DCPS Middle School problem in the Washington Post

[Anonymous]

Yes, pp. No question. They have obstinately and quite explicitly chosen not to employ any out of the box thinking to make middle schools attractive to parents who are concerned about large numbers of students arriving from elementary school without a proper primary education.

DCPS and our DME believe that demographic changes ( or manipulation) over time will make that happen all by itself. They are mistaken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any efforts to keep DCPS middle schools vibrant will fail if those making decisions don't acknowledge the hard truth that we have vast differences in the preparation, motivation and acheivement levels of students. Well-prepared, motivated and achieving students need a way to find one another in the same school, not be spread out among schools largely populated by the opposite kind of student. Both ends of the spectrum need attention, care and focus.. .

This, exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same issue at Brent. 45 4th graders and something like 11 5th graders

A magnet middle school just makes TOO much sense. But, you know what, a magnet DCPS middle could cut really deeply into the Charters' business. I'd be suspicious of what kind of payoffs are going on to prevent such a thing from happening. Charters are big bucks for the folks who run them.

This is an interesting thought, until I think about what a magnet DCPS would look like initially in comparison to Latin and BASIS and I realize that it would still be my third choice given who would be hired to teach there. Charters have a real advantage when it comes to hiring subject-matter experts, not just classroom managers. However, a legit 3rd choice rather than the abyss would be welcome.

What kind of advantage do Charters have in hiring teachers? DCPS teachers make more money than charters, and also more money than private school teachers. Perhaps you are implying that teachers self-select charters and privates because they perceive it as a less-stress job compared to what DCPS teachers have to deal with, the money be damned. BUT, if DCPS set up a magnet middle, I would not be surprised if subject-matter-expert teachers flew in like moths to interview for those jobs.

I don't know if you've noticed, but many long-term DCPS teachers drive German Luxury sedans to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But I have also seen with my own eyes social service agencies submitting piles of applications to charter schools in loco parentis.

Now THAT is really interesting... I wonder which schools get those students.

+1!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the previous posters who say charters are only attended by kids whose parents self-selected in. I know of many families at MANY charters who chose the charter without looking at it, thinking about it, or investigating it simply because it was near their house or near a care-provider's location. You would be amazed at how many families at language immersion schools have no idea their kid is learning chinese in an immersion model or french or spanish at LAMB or Elsie Whitlow Stokes.

Interesting point. The brothers of the kid I tutor ended up at a charter because their tutor met someone on metro who worked there so the boys went there. Later I found out that it was not a high-performing charter but the parents didn't question it. They also assumed that the kid I tutored would go there but she wanted to go with her friends to the charter her middle school fed into. She ended up going to the different charter with her friends. It was probably a better school than the one her brothers went to but it's hard for me to know because they would never answer my emails or phone calls! Plus they kept sending her with her classmates on college tours when the kid is not going to be able to handle college. This drives me crazy! She's a great kid who is not getting the specific support she needs. But that's another issue.

At any rate, this pp has a good point. My student's parents are good, responsible parents in that they're making sure their kids go to tutoring and go to school but they really don't know whether one charter is better than the other.

[Anonymous]

Since so many kids leave dcps for 5 th grade, I think dcps should look at making MS run from 5th- 8th. 5th & 6th graders have more in common and same with 7th and 8th. Dcps could look at combining close by ES schools and making one an ES and one a MS. I personally don't think k-8 works because the schools are always weighted in the lower grades and there is not enough funding for Middle schoolers. A successful middle school has to offer, in addition to engaging classes, many extrancurriculars both before and after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the previous posters who say charters are only attended by kids whose parents self-selected in. I know of many families at MANY charters who chose the charter without looking at it, thinking about it, or investigating it simply because it was near their house or near a care-provider's location. You would be amazed at how many families at language immersion schools have no idea their kid is learning chinese in an immersion model or french or spanish at LAMB or Elsie Whitlow Stokes.

