DCPS can't handle 'Middle Schools'? This is why Kaya Henderson needs to go

[Anonymous]

Or maybe next time we select a school leader for DC, we can, at the minimum require that they have actually run a school. I would add "successfully" to the sentence but I thought we should just start with some experience in school leadership and management.

[Anonymous]

Given the problems that UDC is having, how about converting that into a magnet high school for AP and honors track students?

[Anonymous]

Exactly. Well said.
At the elementary level, the kids are still little and highly supervised so that behavior doesn't spiral out of control.
Middle school is another story entirely. The same kids have more freedom and are expected to have some age appropriate self-discipline. This is where the rubber meets the road and many kids from lower ses situations cannot keep up. This is when the behavior spirals out of control because the kids are bigger and the nature of middle school is that kids are more responsible for themselves.
Melissa Kim understood this and set up a system without too much wiggle room, but enough to allow the kids to find their independence. In the case of infractions, she put in clear disciplinary policies with actual consequences for the kids and maybe more importantly, the parents.
Let's talk about the missing piece here, kids from poverty may need to learn more life skills, let's help them.

I agree with this posting. Melissa Kim did hold the parents accountable and that was refreshing. And I don't mean just some parents. She had no problems telling me and other very well educated and accomplished parents what we had to do to respond to a situation. I found it refreshing and helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DeBlasio, the newly elected mayor of NYC, gets it. No more Bloomberg robots leading NYC public schools. Bloomberg and his clones are being ejected from NYC schools. DeBlasio is looking for a proven educational leader to head the school system.The Daily News reports that Starr of Montgomery County has been one of the leaders mentioned as a possible replacement for the current NYC Chancellor.

Montgomery and Fairfax County parents would never retain a superintendent who is clueless about educating middle school students. Not only does Henderson have no clue about middle school students, she has no clue about professional development, strategic planning, or curriculum design and implementation.

Remember, she assumed this lofty position with only a few years of teaching and a stint in a leadership position with her fellow Bloomberg clone, Michelle Rhee. It is unfair to expect her to know how to run a school system. But what is even more unfair is the fact that D.C.'s children are being impacted by her decisions.

It also should be noted that Rhee herself had no experience running a school and had only a few years of teaching under her belt. Yet she has raised self-promotion to new heights in her career as an education "expert." She and her ilk are charlatans, nothing more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP- completely agree. If she can't find a way to make better MS options, how can she be chancellor of the system?

She was never qualified to run DC's school system and Catania's oversight is finally pulling the veil from some people's eyes. It is time to recruit a professional cadre from some other city clear out the bloated Central Office with professionals who will live in DC and put their kids in our schools.

If they don't have skin in the game, they have no business running our schools.

Um... Kaya's two kids are in DCPS.

Kaya did not birth any kids they are her boyfriends kids. Although she may want to look out for their best interest it's not the same as having your own in the system.

I agree that kaya's kids are not the issue here but I must say I find the above posting to be beyond offensive. FYI, I'm an adoptive parent and this kind of "did not birth any kids" "not the same as having your own in the system" is simply stupid and disgusting. Makes me stop reading anything else you might have to say that may be halfway reasonable.

Signed,
Disgusted



It might be the kids' biological mother who made the schooling decision,and/or perhaps the kids are in "good" DCPS schools that any engaged parents would approve of.

Besides, Kaya's kids aren't the issue here -- it's the aggregate DC kids that she is responsible for -- and it looks like she's ready to turn them over to charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I hate it when people use terms like "refugees" to describe moving out of their DC homes in pursuit of the bland white suburbia that is Arlington. It is so incredibly tone-deaf and self-indulgent.

You were probably never cut out for urban living to begin with. Glad you've found your natural habitat. Enjoy your lily white suburbia.

Get over yourself.

