best in-boundary potential for improvement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just have to respond to the fear voiced by some above that white kids will feel terrible when their friends are pulled out by their parents and they will be the only white kids left. You folks need to have a little more faith in your kids. Maybe YOU have a difficult time making friends with african-americans, but don't assume that your white kid will be in the same position. My child attends Brent and his best friends are black. He also has white friends. The only kids he has been hassled by are white kids. When is the prejudice against black kids going to end? Why not today?

I wish this were true. I have one of these 4th graders and it sucks. Too many kids that are not white feel it is ok to pick on the lone white kid. It is sort of like the tribal instinticts of kids surge out. I wish it was not true, but we are pulling out because the school does not really want to deal with it. They call it general, they refuse to acknowledge that yes 4th graders can bring racist perspectives to their interacations. They refuse to see how kids group by race African-American, Hispanic ect. If this is going to change DCPS teachers and principals are going to need to be more willing to address these problems. Most won't because its the white kids problem and because they are white they are priveleged and its not a problem. Racism goes all directions and no one gets a pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just have to respond to the fear voiced by some above that white kids will feel terrible when their friends are pulled out by their parents and they will be the only white kids left. You folks need to have a little more faith in your kids. Maybe YOU have a difficult time making friends with african-americans, but don't assume that your white kid will be in the same position. My child attends Brent and his best friends are black. He also has white friends. The only kids he has been hassled by are white kids. When is the prejudice against black kids going to end? Why not today?

I'd feel equally uncomfortable if my child was the only black kid or the only boy. As more of the affluent families leave for privates (and it tends to be white families in DCPS) more OOB kids who tend to have lower academic achievement and more behavior problems come in at the upper grades. If your kid's friends are going to be gone and the quality of their school is going to decline, why not get out too if you can? It's not about the color of the kids it's about the baggage that comes alone with the socioeconomic dynamics in DC and DCPS. Many affluent black families don't go near DCPS, they tend to go private or to move. They want their kids to be in a good school, so do I.

[Anonymous]

I was at one of the LSAT budget meetings that were scheduled in January. A parent there said that they were looking at combining Seaton and Garrison. Not sure how that will affect the area.

[Anonymous]

This is the comment that really spurred me to respond:

The sentiment I've heard is "wish we could stay all the way through, don't want my kid to be one of a handful of white kids, or the only white kid in the later grades". No one wants their kid unhappy b/c all of their friends left.

The basis of the last sentence is the kid only has white friends. Why are folks making the assumption that their kids will only have white friends? That is far from what I have seen at Brent and I can't believe that Brent is all that special. It can happen anywhere! If there really are schools where the black kids are picking on the few white kids, I'd like to see those schools named. This ought to be investigated by the Washington Post or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the comment that really spurred me to respond:

The sentiment I've heard is "wish we could stay all the way through, don't want my kid to be one of a handful of white kids, or the only white kid in the later grades". No one wants their kid unhappy b/c all of their friends left.

The basis of the last sentence is the kid only has white friends. Why are folks making the assumption that their kids will only have white friends? That is far from what I have seen at Brent and I can't believe that Brent is all that special. It can happen anywhere! If there really are schools where the black kids are picking on the few white kids, I'd like to see those schools named. This ought to be investigated by the Washington Post or something.

Actually, a family I know who left Heart who had a child with all black friends, they still didn't want DC to be the only white kid in the upper grades though. They did not intend to use DCPS for middle school or high school (the real issue driving all of these dynamics) so it made sense to apply when the chances of entry were best.

I think people are not factoring in the pull to privates before middle school (where if you don't get in that year there is no time left). All of the upper NW schools have a significant drop in kids leaving midway through to go private, sometimes a class size or more. There is a big change in school population and dynamics at that point. Less so now in schools that feed to Deal. Mann avoids this by not taking in more kids after the drop. It's the kids coming in in large numbers halfway through who tend to have lower test scores and more behavior problems that people want to avoid. Most people see diversity as a good thing but don't want their kids to be the only of anything. I don't have any black friends who are comfortable with their kids being an only in school. Even the gay families I know prefer schools where they are not the only ones. Totally normal and has nothing to do with demonizing black kids or not wanting to be friends with them. And if you think that kids don't pick on the "few of" anything I'd say you are quite naive.

[Anonymous]

"All of the upper NW schools have a significant drop in kids leaving midway through to go private, sometimes a class size or more. There is a big change in school population and dynamics at that point."

This is so not true - look at the DCPS stats on OOB admissions. Janney took in 12 total (across 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades) - the vast majority of in-bounds kids stay through 5th and then go on to Deal.


"Mann avoids this by not taking in more kids after the drop."

Mann took in 4 OOB kids in fourth grade.

