East of the River Ward 7 schools

[Anonymous]

There seem to be a lot of good schools on Capitol Hill and nearby as well as lots of good schools elsewhere, but there is little talk about schools--particularly preschool--East of the River in Ward 7. There are many high income professionals that moved there for the single family detached homes with ample yards and not so bad mortgages that allow for a little extra money to spend on other things. In this election year, it seems like there would be a push for more schools on par with the highly regarded schools discussed in this forum. Not everyone gets excited about year round schools planned for some schools in Ward 7, but that seems to be the strategic incentive for the year. Anyway, wanted to sound off and say that there are families EOTR with the same values, educational and professional levels looking for someone to make elementary schools stronger, competitive, and diverse in safe, attractive communities. And there are other not affluent families/diverse incomes who want solid neighborhood schools that are coveted. There seem to be only a few noted schools EOTR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There seem to be a lot of good schools on Capitol Hill and nearby as well as lots of good schools elsewhere, but there is little talk about schools--particularly preschool--East of the River in Ward 7. There are many high income professionals that moved there for the single family detached homes with ample yards and not so bad mortgages that allow for a little extra money to spend on other things. In this election year, it seems like there would be a push for more schools on par with the highly regarded schools discussed in this forum. Not everyone gets excited about year round schools planned for some schools in Ward 7, but that seems to be the strategic incentive for the year. Anyway, wanted to sound off and say that there are families EOTR with the same values, educational and professional levels looking for someone to make elementary schools stronger, competitive, and diverse in safe, attractive communities. And there are other not affluent families/diverse incomes who want solid neighborhood schools that are coveted. There seem to be only a few noted schools EOTR.

So what's your point? Why don't you start a discussion on a specific school?

[Anonymous]

KIPP.
Leckie.

[Anonymous]

These people are the families that send their kids to Stuart Hobson, Hearst and Hardy that everyone else on DCUM complains about.

[Anonymous]

Leckie E.S. is not a ward 7 school. I am not OP but I can start. All of Ward 7 schools are bad the test scores stink although, I had my now 16 year old son at a Ward 7 school I would not dare want to put my 5 year old child in his neighborhood school. 2 years ago my 5 year old DS was matched to KIPP DC although the test scores are good and comparable to many schools, I decided I wanted him in a different type of school not so strict and so academic for a PS-3 child at that time. My son had attended a Ward 6 school and will now be attending Shepherd Elementary School the commute will be a lot but my DS is worth every bit of the commute. So I know there would be a lot of negative comments about my choices but I really don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anne Beers has a decent reputation, though when I visited there several years ago I was appalled at how the children were being spoken to, as if they were preparing them for prison or something.

[Anonymous]

It's not about putting the good schools in ward 7. There are great teachers and principals in ward 7. It's about the demographics about the people that will send their kid to a school in Ward 7. So your battle should not be about using an election year to demand a better school in Ward 7, but to rally your neighbors to send your kid to the school that already exists. Same issue with Brookland schools, or even Hardy. Plenty of rich folk to fill the infrastructure in place, just not enough willing participants.

[Anonymous]

So it's the people who are bad, not the schools!? Really!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it's the people who are bad, not the schools!? Really!

The issue isn't a matter of good or bad. If you took all of the kids at Janney and sent them to a Ward 7 school, test scores would magically increase even if everything else stayed the same. While good administration, teachers and curriculum help, they (in most cases) don't trump demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it's the people who are bad, not the schools!? Really!

You clearly didn't read the pp. So you think opening a better school in Ward 7 would do what exactly? What different would a new school be instead of Kimball for example?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So it's the people who are bad, not the schools!? Really!

That's a blunt way to put it, but yes, a "good" school is generally a school full of "good" students. It's largely the kids and their parents themselves that make or break a school. You need a sufficiently high percentage of high achievers and involved parents to make a good school.

