Out of Boundary Parent feeling left out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a big supporter of the neighborhood school model and actually a little glad to see this as a problem. I personally feel that when applying OOB in faraway places from your home in search of whatever perfect school you're looking for, this OBB/IB inclusion/exclusion downside needs to be taken into account. Maybe for many a perceived to be better education is a top priority. Fair enough. However, if beyond what you perceive to be a better education, you're also looking for a community, then I think the IB or near-IB route is simply a better bet. Even if your IB school isn't yet where you want it to be, you'll have so much more time and energy left to help shape connections, within the school and beyond, into the neighborhood. Again, this may not matter to everyone but if it does then please factor that in, as much as you do things like school culture, classroom set-up, curriculum, test scores, building cleanliness, ability to get to and from school, etc. It's a trade-off, although happen to I think the opportunities to easily connect beyond the classroom are beneficial for my children, especially in elementary school. It's not a clique thing, it's simply more feasible.
While, as OP suggests, charter schools may theoretically be less prone to an IB/OBB division, I don't think they come close being able to serve as a community as much as neighborhood schools can.
(Please know that this comment comes from an IB parent (at another school, in a whole different part of town), who sometimes spends hours driving her IB child to very faraway playdates and goes to great lengths to see that the OBB classmates have regular opportunities to come over.)

And I believe that public schools should not be all one color.

I also believe that we can believe whatever the hell we want...but what actually happens in DC public schools is based on 1950s law...so fuck what we believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:425K for a single family house OP? Are you serious that you pay your fair share of taxes? Take a look at Janney IB property values and think again.

Must be a fixer upper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not fix the schools in your own Ward/district?

This just pisses me off. You are either in your late 20s or just moved to DC in the past 5 years. Right?

As someone who has been leaving here for all my life - let me just say...my mother tried to fix my school and I believe my grandmother tried to fix it before her. If you would like to come over and try to help...we welcome you. But don't just chime on from your high horse on something you know nothing about.

Schools here are broken. And I'm guessing you know nothing about it.

You know, here is the counter-narrative: You've lived here all your life (or maybe most, with a few years in nearby MD but didn't like it). Your grandmother tried to fix the schools (of course they were segregated at the time, so I'm not sure which schools she was trying to fix) and your mother tried to fix the schools. And then you came along and sure enough threatened to try as well. Except that now there were so many of you, and a few others in addition and some more to come, that it actually looked like it was going to do work. So the Republicans (and let's just throw in the whole private school lobby and maybe a chunk of the charter school lobby along) got really scared and had to find a new way to keep you from finally succeeding. So they called whole rest of it "broken", invented some labels to make sure you better believe it (look up the word "proficient").
Go right ahead and buy into it. But think into what you're buying.

[Anonymous]

Op how can someone knock down someone's experience and 425 is actually not close to what I paid but as I stated I'm sure ppl are familiar with the neighborhood...I could have chosen to live in Ward 3 but chose Ward 4 for its diversity

[Anonymous]

To the poster who said they don't believe that a public school should be all one color. Doesn't it just only take one person to break that perception? So, I think there's at least 1% at the majority of DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:425K for a single family house OP? Are you serious that you pay your fair share of taxes? Take a look at Janney IB property values and think again.

Must be a fixer upper.

only in dc. $425,000 is a lot of money. you have to make a decent amount of money to get a $425,000 loan. i am in the same situation, but i just do what i can to try to stay involved with my child's oob school -- try to make sure she is happy and attended to -- and i leave the rest alone. we go to playdates and parties when invited. we invite children over to parties -- if they come they come and if they don't they don't. op my advice is just to accept what you cannot change and move on. you see some of the attitudes on this forum -- this is just a sampling of what is really out there -- what people really think.

[Anonymous]

$425 may be the norm, but for Janney and Mann it is 1.2 mil. That is a substantial difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$425 may be the norm, but for Janney and Mann it is 1.2 mil. That is a substantial difference.

that is if you bought your house in the last 8 years or so. houses in that area were not that expensive before the housing boom.

[Anonymous]

you probably paid $425 or not much more for your house

[Anonymous]

Who cares what you paid for your home, your kids haven't paid a dime. It's not like OP is sending her kids to private school for free, its a public school with an OOB lottery process. Get over it!

OP, how about targeting other parents on the "outs"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a big supporter of the neighborhood school model and actually a little glad to see this as a problem. I personally feel that when applying OOB in faraway places from your home in search of whatever perfect school you're looking for, this OBB/IB inclusion/exclusion downside needs to be taken into account. Maybe for many a perceived to be better education is a top priority. Fair enough. However, if beyond what you perceive to be a better education, you're also looking for a community, then I think the IB or near-IB route is simply a better bet. Even if your IB school isn't yet where you want it to be, you'll have so much more time and energy left to help shape connections, within the school and beyond, into the neighborhood. Again, this may not matter to everyone but if it does then please factor that in, as much as you do things like school culture, classroom set-up, curriculum, test scores, building cleanliness, ability to get to and from school, etc. It's a trade-off, although happen to I think the opportunities to easily connect beyond the classroom are beneficial for my children, especially in elementary school. It's not a clique thing, it's simply more feasible.
While, as OP suggests, charter schools may theoretically be less prone to an IB/OBB division, I don't think they come close being able to serve as a community as much as neighborhood schools can.
(Please know that this comment comes from an IB parent (at another school, in a whole different part of town), who sometimes spends hours driving her IB child to very faraway playdates and goes to great lengths to see that the OBB classmates have regular opportunities to come over.)

That's funny, because I'm big supporter of school choice and I love the way every year the charters are making DCPS a little bit weaker. Is it up to 40% yet?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone care what I pay for my public housing? I have the same major concerns about education for my children. Public schools are my only options. I do own a BMW (black woman walking) so a neighborhood school is my first preference.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you think you won the lottery attending this school you are wrong. The parents have expectations of services to suit THEM, not you, and would be very happy to have all OOB spots eliminated. It's a suburban nightmare, but without the refuge of a real-life Weeds Mom contingent. Move inner the city where there's at least 10 or 20% your race and you and your child will have a much better experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you think you won the lottery attending this school you are wrong. The parents have expectations of services to suit THEM, not you, and would be very happy to have all OOB spots eliminated. It's a suburban nightmare, but without the refuge of a real-life Weeds Mom contingent. Move inner the city where there's at least 10 or 20% your race and you and your child will have a much better experience.

what?????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you think you won the lottery attending this school you are wrong. The parents have expectations of services to suit THEM, not you, and would be very happy to have all OOB spots eliminated. It's a suburban nightmare, but without the refuge of a real-life Weeds Mom contingent. Move inner the city where there's at least 10 or 20% your race and you and your child will have a much better experience.

Huh?! This can't be a REAL post?!?!