[Anonymous]

Deciding to pull your kid out because you want them to attend a private middle school and "the earlier you pull out the better shot you have at getting into a good private middle school" is an ENTIRELY different meme than pulling your kid out because "the black kids pick on the white kids". If you are seriously pulling your kid out for that reason, please name this school. someone above says Hearst has this problem. Anyone second that? If this is currently happening, it is outrageous and needs to stop. Just glancing through this forum, lots of folks are fearful of even trying out the neighborhood DCPS school because of this fear. If there is some truth to it, let's talk about it.

As for pulling your kid out because there is a great private (or charter, right?) middle school you are eyeing, I totally get that.

Those of you who think that I am naive for thinking that racial harassment is something to just tolerate are way too cynical. As I said, there aren't any racial problems at Brent (at least among the students . . . ) so I know racial harrassment is not something that is inherent in every elementary age child. We shouldn't let those few kids that are problems ruin it for everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"All of the upper NW schools have a significant drop in kids leaving midway through to go private, sometimes a class size or more. There is a big change in school population and dynamics at that point."

This is so not true - look at the DCPS stats on OOB admissions. Janney took in 12 total (across 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades) - the vast majority of in-bounds kids stay through 5th and then go on to Deal.


"Mann avoids this by not taking in more kids after the drop."

Mann took in 4 OOB kids in fourth grade.

I think that's what the PP was addressing when she said "Less so now in schools that feed to Deal."

[Anonymous]

If Garrison and Seaton were to be combined, which school would stay open?

[Anonymous]

"As I said, there aren't any racial problems at Brent (at least among the students . . . ) "

Wanna chat about the Brent third grader who got cuffed by MPD and walked out of his classroom so he could "learn a lesson about stealing." (Apparently his mom thought this was a great life lesson?)

Guess how many white parents at Brent are going to RUN after this little incident?

[Anonymous]

Perspective on Hearst's demographics from a parent: The lower grades are quite well integrated by race. They reflect the city's demographics, if not the immediate neighborhood's. I haven't conducted a census, but I'd say about 60% black, 40% white/Hispanic/Asian. Third grade is much more homogeneous; I believe there is one white child. Fourth grade is the United Colors of Benetton: About 40% black, 30% white, 20% Hispanic, 10% Asian. Fifth grade is like third grade; there's one white child.

So it changes from grade to grade. The current fourth and fifth-graders have all been together with their respective classmates basically since day one of Pre-K with no significant attrition since the usual I'm-outta-here-for-first grade flight (and that was only a couple kids per class). I do believe that Hearst's expansion to 5th grade has been a major driver of families' commitment to stick with the school. All in all, it works quite well.

[Anonymous]

When did this happen? If it's a one-time thing, many families will look the other way, no?

Anonymous wrote:"As I said, there aren't any racial problems at Brent (at least among the students . . . ) "

Wanna chat about the Brent third grader who got cuffed by MPD and walked out of his classroom so he could "learn a lesson about stealing." (Apparently his mom thought this was a great life lesson?)

Guess how many white parents at Brent are going to RUN after this little incident?

[Anonymous]

It happened this week. And if your child witnessed this, how would you feel? There is only so much cool-aid you can gulp at a pta meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread makes me laugh, as a wealthy parent by a horrible school I would have to be held at gun point (and I might) to send my child to the school in my neighborhood. There are so many parents in my neighborhood who, if they actually all sent their kids to DCPS, it would be a great school - and the school it self had millions in renovations.

However, the elementry school scares me and I worked in corrections for many years.

OK, I'm dying to know which school you are talking about. In our neighborhood Powell is the school with the nice building, across from a being renovated playground and pool, near an about-to-be-reopened renovated library in a neighborhood that is seeing middle class housing pressure from Columbia Heights. The test scores are abysmal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"As I said, there aren't any racial problems at Brent (at least among the students . . . ) "

Wanna chat about the Brent third grader who got cuffed by MPD and walked out of his classroom so he could "learn a lesson about stealing." (Apparently his mom thought this was a great life lesson?) Guess how many white parents at Brent are going to RUN after this little incident?

I am a white parent at Brent with a child in the class where this happened. This incident involved a mother and her child. We are friendly with both and they really, really good people. The school's administration, staff and students were not involved prior to the situation.

Our family discussed the issue during dinner and put the incident into context (ethnicity was not considered germane). It was not traumatic for the witnesses; although it may have been for the child involved. I wish it didn't happen, but then again there is a ton of stuff I wish my children never saw - on the Metro, on the internet, on the playground, arguments between their parents, etc. This issue does not adversely affect our feelings about Brent and DCPS, and I don’t see how this is predominantly a racial issue.

Our experience at Brent has been resoundingly positive. We value the array of ethnicities, nationalities, family structures, affluence and politics in our community. My children live in a world of diversity I suspect is rare for most American children. It isn’t perfect, but we are trying our best to make it work, and I suspect we are at least as successful as most other schools in our situation.