Protest at Mundo on P street

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Did the protest at Cook happen too?

The flyer at the twitter link says:
Enough is Enough
Our kids deserve better
3rd grade caregivers are writing to demand a response. We asking for:
Two adults in all 3rd grade classrooms for the remainder of SY 22/23
Commitment to at least 2 hour of actual instruction in Math and ELA each day for the remainder of SY 22/23
Additional academic support (tutoring, summer programming, after care enrichment, etc) specifically for 3rd grade students
An additional teacher (or aide) for each teaching pair for SY 23/24

Can you provide the link, I don’t see all this information in the Twitter link.

https://twitter.com/JonastyB/status/1668329636869324800/photo/1

Thank you! My kids are at MV8 and this is not the case there. I am not sure why P St is having these issues.

There are absolutely similar problems at MV8. Last year two of the kinder teachers left midyear and most of the 2nd grade teachers. I'm sure others as well -- MV lost something like 10% of their staff in the first couple months of school last year.

This has not been the case this year at all at MV8.

[Anonymous]

Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

No they’re not. We turned down MV to stay at our IB and I could write paragraphs comparing our school’s admin and their response to issues compared to what that letter describes. Parents feel stuck because of the DCI feed, plain and simple.

[Anonymous]

DCI is what keeps many families at MV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the message that the school administrators sent to the entire community in response to the protest. It seems a little apathetic to the issues the children are facing—


“Dear Mundo Verde Families,

We are writing to let you know that a group of Third Grade parents and caregivers from J.F. Cook campus organized a protest today, June 14, during arrival. Please be aware that while we hope to minimize disruptions during arrival and 5th grade Expo, this small group may continue these actions tomorrow. While we hope it will not be repeated on Thursday, some parents and caregivers brought accusatory signage to campus on Wednesday - a regrettable and unfortunate public display of disrespect for the core values of ESPICA that we teach our students and ask everyone to practice.

Some students might have seen this action by these parents/caregivers, some might have been encouraged to participate in various ways, and some might have been upset as a result. Teachers and staff will be on alert Thursday to identify any unusual stress or worry that this situation may have caused and will encourage students to share any concerns they may have.

The stated goal of this protest was to schedule a meeting with the school leadership to talk about staffing and their experience with the school. Without listing all the meetings, hours and events, please know that school leadership has held many hours of meetings throughout the year to listen carefully to the concerns raised. If you would like to know more about the specific opportunities that have been provided for these discussions please contact us.

As school leaders, we will continue to actively engage with all members of the community who are contributing to the school’s overall success.”

This letter is so icky. I’m having a hard time believing there were inappropriate signs. In which case, they’re saying protest is antithetical to MV values? Cmon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

No they’re not. We turned down MV to stay at our IB and I could write paragraphs comparing our school’s admin and their response to issues compared to what that letter describes. Parents feel stuck because of the DCI feed, plain and simple.

It doesn't look like you have experience with the school, if you turned down a spot. PP question is for parents already at the school.

To answer PP question. We are at MV8 and so far I haven't had a bad experience. My kids are doing great (90%+MAP scores), great teachers, great parent community, my kids love going to school everyday, etc. Our IB is not an option for us, even though is bilingual too, due to the middle school feeder and most people leaving by third grade.

However, I won't tolerate a bad experience, if at some point the school stops not working for us, we will leave, not to my IB, but we will move.

I believe people stay because their experience is good, their IB is really bad, or the DCI feed.

[Anonymous]

A DCPS parent here. That response from the school is terrible! No wonder parents are frustrated.

The last sentence implies that they will only "engage" with people who agree with them. Not exactly open to hearing what the parents have to say!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Did the protest at Cook happen too?

The flyer at the twitter link says:
Enough is Enough
Our kids deserve better
3rd grade caregivers are writing to demand a response. We asking for:
Two adults in all 3rd grade classrooms for the remainder of SY 22/23
Commitment to at least 2 hour of actual instruction in Math and ELA each day for the remainder of SY 22/23
Additional academic support (tutoring, summer programming, after care enrichment, etc) specifically for 3rd grade students
An additional teacher (or aide) for each teaching pair for SY 23/24

Okay, hold on now. I'm no MV booster (far from it!), but how many schools have two teachers/aides per classroom in third grade? What does an additional teacher/aide for each teaching pair mean? A third adult in the classroom half of the time? How many charters provide tutoring, summer academics, and academics in after care?

