What’s your HS “back up” option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do people feel about MacArthur being a backup (commute aside)?

It’s on our lottery list but probably would move instead. Not sure what the point would be to try to get kid to MacArthur every day when there are better schools we can move to. If there was a compelling financial or family reason to stay in DC I’d probably opt for Eastern over MacArthur.

Me too-- it's just so far. No shade to it but I just can't.

No reason to. Commute totally not worth it.

Have you seen the scores? It’s not like it’s much better than the other poorly performing schools closer like SH.

I would move for much better schools just outside DC.

For what it’s worth, we are prepping for a move and have done a ton of research on school options, and we are not finding that the schools just outside DC are “much better.” It’s probably a wash. We’re thinking Deal/Jackson Reed will be our choice because if it’s a wash, we’d rather stay in the city.

I think the most compelling case for suburbs over J-R is the prospect of in-state college tuition.

Don't forget access to TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do people feel about MacArthur being a backup (commute aside)?

It’s on our lottery list but probably would move instead. Not sure what the point would be to try to get kid to MacArthur every day when there are better schools we can move to. If there was a compelling financial or family reason to stay in DC I’d probably opt for Eastern over MacArthur.

Me too-- it's just so far. No shade to it but I just can't.

No reason to. Commute totally not worth it.

Have you seen the scores? It’s not like it’s much better than the other poorly performing schools closer like SH.

I would move for much better schools just outside DC.

For what it’s worth, we are prepping for a move and have done a ton of research on school options, and we are not finding that the schools just outside DC are “much better.” It’s probably a wash. We’re thinking Deal/Jackson Reed will be our choice because if it’s a wash, we’d rather stay in the city.

But in Bethesda or Arlington there are actually state colleges … plus unless you are made of money it is easier to find housing there. I guess if you are able to buy a $2 mil house zoned for Deal I would wonder why you didn’t just move there in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do people feel about MacArthur being a backup (commute aside)?

It’s on our lottery list but probably would move instead. Not sure what the point would be to try to get kid to MacArthur every day when there are better schools we can move to. If there was a compelling financial or family reason to stay in DC I’d probably opt for Eastern over MacArthur.

Me too-- it's just so far. No shade to it but I just can't.

No reason to. Commute totally not worth it.

Have you seen the scores? It’s not like it’s much better than the other poorly performing schools closer like SH.

I would move for much better schools just outside DC.

For what it’s worth, we are prepping for a move and have done a ton of research on school options, and we are not finding that the schools just outside DC are “much better.” It’s probably a wash. We’re thinking Deal/Jackson Reed will be our choice because if it’s a wash, we’d rather stay in the city.

I think the most compelling case for suburbs over J-R is the prospect of in-state college tuition.

Don't forget access to TJ.

Whose kid is going to TJ? If you have been sending Larlo to DCPS you are kind of in for a rude awakening …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

I feel terrible about the social reality, not about refusing to subject my kids to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

I was a FARMS kid growing up. These smart but poor kids are hurt the most when you don’t have tracking because families don’t have any options. They can’t move for a better or more challenging curriculum.

You have to screen these kids with potential out and give them more opportunities with more challenging curriculum. For me that was G & T in 3rd grade by a teacher. My parents had no clue about education.

The rest of the kids need support to at least get them as close to grade level as you can.

DCPS is doing neither of the above. It just feels like they are just lowering standards and now using Edtech to try to solve the issue which is so bad for all the kids but especially the younger kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

Teaching quality is broadly the same--we are a high pay district that attracts quality instructors overall. Schools with a large percentage of at-risk kids get larger budges. And teachers at Title I schools can get larger bonuses. I don't know why you assume the services provided by the city are worse in W7 or W8. The difference between schools is primarily about the type of students that attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

Yes some at risk families do have those values. But the reality is that some don’t and these people should not be parents but it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

Teaching quality is broadly the same--we are a high pay district that attracts quality instructors overall. Schools with a large percentage of at-risk kids get larger budges. And teachers at Title I schools can get larger bonuses. I don't know why you assume the services provided by the city are worse in W7 or W8. The difference between schools is primarily about the type of students that attend.

This is a great point. I’m the PP who said I don’t see that schools just outside DC are significantly better. Richer and whiter, yes. Not throwing shade - this is where knowing your kid comes into play. My kid benefits from positive peer pressure. She’s creative and curious but not a striver and benefits from being part of a nice cohort of kind, nerdy peers. She is not the kid who will thrive anywhere. That said she is also anxious and I don’t want her in a pressure cooker (or with a bunch of snobs). Nor is she wildly advanced and counting down the days to multi variate calculus. So we’re looking for the balance between the two and hoping for a nice diverse group with a certain critical mass of serious-about-school types and some options for advanced classes if she qualifies but not to the point that it’s a competitive and hostile environment or one that is hyper focused on the accelerated kids. From where I’m sitting, I think we’re more likely to find that in DC than in the immediate suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

Teaching quality is broadly the same--we are a high pay district that attracts quality instructors overall. Schools with a large percentage of at-risk kids get larger budges. And teachers at Title I schools can get larger bonuses. I don't know why you assume the services provided by the city are worse in W7 or W8. The difference between schools is primarily about the type of students that attend.