Wikipedia wrote:

According to the US Census, the racial makeup of the county in 2012 was:
63.8% non-Hispanic White
8.9% Non-Hispanic Black or African American
0.8% Non-Hispanic Native American
9.9% Non-Hispanic Asian (2.0% Indian, 1.7% Chinese, 1.1% Filipino, 0.9% Korean, 0.7% Vietnamese, 2.7% Other Asian)
0.1% Pacific Islander
0.29% Non-Hispanic other races
3.0% Non-Hispanics reporting two or more race
15.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race (3.4% Salvadoran, 2.0% Bolivian, 1.7% Mexican, 1.5% Guatemalan, 0.8% Puerto Rican, 0.7% Peruvian, 0.6% Colombian)
28% of Arlington residents were foreign-born as of 2000.
Demographics courtesy of U.S. Census Quickfacts

+1 -- Arlington (or Montgomery County) are hardly what I'd consider "lilly white". You may see far less urban poverty, but the surrounding counties are remarkably diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:forcing Wilson's students to travel back and forth somewhere else seems very stupid to me

I have a Deal 7th grader who is very interested in going on to Wilson. This AP proposal is an absolute deal breaker from my point of view.

Chances of Wilson losing AP course = 0%

Absolutely no chance of this ever happening. It wasn't even hinted at during testimony. The idea was to create centralized AP courses where a full range could not be justified based on school enrollment or enough qualified students. If it was offered to Wilson students as an additional option for enrichment (ie Sat. courses, more course options) that would not be instead of what Wilson offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I watched the hearing. She seemed out of her depth.

+1

[Anonymous]

I didn't think she seemed out of her depth. I thought she was being transparent.

She probably does need some help revamping MS, but I found her commentary refreshingly honest.

[Anonymous]

Everyone knows transparency is Kaya's middle name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. Well said.
At the elementary level, the kids are still little and highly supervised so that behavior doesn't spiral out of control.
Middle school is another story entirely. The same kids have more freedom and are expected to have some age appropriate self-discipline. This is where the rubber meets the road and many kids from lower ses situations cannot keep up. This is when the behavior spirals out of control because the kids are bigger and the nature of middle school is that kids are more responsible for themselves.
Melissa Kim understood this and set up a system without too much wiggle room, but enough to allow the kids to find their independence. In the case of infractions, she put in clear disciplinary policies with actual consequences for the kids and maybe more importantly, the parents.
Let's talk about the missing piece here, kids from poverty may need to learn more life skills, let's help them.

I agree with this posting. Melissa Kim did hold the parents accountable and that was refreshing. And I don't mean just some parents. She had no problems telling me and other very well educated and accomplished parents what we had to do to respond to a situation. I found it refreshing and helpful.

I agree that kids in ES are easier to control and that behavioral problems are more typical of MS and HS given the age of the kids. but this is not the only reason why MS schools in poor areas are failing more often than MS schools in high SES areas. kids in high SES areas get a lot of support from families in addition to going to good schools. if they fall behind, they have private tutors, parents heling at home, enrichment classes after school. in low SES areas, kids do not have any support at home and if the ES fails them, they are done, when they get to MS they fail and they may act out also because they are not able to keep up. In 2002 I volunteered at an ES in SE (and not a real bad one). I had a reading group with three gilrs who were in 6th grade (the ES at that time was going up to 6th grade, now it goes to 5th grade). two of them were able to read at kindergarden level. I was absolutely shocked when they picked up a book with two lines of words per page, very large font, and they could read syllable by syllable follwoing the words with their fingers on the page. they were MS level kids by age and they COULD NOT READ. what kind of homework can you do when you are unable to read a page of a normal book (i.e. small font, single space and so on). how can you get your history home work done if it would take you hours to read the fews page you need to read? I thought of those two girls several times in the past ten years, now they should be in their early 20's. I would not be suprprised if they dropped off HS because I cannot imagine how they could graduate with those reading skills. kids getting to MS in this shape would probably hit a wall of homework they could not perform. when you are asked to do something you can't do because you were not prepared for it, your self estime goes down the drain and I am not surprised if kids act out. so I think low SES need to learn not only life skills and proper behavior, they also need to get a proper education at the elementary level so they can actually get to MS and HS with the tools they need to succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given the problems that UDC is having, how about converting that into a magnet high school for AP and honors track students?