Really? My child goes to YY and I don't know anyone like this. Not one. One would have be complete idiot to not know that the school is 100% immersion Mandarin in preK. If they didn't they will soon find out if they win a spot in the lottery and go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

If DCPS had a citywide, lottery school with true differentiation and course and extracurricular options similar to Deal, we'd consider it. But it would require DCPS to commit to the offerings, to commit to acceleration, and to commit to differentiation. Why is that so tough? I don't think it should have to be test-in for admissions but I think there should be courses based on readiness. Some kids need remediation - let them have it. Some kids need acceleration - let them have it too. Just not in the same math class.

[Anonymous]

How would DCPS build up middle schools now or in the future if pretty much all of us have agreed we don't want our kids going to a school that qualifies for title one status. They could have everything done right and I think most of us would reject it because it served poor kids. Given the percentages in the system, it would appear that nothing is possible unless middle and upper class parents will let their kids go to school with poor kids. I get why this is an issue, I left a title one school, but I also recognize DCPS is a bit screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I disagree with the previous posters who say charters are only attended by kids whose parents self-selected in. I know of many families at MANY charters who chose the charter without looking at it, thinking about it, or investigating it simply because it was near their house or near a care-provider's location. You would be amazed at how many families at language immersion schools have no idea their kid is learning chinese in an immersion model or french or spanish at LAMB or Elsie Whitlow Stokes.

Interesting point. The brothers of the kid I tutor ended up at a charter because their tutor met someone on metro who worked there so the boys went there. Later I found out that it was not a high-performing charter but the parents didn't question it. They also assumed that the kid I tutored would go there but she wanted to go with her friends to the charter her middle school fed into. She ended up going to the different charter with her friends. It was probably a better school than the one her brothers went to but it's hard for me to know because they would never answer my emails or phone calls! Plus they kept sending her with her classmates on college tours when the kid is not going to be able to handle college. This drives me crazy! She's a great kid who is not getting the specific support she needs. But that's another issue.

At any rate, this pp has a good point. My student's parents are good, responsible parents in that they're making sure their kids go to tutoring and go to school but they really don't know whether one charter is better than the other.

How educated are the parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would DCPS build up middle schools now or in the future if pretty much all of us have agreed we don't want our kids going to a school that qualifies for title one status. They could have everything done right and I think most of us would reject it because it served poor kids. Given the percentages in the system, it would appear that nothing is possible unless middle and upper class parents will let their kids go to school with poor kids. I get why this is an issue, I left a title one school, but I also recognize DCPS is a bit screwed.

What's interesting about that observation is a lot of parents let their kids go to school with a somewhat diverse mix of kids in charters. I think that people are less inclined to go with a place whose boundary and feeder patterns guarantee poverty level schools. A citywide school would provide diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How would DCPS build up middle schools now or in the future if pretty much all of us have agreed we don't want our kids going to a school that qualifies for title one status. They could have everything done right and I think most of us would reject it because it served poor kids. Given the percentages in the system, it would appear that nothing is possible unless middle and upper class parents will let their kids go to school with poor kids. I get why this is an issue, I left a title one school, but I also recognize DCPS is a bit screwed.

DC is not the only city to face this and other cities have come up with ways to attract and retain those parents including test-in and magnet schools. They just don't want to use those models here for political reasons.

[Anonymous]

And it is not just about middle class parents not wanting to go to school with poor kids. It is more about the miserable academic preparation so many of those kids have gotten through DCPS. I would take a school full of poor kids if they were motivated, worked hard and had the basics down to move ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And it is not just about middle class parents not wanting to go to school with poor kids. It is more about the miserable academic preparation so many of those kids have gotten through DCPS. I would take a school full of poor kids if they were motivated, worked hard and had the basics down to move ahead.

If this was a true statement, more white people would apply to Banneker.

[Anonymous]

That's awfully simplistic