families who support education -- some higher SES, some not. For us it's about having enough kids who want to learn and has nothing to do with race (though I will admit to appreciating that DC isn't in an all white school since I think there is some valuable understanding in that that will be a benefit throughout life)

“My child needs a school with enough black kids to get my social justice bona fides, but not TOO many such that they cannot have the ‘high achieving cohort’ to which they are entitled.”

I know you aren't trying to be nice but I did think about your comment.

We don't believe we are just seeking a "social justice bona fides" credential. We think we have our kids in an environment that's closer to the America they'll live in throughout their lives than they would find in some enclave in the suburbs. I realize our impressions of our motivations by be different than your impressions of our motivations.

Unfortunately in DC, your reference to a "high achieving cohort" and our seeking "a reasonable number of kids on grade level" can refer to the same thing in a way those terms wouldn't in either MoCo or FairfaxCo with their test in programs. I do believe a school needs a strong enough group on grade level to support the learning our kids will need in the globalized market place they will find when they are adults.

It's an anonymous forum and I chose to share what I'd be looking for in MA.

Your desire for a bespoke level of diversity really speaks for itself.

"A good school that isn't in an all-white enclave" doesn't seem that racist to me, I guess? Especially in a part of the world where a lot of these all-white enclaves are that way because they were once sundown towns? The history of race in America means that we're sometimes weighing harms rather than finding a truly good option: are we contributing to gentrification or upholding de facto housing segregation? Are we being "colorblind" or are we tokenizing people of color? Are we sucking resources away from underresourced communities or are we failing to support local schools? Lots of white people are trying not to be part of the problem and sometimes failing pretty hard, but I'd rather try than not.

if you assess schools based on the percentage of black poor kids you’re not really trying …

I'm not. I'm evaluating on percentage of white kids. If that number is near 100% in a city that is majority-minority, why? Is the school somehow excluding non-white families? Is it a legacy of Jim Crow housing policy? Does the school have policies or practices that are racist, whether intentionally or not? Are my kids going to run the risk of falling in with the wrong crowd and getting a Richard Spencer haircut?

Are you talking about MacArthur? Because Hardy, the feeder school is 40 percent white, thus is 60 percent "other." I don't live there or send my kid to either school, but as a brown person I would absolutely be comfortable with it.

Sorry, no, I'm way OT from the original thread and deep in the weeds in an argument about school choice, diversity, and virtue-signaling.

[Anonymous]

This has gone totally off course.

[Anonymous]

can we just close this thread please? the PP comment has shown we’ve just gone way off course.