Northwest current article on school boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any thoughts on OP's original question, which is whether Janney's boundaries would be redrawn? Would it be likely for Janney and/or Murch boundaries be shrunk and Hearst's expanded in light of Hearst's extremely low in-boundary admissions?

Tough call. If I were at Janney, I might be okay with the western end being re-zoned into Mann - it's not quite as packed to the gills. In general, I think anyone would prefer Mann to Hearst (although it would be different parts of the boundary that would move). However, getting moved to Mann would mean giving up Deal for Hardy, which would send me running to Latin/Basis/DCI/etc.

Huh? Mann is the most over-crowded school in the city, 35% over capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oyster can't really even hold its current preK-8 in the two campuses; it will need significant expansion to hold students for 4 more years; there is barely a playground, much less space for high school sports
also the financial issues with such a small class would mean they had few options for AP, etc...

No one is saying Oyster should be a HS. Rather that Oyster students stay there until 8th. The Shepherd, Lafayette, Murch, Janney and Hearst Boundary for Deal makes geographic sense--even with the Reno School expansion.

[Anonymous]

Huh??? Of course a 5th grader who went to his neighborhood IB school for Deal is more deserving of a spot at Deal than a fith grader who got in OOB at elementary school. Not because one child is inherently more worthy, but because parents buy their homes based in part on the local school, and their kids should have priority. And this notion that the kids should move with their grade doesn't really cut much ice with me because (1) a lot of OOB kids enter in 4th or 5th grade to fill spots left by kids departing to private , and so it's not like they've been there for a long time, and (2) many kids start at new schools in 6th grade anyway (mine did), and it's not a major issue. Kids are not guaranteed the same classmates forever. I understand people don't want to feel like they're excluding needy kids, but let's face it: Deal is overcrowded, and the simplest way to reduce overcrowding is to eliminate OOB slots, period. That's what the ES schools have had to do.

[Anonymous]

The Boundaries of Wilson:

[Anonymous]

Where is Hardy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any thoughts on OP's original question, which is whether Janney's boundaries would be redrawn? Would it be likely for Janney and/or Murch boundaries be shrunk and Hearst's expanded in light of Hearst's extremely low in-boundary admissions?

Tough call. If I were at Janney, I might be okay with the western end being re-zoned into Mann - it's not quite as packed to the gills. In general, I think anyone would prefer Mann to Hearst (although it would be different parts of the boundary that would move). However, getting moved to Mann would mean giving up Deal for Hardy, which would send me running to Latin/Basis/DCI/etc.

Huh? Mann is the most over-crowded school in the city, 35% over capacity.

You'd have to rezone from the north downwards. It all starts at the northeast corner, west of the park (Barnaby Woods, someone mentioned on another thread). That's a hard boundary, as is the MD state line and the river. You can tweak Lafayette moving the boundary with Murch more north, and a little more east. Then in turn you have to contract Murch northwards and probably east. Then you'd have to re-draw Hearst and Janney to pick up what Murch loses. If Janney were shifted slightly east, then Mann might have to shift slightly east. To make up for that, it would need to yield territory in the west to Key. Then Key would need to move north.

The bottom line is that the schools that are overflowing need to have their boundaries contracted. The ones with higher OOB populations, need to have their boundaries expanded. Hearst and Eaton are probably the most maleable. And the Hearst/Eaton boundary should be the southern boundary for Deal. Eaton needs to move to Hardy, it's closer to Hardy anyway.

[Anonymous]

Where is Columbia Heights Educational Campus on the map?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You'd have to rezone from the north downwards.[u] It all starts at the northeast corner, west of the park (Barnaby Woods, someone mentioned on another thread). That's a hard boundary, as is the MD state line and the river. You can tweak Lafayette moving the boundary with Murch more north, and a little more east. Then in turn you have to contract Murch northwards and probably east. Then you'd have to re-draw Hearst and Janney to pick up what Murch loses. If Janney were shifted slightly east, then Mann might have to shift slightly east. To make up for that, it would need to yield territory in the west to Key. Then Key would need to move north.

But the southern boundary of Key is the Potomac River. And it's 25% over capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Boundaries of Wilson:

And it's 49% OOB! Clearly they could get bigger!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is Columbia Heights Educational Campus on the map?

You need a different map:
http://dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/SCHOOLS/DCPS_CHARTER_Map_SY12-13.pdf

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any thoughts on OP's original question, which is whether Janney's boundaries would be redrawn? Would it be likely for Janney and/or Murch boundaries be shrunk and Hearst's expanded in light of Hearst's extremely low in-boundary admissions?"

Janney parent here. There has been talk of the boundaries being redrawn - I can't recall whether this is from the principal or Mary Cheh's office or both. But it has been part of the discussion for the past few years as the school has worked to address the huge growth in population. I don't think anyone has publicly stated how the boundaries could be changed, but I'm sure thought has going into that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oyster can't really even hold its current preK-8 in the two campuses; it will need significant expansion to hold students for 4 more years; there is barely a playground, much less space for high school sports
also the financial issues with such a small class would mean they had few options for AP, etc...

No one is saying Oyster should be a HS. Rather that Oyster students stay there until 8th. The Shepherd, Lafayette, Murch, Janney and Hearst Boundary for Deal makes geographic sense--even with the Reno School expansion.

Just curious if the PPs are clear that Oyster is not a feeder school for Deal. For clarity, children who live within the Oyster boundaries may attend deal for MS, but OOB kids attending Oyster for elementary school do not have the option of attending Deal unless they live within Deal's boundaries or get a spot through the lottery.

[Anonymous]

I like that our house feeds into Hearst. Geographically, it makes sense that we then feed into Deal (four block walking distance). Hardy honestly is attractive to me too. I remember pre Melissa Kim, so many in-bounds people did not automatically send their kids to Deal. It gained in popularity over about three years and a reno. The same could happen with Hardy, which has already had the renovation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like that our house feeds into Hearst. Geographically, it makes sense that we then feed into Deal (four block walking distance). Hardy honestly is attractive to me too. I remember pre Melissa Kim, so many in-bounds people did not automatically send their kids to Deal. It gained in popularity over about three years and a reno. The same could happen with Hardy, which has already had the renovation.

+1

[Anonymous]

With respect to Oyster, in boundary kids should go to Hardy (at least those in the Woodley Park area) if they don't want to continue in the Spanish immersion program. Those just across the Calvert St. bridge and along the Adams Mill area could be rezoned for another middle school.