PP here. I’m not sure. I agree that some teachers are really good, but other teachers really are not. As my kid moves into HS and hopefully starts taking AP and IB classes, it seems pretty clear that hiring this kind of specialist teacher is not a priority. My kid’s IB HS doesn’t even offer the language he has been studying. It’s kind of like a hospital ER. I’m sure Children’s National is the best place for pediatric gunshot wounds but I’d much rather take my kid with an allergic reaction to Sibley instead of waiting 8 hrs in the Children’s ER. And no matter how good they are, they are dealing with kids with challenges that my kid doesn’t have- so my kid gets left behind. And the small number of dysregulated kids disrupts learning for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

Teaching quality is broadly the same--we are a high pay district that attracts quality instructors overall. Schools with a large percentage of at-risk kids get larger budges. And teachers at Title I schools can get larger bonuses. I don't know why you assume the services provided by the city are worse in W7 or W8. The difference between schools is primarily about the type of students that attend.

This is a great point. I’m the PP who said I don’t see that schools just outside DC are significantly better. Richer and whiter, yes. Not throwing shade - this is where knowing your kid comes into play. My kid benefits from positive peer pressure. She’s creative and curious but not a striver and benefits from being part of a nice cohort of kind, nerdy peers. She is not the kid who will thrive anywhere. That said she is also anxious and I don’t want her in a pressure cooker (or with a bunch of snobs). Nor is she wildly advanced and counting down the days to multi variate calculus. So we’re looking for the balance between the two and hoping for a nice diverse group with a certain critical mass of serious-about-school types and some options for advanced classes if she qualifies but not to the point that it’s a competitive and hostile environment or one that is hyper focused on the accelerated kids. From where I’m sitting, I think we’re more likely to find that in DC than in the immediate suburbs.

You’re not being honest or you are very uniformed or you are one of those parents who will be like “Oh the DCPS IB schools is WONDERFUL but Larla chose Walls!”. I am in the middle of this decision and there is a massive difference between our IB DCPS HS and the schools we are looking at in Arlington. FWIW all of the Arlington and Fairfax schools are quite diverse.

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Anonymous wrote:Walls is our only hope. Otherwise we will have to move and I don’t know if we’d end up in NW DC or MD. Hate this system overall.

What system? Dcps, the lottery, living in a city where a huge percentage of kids come from generations of poverty?

People here are very scared of the generations of poverty and don’t want their precious children to be anywhere near it. Very sad when people think they are better than others.

I guess I'm just be of the people who is afraid if generational poverty, but it's not because I think I'm better than anyone. It's because I come from generational poverty (as well as violence, abuse, mental health issues, and substance abuse) and my biggest fear is that can't successfully keepy family lifted out of that situation.

I feel like if I had generational wealth or a family network of stable, supportive people to help me raise my kids, I'd feel less stressed about all this. But I'm on my own (with my spouse, from a similar background) and I want a school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability. I think that can be hard to find at a high poverty school.

My family doesn’t come from poverty but I am not so privileged as to believe “my kid will be fine anywhere!” It also takes a weird set of beliefs to not see that a school with concentrated poverty won’t be significantly disadvantaged. I can’t put my finger on it but it is as if people believe their kids are so special that education actually doesn’t matter.

It does feel terrible that we work so hard to segregate ourselves. Either you move to avoid the at-risk kids, you lottery to avoid the at-risk kids, you perform/lottery to avoid the at-risk kids (Walls, etc.), or you buy a spot in private to avoid the at-risk kids. But at the end of the day there is no shame in wanting a "school community that is going to reinforce the values of education, hard work, emotional maturity, and personal accountability." Can't argue against those goals.

Well I actually think the at risk kids and families often value education, maturity and accountability. There’s no moral judgment on my part. I think that because they are poor they get access to worse services. Just like I wouldn’t buy a house in a dangerous part of w7 or 8 and assume it would have the top access to services and safety and amenities. That’s what it means to be marginalized. Also my kid doesn’t have better values than his current at risk classmates but I can afford to put him in a school where his individual values don’t matter.

Teaching quality is broadly the same--we are a high pay district that attracts quality instructors overall. Schools with a large percentage of at-risk kids get larger budges. And teachers at Title I schools can get larger bonuses. I don't know why you assume the services provided by the city are worse in W7 or W8. The difference between schools is primarily about the type of students that attend.

This is a great point. I’m the PP who said I don’t see that schools just outside DC are significantly better. Richer and whiter, yes. Not throwing shade - this is where knowing your kid comes into play. My kid benefits from positive peer pressure. She’s creative and curious but not a striver and benefits from being part of a nice cohort of kind, nerdy peers. She is not the kid who will thrive anywhere. That said she is also anxious and I don’t want her in a pressure cooker (or with a bunch of snobs). Nor is she wildly advanced and counting down the days to multi variate calculus. So we’re looking for the balance between the two and hoping for a nice diverse group with a certain critical mass of serious-about-school types and some options for advanced classes if she qualifies but not to the point that it’s a competitive and hostile environment or one that is hyper focused on the accelerated kids. From where I’m sitting, I think we’re more likely to find that in DC than in the immediate suburbs.

You’re not being honest or you are very uniformed or you are one of those parents who will be like “Oh the DCPS IB schools is WONDERFUL but Larla chose Walls!”. I am in the middle of this decision and there is a massive difference between our IB DCPS HS and the schools we are looking at in Arlington. FWIW all of the Arlington and Fairfax schools are quite diverse.

I mean depending on what your IB is I’m sure that’s true. But mine is JR and I agree with the poster you responded to. I’m not willing to move far enough away from DC to get public HS that will be significantly better for my child’s needs. BCC and Whitman just don’t seem that much better for what my middle-of-the-road ish kid needs. And I would never move to VA (no shade on it, just not for me)