[Anonymous]

Mine is one of the families that OP was referencing. We bought EOTR (Ward 7) for a single family home with a nice yard and mortgage that would still allow us to live fairly comfortably. We did not, however, think that the schools in Ward 7 would be an option -- my now 3rd grader started in private and is currently in a charter in Ward 5, where my almost 3 y.o. will also mostly likely attend in the fall. Outside of the introduction of a Spanish Immersion program at Houston and rumors of a gifted MS program at Sousa, it doesn't appear that DCPS is focused on increasing options for the families OP described. There are schools like KIPP and DC Prep in Ward 7, but even those have extensive waitlists due to the state of the neighborhoods schools. It's a pity because I know quite a few families like ours (professional, relatively high SES) with kids ages from 0 to 10 who pay for private or haul their kids across town for an acceptable education who would love to invest their time and energy in a great local school. Not happening tho

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not about putting the good schools in ward 7. There are great teachers and principals in ward 7. It's about the demographics about the people that will send their kid to a school in Ward 7. So your battle should not be about using an election year to demand a better school in Ward 7, but to rally your neighbors to send your kid to the school that already exists. Same issue with Brookland schools, or even Hardy. Plenty of rich folk to fill the infrastructure in place, just not enough willing participants.

Ward 8 resident here who sent my kids to school on the Hill. I agree with this post. I think it starts with the people in the neighborhood. OP, you talk about families with the same values, educational and professional levels looking for someone to make elementary schools stronger. I think that someone is you and those families. Someone has to be willing to be the first, to start the ball rolling. You and the like-minded people in your neighborhood should enroll your kids in your local neighborhood school and become involved, volunteer and remain active in the school community. That's how change starts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not about putting the good schools in ward 7. There are great teachers and principals in ward 7. It's about the demographics about the people that will send their kid to a school in Ward 7. So your battle should not be about using an election year to demand a better school in Ward 7, but to rally your neighbors to send your kid to the school that already exists. Same issue with Brookland schools, or even Hardy. Plenty of rich folk to fill the infrastructure in place, just not enough willing participants.

Ward 8 resident here who sent my kids to school on the Hill. I agree with this post. I think it starts with the people in the neighborhood. OP, you talk about families with the same values, educational and professional levels looking for someone to make elementary schools stronger. I think that someone is you and those families. Someone has to be willing to be the first, to start the ball rolling. You and the like-minded people in your neighborhood should enroll your kids in your local neighborhood school and become involved, volunteer and remain active in the school community. That's how change starts.

Sorry, but it would take more than a few families to "get the ball rolling" at many of these schools. I have volunteered many hours inside of a certain EOTR ES and, although most of the kids and families are nice, they have many life challenges that really hinder them from the start. Until DCPS figures out how to make smart investments that compensate for some of these challenges, "parents with a choice" should not be expected to carry that burden. It is a real dilemma. "KIPP-style" seems to have some success, but I know that is not what I would want for my DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine is one of the families that OP was referencing. We bought EOTR (Ward 7) for a single family home with a nice yard and mortgage that would still allow us to live fairly comfortably. We did not, however, think that the schools in Ward 7 would be an option -- my now 3rd grader started in private and is currently in a charter in Ward 5, where my almost 3 y.o. will also mostly likely attend in the fall. Outside of the introduction of a Spanish Immersion program at Houston and rumors of a gifted MS program at Sousa, it doesn't appear that DCPS is focused on increasing options for the families OP described. There are schools like KIPP and DC Prep in Ward 7, but even those have extensive waitlists due to the state of the neighborhoods schools. It's a pity because I know quite a few families like ours (professional, relatively high SES) with kids ages from 0 to 10 who pay for private or haul their kids across town for an acceptable education who would love to invest their time and energy in a great local school. Not happening tho

We are also a Ward 7 African American, high SES family with young children and our DD is starting pk3 this year. We likely visited 15 schools to find the right fit for our family, with commute, environment, curriculum, etc. in mind. The main difference we noticed in EOTR schools is the focus on discipline and the way they talk to the students which was not present in any schools we visited WOTR. So, even KIPP and DC Prep are not for us.