Without context this seems like a lot to ask from a charter school, and even DCPS when it comes to having two adults in the classroom. Is this a post-pandemic issue with third grade (who did K and 1st virtually)? Has there not been enough intervention to get those kids caught up? Are classrooms totally out of control that they need 2-3 adults in third grade every day? I deleted my Twitter, but can anyone see the comments to see (hopefully) more details?

I'd really love more information because I came here fully ready to pile on MV, but it's a charter school, not DCPS, they don't HAVE to offer all of the bells and whistles if they don't want to.

Re the bolded above, Inspired Teaching has at minimum a lead teacher and an assistant teacher or teaching resident in each classroom.

I will say "assistant teacher" is a term ITS uses when other schools might call the person an aide. Teaching residents are in half the classrooms or less.

ITS does have a high adult-child ratio, and it keeps teacher salaries low, for sure. But that feels fair to me. If ITS went to a more DCPS-like staffing model, they could pay more DCPS-like salaries.

ITS teacher salaries are higher than Mundo.

I'm not sure if that's true, how did you find out?

It seems like MV was founded on the idea that parents would be willing to contribute enough money to make the budget support the kind of school that they wanted. And that's not crazy-- it's basically how Ward 3 operates. But the Achilles heel of that model is when parents get dissatisfied, the fundraising tanks, and then you're in a bad situation and enter that bad budget situation of having empty seats so less money coming in. It's hard to pull out of that kind of spiral.

Your understanding of how schools are financed and operating budgets work is simply wrong. You apparently have never read MVs Form 990. Fundraising is immaterial in their budget. Post less. Read more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

If it's P street, our school (Seaton) lost a bunch of students to MV early on (like in PK). I myself almost fell for the hype a few times, but I am SO thankful we stayed. I have a third grader, this feels like a parallel path that my kid could have experienced. Instead he has a team of third grade teachers (ELA and Math) who both have been at the school for more than a decade, are superstars, have grad degrees, and have him working way above grade level on both subjects. In addition to the ELA teachers and math/reading specialists who are always pulling kids out.

I'm going to say it -- families fled their IB school bc they were afraid of the demographics. But it is a better school, period.

[Anonymous]

It’s really shocking that anyone is defending MV on this thread. Even if your child isn’t suffering, do you have no concern for the other children in your school community?
Even if no, do you really feel confident that your child won’t be in a similar position next year? Leaving kids unsupervised, especially during PARCC, the admin’s terrifyingly callous response to the protests, and the lack of staff to teach the curriculum should be an emergency for every family at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Did the protest at Cook happen too?

The flyer at the twitter link says:
Enough is Enough
Our kids deserve better
3rd grade caregivers are writing to demand a response. We asking for:
Two adults in all 3rd grade classrooms for the remainder of SY 22/23
Commitment to at least 2 hour of actual instruction in Math and ELA each day for the remainder of SY 22/23
Additional academic support (tutoring, summer programming, after care enrichment, etc) specifically for 3rd grade students
An additional teacher (or aide) for each teaching pair for SY 23/24

Okay, hold on now. I'm no MV booster (far from it!), but how many schools have two teachers/aides per classroom in third grade? What does an additional teacher/aide for each teaching pair mean? A third adult in the classroom half of the time? How many charters provide tutoring, summer academics, and academics in after care?

Without context this seems like a lot to ask from a charter school, and even DCPS when it comes to having two adults in the classroom. Is this a post-pandemic issue with third grade (who did K and 1st virtually)? Has there not been enough intervention to get those kids caught up? Are classrooms totally out of control that they need 2-3 adults in third grade every day? I deleted my Twitter, but can anyone see the comments to see (hopefully) more details?

I'd really love more information because I came here fully ready to pile on MV, but it's a charter school, not DCPS, they don't HAVE to offer all of the bells and whistles if they don't want to.

Re the bolded above, Inspired Teaching has at minimum a lead teacher and an assistant teacher or teaching resident in each classroom.

I will say "assistant teacher" is a term ITS uses when other schools might call the person an aide. Teaching residents are in half the classrooms or less.

ITS does have a high adult-child ratio, and it keeps teacher salaries low, for sure. But that feels fair to me. If ITS went to a more DCPS-like staffing model, they could pay more DCPS-like salaries.