That is so sad, so true, and quite depressing. The only in-state option for DC residents is actually better positioned to be a high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone knows transparency is Kaya's middle name.

Nice try, or should I say "kidding, right?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. Well said.
At the elementary level, the kids are still little and highly supervised so that behavior doesn't spiral out of control.
Middle school is another story entirely. The same kids have more freedom and are expected to have some age appropriate self-discipline. This is where the rubber meets the road and many kids from lower ses situations cannot keep up. This is when the behavior spirals out of control because the kids are bigger and the nature of middle school is that kids are more responsible for themselves.
Melissa Kim understood this and set up a system without too much wiggle room, but enough to allow the kids to find their independence. In the case of infractions, she put in clear disciplinary policies with actual consequences for the kids and maybe more importantly, the parents.
Let's talk about the missing piece here, kids from poverty may need to learn more life skills, let's help them.

I agree with this posting. Melissa Kim did hold the parents accountable and that was refreshing. And I don't mean just some parents. She had no problems telling me and other very well educated and accomplished parents what we had to do to respond to a situation. I found it refreshing and helpful.

I agree that kids in ES are easier to control and that behavioral problems are more typical of MS and HS given the age of the kids. but this is not the only reason why MS schools in poor areas are failing more often than MS schools in high SES areas. kids in high SES areas get a lot of support from families in addition to going to good schools. if they fall behind, they have private tutors, parents heling at home, enrichment classes after school. in low SES areas, kids do not have any support at home and if the ES fails them, they are done, when they get to MS they fail and they may act out also because they are not able to keep up. In 2002 I volunteered at an ES in SE (and not a real bad one). I had a reading group with three gilrs who were in 6th grade (the ES at that time was going up to 6th grade, now it goes to 5th grade). two of them were able to read at kindergarden level. I was absolutely shocked when they picked up a book with two lines of words per page, very large font, and they could read syllable by syllable follwoing the words with their fingers on the page. they were MS level kids by age and they COULD NOT READ. what kind of homework can you do when you are unable to read a page of a normal book (i.e. small font, single space and so on). how can you get your history home work done if it would take you hours to read the fews page you need to read? I thought of those two girls several times in the past ten years, now they should be in their early 20's. I would not be suprprised if they dropped off HS because I cannot imagine how they could graduate with those reading skills. kids getting to MS in this shape would probably hit a wall of homework they could not perform. when you are asked to do something you can't do because you were not prepared for it, your self estime goes down the drain and I am not surprised if kids act out. so I think low SES need to learn not only life skills and proper behavior, they also need to get a proper education at the elementary level so they can actually get to MS and HS with the tools they need to succeed.

And when those children get to high school, and I have to teach them using Common Core and Impact I will be assessed as a lousy teacher, because it is my fault the student can not achieve the benchmarks on the DC CAS. Now if we could be honest, and meet the students were they are at instead of grandstanding about how wonderful DC test scores are this year maybe we could get somewhere. Where is the admission that many students in DCPS cannot read, we need to do more than differentiate a graphic organizer to help them meet a high school standard these students should be in remedial supplemental targeted intervention programs.

[Anonymous]

Where are we going to get theses so-called magnet school students from surely the 2% white student population can fill a room much less a building. Then the percentage points of the other races could fill the seats in a SUV. Yes, everyone wants a TJ in DC but that is not going to happen in your life-time. So get over it. Wait did you not hear that the Mayor is funding more low-income housing. Such the case; that means more single-moms with three or more children will soon out number the married couples with the 1.3 ratio.