Ludlow-Taylor getting a new a new Principal

[Anonymous]

PP

Well you tried to be a little more realistic. A lot of these items on the wishlist are things that a PTA would be spearheading.

I don't really know of any program in the DMV area that does Kindergarten pullouts. FCPS does some pull outs for 1st and 2nd at some schools.


I'm baffled about "*more diverse, better educated, and less PC teaching staff "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

09:39 again -- although I object in principle, I also have comments on some of your suggestions...

No argument with these...

Objections work for me as long as the conversation about better serving the neighborhood (to put it mildly) is rolling, and constructive.

LT only serves a majority FARMs population because it hasn't become very upper middle-income/neighborhood friendy yet. Brent was no different in 2002, and Maury no different in 2004. Once it has, it can serve the neighborhood with the remaining poor neighborhood kids rising with the tide/all boats. Every effort should be made to ensure that poor neighborhood kids have their needs met at the school but bring on the fund-raising galas anyway.

I want the PG address cheaters out because their parents do not file DC taxes, period. No sympathy for them. If the parents live in DC, file taxes, and fudge LT registration by using a grandmother's address, and her after school care, gray area and no big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got news for you 09:26: DCPS did this, around the time Cobbs was hired. And they got blowback from families then attending the school, who said, "Hey! We're already here. Why don't you ask us what we would like to see at our school, instead of asking people who don't even send their kids here."

As an OOB LT parent, I strongly object to the idea that the preferences of an IB LT parent should be given greater weight than my preferences. We are all parents at the school, and none of us should be given more or less consideration because of our home address.

That goes double when you're talking about the preferences of people who *aren't even parents* at LT.

If you want to be a stakeholder at LT, enroll your kid in the school.

#1 thing I've learned about school systems, and DCPS in particular, is that they respond willingly to families INSIDE the system and almost not at all to families OUTSIDE of it. PP's laundry list contained some perfectly reasonable items that LT's or any principal would be happy to implement with parent support. But the constant barrage of negativity from outsiders, I think, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP

Well you tried to be a little more realistic. A lot of these items on the wishlist are things that a PTA would be spearheading.

I don't really know of any program in the DMV area that does Kindergarten pullouts. FCPS does some pull outs for 1st and 2nd at some schools.


I'm baffled about "*more diverse, better educated, and less PC teaching staff "

LT invariably wear their social justice crusader bona fides on their sleeves...poor kids this, FARMs kids that, ad naseum. Where are the teachers accustomed to teaching affluent kids, of the type we have around here in spades? Where are the Asian and Latino immigrant teachers? The elite college grads? Hill elementary school principals routinely hire these types. The with-it Quebecois Maury principal sets the tone over there, as does the Harvard MA-holding Brent chief. In a neighborhood where parents routinely hold multiple graduate degrees, dealing with LT teachers can be a bummer.

Around half of the LT teachers I've talked to over the years (maybe 20 in all) haven't struck me as particularly astute. I stand by my statement verbatim: more diverse, better-educated, and less PC teaching staff, so launch into me, folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP

Well you tried to be a little more realistic. A lot of these items on the wishlist are things that a PTA would be spearheading.

I don't really know of any program in the DMV area that does Kindergarten pullouts. FCPS does some pull outs for 1st and 2nd at some schools.


I'm baffled about "*more diverse, better educated, and less PC teaching staff "

It's not baffling. PP wants a teaching staff that looks like SWS, which is remarkably white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got news for you 09:26: DCPS did this, around the time Cobbs was hired. And they got blowback from families then attending the school, who said, "Hey! We're already here. Why don't you ask us what we would like to see at our school, instead of asking people who don't even send their kids here."

As an OOB LT parent, I strongly object to the idea that the preferences of an IB LT parent should be given greater weight than my preferences. We are all parents at the school, and none of us should be given more or less consideration because of our home address.

That goes double when you're talking about the preferences of people who *aren't even parents* at LT.

If you want to be a stakeholder at LT, enroll your kid in the school.

#1 thing I've learned about school systems, and DCPS in particular, is that they respond willingly to families INSIDE the system and almost not at all to families OUTSIDE of it. PP's laundry list contained some perfectly reasonable items that LT's or any principal would be happy to implement with parent support. But the constant barrage of negativity from outsiders, I think, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Which is stupid, because this means we're all left playing which-comes-first-chicken-or-egg games open-endedly, rather than focusing on expanding the municipal tax base by attracting, and retaining, high SES parent tax payers to help expand services to the poor. The Mayor Daley dynasty in Chicago focused on drawing upper middle-class families to schools, and made the whole town more liveable as a result. Disatisfaction engenders negativity, which doesn't draw in needed investment. No more to be said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got news for you 09:26: DCPS did this, around the time Cobbs was hired. And they got blowback from families then attending the school, who said, "Hey! We're already here. Why don't you ask us what we would like to see at our school, instead of asking people who don't even send their kids here."