ITS teacher salaries are higher than Mundo.

But aids are not. The financial model is interesting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

If it's P street, our school (Seaton) lost a bunch of students to MV early on (like in PK). I myself almost fell for the hype a few times, but I am SO thankful we stayed. I have a third grader, this feels like a parallel path that my kid could have experienced. Instead he has a team of third grade teachers (ELA and Math) who both have been at the school for more than a decade, are superstars, have grad degrees, and have him working way above grade level on both subjects. In addition to the ELA teachers and math/reading specialists who are always pulling kids out.

I'm going to say it -- families fled their IB school bc they were afraid of the demographics. But it is a better school, period.

Us too (not at Seaton). I feel really grateful I trusted my instincts and didn’t fall for the hype. The grass isn’t always greener.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

If it's P street, our school (Seaton) lost a bunch of students to MV early on (like in PK). I myself almost fell for the hype a few times, but I am SO thankful we stayed. I have a third grader, this feels like a parallel path that my kid could have experienced. Instead he has a team of third grade teachers (ELA and Math) who both have been at the school for more than a decade, are superstars, have grad degrees, and have him working way above grade level on both subjects. In addition to the ELA teachers and math/reading specialists who are always pulling kids out.

I'm going to say it -- families fled their IB school bc they were afraid of the demographics. But it is a better school, period.

Us too (not at Seaton). I feel really grateful I trusted my instincts and didn’t fall for the hype. The grass isn’t always greener.

A lot of people in DC value bilingual education, not everything is about the school demographics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Did the protest at Cook happen too?

The flyer at the twitter link says:
Enough is Enough
Our kids deserve better
3rd grade caregivers are writing to demand a response. We asking for:
Two adults in all 3rd grade classrooms for the remainder of SY 22/23
Commitment to at least 2 hour of actual instruction in Math and ELA each day for the remainder of SY 22/23
Additional academic support (tutoring, summer programming, after care enrichment, etc) specifically for 3rd grade students
An additional teacher (or aide) for each teaching pair for SY 23/24

Okay, hold on now. I'm no MV booster (far from it!), but how many schools have two teachers/aides per classroom in third grade? What does an additional teacher/aide for each teaching pair mean? A third adult in the classroom half of the time? How many charters provide tutoring, summer academics, and academics in after care?

Without context this seems like a lot to ask from a charter school, and even DCPS when it comes to having two adults in the classroom. Is this a post-pandemic issue with third grade (who did K and 1st virtually)? Has there not been enough intervention to get those kids caught up? Are classrooms totally out of control that they need 2-3 adults in third grade every day? I deleted my Twitter, but can anyone see the comments to see (hopefully) more details?

I'd really love more information because I came here fully ready to pile on MV, but it's a charter school, not DCPS, they don't HAVE to offer all of the bells and whistles if they don't want to.

Re the bolded above, Inspired Teaching has at minimum a lead teacher and an assistant teacher or teaching resident in each classroom.

I will say "assistant teacher" is a term ITS uses when other schools might call the person an aide. Teaching residents are in half the classrooms or less.

ITS does have a high adult-child ratio, and it keeps teacher salaries low, for sure. But that feels fair to me. If ITS went to a more DCPS-like staffing model, they could pay more DCPS-like salaries.

ITS teacher salaries are higher than Mundo.

But aids are not. The financial model is interesting

I think the labor market for Spanish-speaking teachers and aides is more favorable to the employee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are these parents staying if it’s so bad? Are their IB schools that bad? Sounds like it would most likely be better than this!

If it's P street, our school (Seaton) lost a bunch of students to MV early on (like in PK). I myself almost fell for the hype a few times, but I am SO thankful we stayed. I have a third grader, this feels like a parallel path that my kid could have experienced. Instead he has a team of third grade teachers (ELA and Math) who both have been at the school for more than a decade, are superstars, have grad degrees, and have him working way above grade level on both subjects. In addition to the ELA teachers and math/reading specialists who are always pulling kids out.

I'm going to say it -- families fled their IB school bc they were afraid of the demographics. But it is a better school, period.

Us too (not at Seaton). I feel really grateful I trusted my instincts and didn’t fall for the hype. The grass isn’t always greener.

A lot of people in DC value bilingual education, not everything is about the school demographics.

There are plenty of bilingual DCPS schools where parents aren’t staging protests and accusing the school of educational neglect.