As an OOB LT parent, I strongly object to the idea that the preferences of an IB LT parent should be given greater weight than my preferences. We are all parents at the school, and none of us should be given more or less consideration because of our home address.

That goes double when you're talking about the preferences of people who *aren't even parents* at LT.

If you want to be a stakeholder at LT, enroll your kid in the school.

#1 thing I've learned about school systems, and DCPS in particular, is that they respond willingly to families INSIDE the system and almost not at all to families OUTSIDE of it. PP's laundry list contained some perfectly reasonable items that LT's or any principal would be happy to implement with parent support. But the constant barrage of negativity from outsiders, I think, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

+1

My understanding is that part of the reason that the IB program was set up at Eliot Hine was in response to the CHPSPO request to put one in place. To date, that program has not attracted much interest at all from high-SES families.

The miracle at Brent happened because in-bounds families decided to send their kids to Brent and worked to make the school better for all students. I hope that the new L-T principal can find a way to signal that she's open to some changes without losing focus on the children who are actually in her charge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP

Well you tried to be a little more realistic. A lot of these items on the wishlist are things that a PTA would be spearheading.

I don't really know of any program in the DMV area that does Kindergarten pullouts. FCPS does some pull outs for 1st and 2nd at some schools.


I'm baffled about "*more diverse, better educated, and less PC teaching staff "

LT invariably wear their social justice crusader bona fides on their sleeves...poor kids this, FARMs kids that, ad naseum. Where are the teachers accustomed to teaching affluent kids, of the type we have around here in spades? Where are the Asian and Latino immigrant teachers? The elite college grads? Hill elementary school principals routinely hire these types. The with-it Quebecois Maury principal sets the tone over there, as does the Harvard MA-holding Brent chief. In a neighborhood where parents routinely hold multiple graduate degrees, dealing with LT teachers can be a bummer.

Around half of the LT teachers I've talked to over the years (maybe 20 in all) haven't struck me as particularly astute. I stand by my statement verbatim: more diverse, better-educated, and less PC teaching staff, so launch into me, folks.

With the composition of the schools currently majority FARMs, it makes no sense at all to hire teachers better prepared to teach affluent kids. I really believe LT has an obligation to do its best to serve the kids it has. Deliberately underserving currently attending students to chase IB kids doesn't make any sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
^^^really? Have you asked parents whose children participate in CTY if it's because of the school their child attends or is it the child? by your reasoning, alll of the students who attend key. lafayette, murch, mann, etc are participants in CTY. bottom line is this, if your child isn't qualified for CTY, it's not the school fault, it is because your child isn't talented.

While I am sympathetic to neighborhood schools, I have to agree with you. My kid (we lived in the suburbs at the time) did CTY. Nothing her NoVa school district did prepared her for CTY. Well except the social isolation, which made CTY seem like heaven on earth.

Really CTY is for PG kids. As in profoundly gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got news for you 09:26: DCPS did this, around the time Cobbs was hired. And they got blowback from families then attending the school, who said, "Hey! We're already here. Why don't you ask us what we would like to see at our school, instead of asking people who don't even send their kids here."

As an OOB LT parent, I strongly object to the idea that the preferences of an IB LT parent should be given greater weight than my preferences. We are all parents at the school, and none of us should be given more or less consideration because of our home address.

That goes double when you're talking about the preferences of people who *aren't even parents* at LT.

If you want to be a stakeholder at LT, enroll your kid in the school.

#1 thing I've learned about school systems, and DCPS in particular, is that they respond willingly to families INSIDE the system and almost not at all to families OUTSIDE of it. PP's laundry list contained some perfectly reasonable items that LT's or any principal would be happy to implement with parent support. But the constant barrage of negativity from outsiders, I think, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

maybe DCPS is that way.

FCPS has an elected school board, with one member elected from each magisterial district. My strong sense is that the elected members are responsive not only to parents iwth kids in the system, and parents with kids not in the system, but to all families who vote, of whom property owners, childless or not, tend to be very concerned with school quality. And also to business interests.

Certainly a prinncipal seen as holding down property values in a neighborhood will be a in a precarious position. Though on the Hill, where propety values have skyrocketed anyway, this may be a moot point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got news for you 09:26: DCPS did this, around the time Cobbs was hired. And they got blowback from families then attending the school, who said, "Hey! We're already here. Why don't you ask us what we would like to see at our school, instead of asking people who don't even send their kids here."

As an OOB LT parent, I strongly object to the idea that the preferences of an IB LT parent should be given greater weight than my preferences. We are all parents at the school, and none of us should be given more or less consideration because of our home address.

That goes double when you're talking about the preferences of people who *aren't even parents* at LT.

If you want to be a stakeholder at LT, enroll your kid in the school.

#1 thing I've learned about school systems, and DCPS in particular, is that they respond willingly to families INSIDE the system and almost not at all to families OUTSIDE of it. PP's laundry list contained some perfectly reasonable items that LT's or any principal would be happy to implement with parent support. But the constant barrage of negativity from outsiders, I think, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Which is stupid, because this means we're all left playing which-comes-first-chicken-or-egg games open-endedly, rather than focusing on expanding the municipal tax base by attracting, and retaining, high SES parent tax payers to help expand services to the poor. The Mayor Daley dynasty in Chicago focused on drawing upper middle-class families to schools, and made the whole town more liveable as a result. Disatisfaction engenders negativity, which doesn't draw in needed investment. No more to be said.

There's nothing wrong with the DC tax base. The money is flowing freely here, whether or not you send your children to Ludlow Taylor. People all over the city are rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in their neighborhood schools. You should get out more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Got news for you 09:26: DCPS did this, around the time Cobbs was hired. And they got blowback from families then attending the school, who said, "Hey! We're already here. Why don't you ask us what we would like to see at our school, instead of asking people who don't even send their kids here."

As an OOB LT parent, I strongly object to the idea that the preferences of an IB LT parent should be given greater weight than my preferences. We are all parents at the school, and none of us should be given more or less consideration because of our home address.

That goes double when you're talking about the preferences of people who *aren't even parents* at LT.

If you want to be a stakeholder at LT, enroll your kid in the school.

#1 thing I've learned about school systems, and DCPS in particular, is that they respond willingly to families INSIDE the system and almost not at all to families OUTSIDE of it. PP's laundry list contained some perfectly reasonable items that LT's or any principal would be happy to implement with parent support. But the constant barrage of negativity from outsiders, I think, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

maybe DCPS is that way.

FCPS has an elected school board, with one member elected from each magisterial district. My strong sense is that the elected members are responsive not only to parents iwth kids in the system, and parents with kids not in the system, but to all families who vote, of whom property owners, childless or not, tend to be very concerned with school quality. And also to business interests.

Certainly a prinncipal seen as holding down property values in a neighborhood will be a in a precarious position. Though on the Hill, where propety values have skyrocketed anyway, this may be a moot point.

You lost me at property values....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cluster parents: I think it is still pretty easy to enroll at LT as OOB. Come on over...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
^^^really? Have you asked parents whose children participate in CTY if it's because of the school their child attends or is it the child? by your reasoning, alll of the students who attend key. lafayette, murch, mann, etc are participants in CTY. bottom line is this, if your child isn't qualified for CTY, it's not the school fault, it is because your child isn't talented.

While I am sympathetic to neighborhood schools, I have to agree with you. My kid (we lived in the suburbs at the time) did CTY. Nothing her NoVa school district did prepared her for CTY. Well except the social isolation, which made CTY seem like heaven on earth.

Really CTY is for PG kids. As in profoundly gifted.

Agree; that one didn't make sense to me (JKLM mom with CTY campers). There is/was no prep for the CTY test. Spend your enrichment time on something substantive and worthwhile. Many of our after school enrichment classes are less expensive versions of CTY classes and a far better use of a kid's time than a test-prep club, IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, I wonder if it be helpful to email your survey proposal to the new principal. To at least see what she thinks of it...it can tell us real quick if she is into neighborhood patents or not. I think her email is public.

I think IB parents have just as much right to offer their opinions about the school as parents of enrolled OOB children since IB patents * pay* for what's offered at the school. Note I say as much, not more or less.

The property taxes you pay for your home in the Atlas district are not earmarked for LT. Your taxes are spread throughout the city. I know in states like Ohio, where school districts are smaller and rely heavily on levies, property taxes support the one elementary school school in the district. Nevertheless, by your own statement, property owners in wards 7 & 8 have just as much right to offer opinions on students at LT since they pay taxes too.